As a business leader, what would you say is your company’s most valuable resource?  

You can make a case for revenue, human capital, intellectual property, branding, or any number of other vital elements. 

However, one resource is absolutely priceless:  

Time.  

In order for revenue to grow, people to thrive, branding to stick, and innovation to occur, each member of your organization needs to use their time and expertise in the right ways.  

Often underestimated is the time required by executives to procure, fit out, and run traditional office space. 

But that doesn’t have to be the case. 

Here’s why. 

Time Loss: The Hidden Cost of Running an Office   

Opening and managing an office under a traditional lease comes with a ton of costs, from upfront expenditures to lease rates, monthly expenses, office manager salaries, and beyond.  

But that’s only one piece of the puzzle. 

A significant investment of time is also required—often from your organization’s executive team, whose core competency is probably not in office management.  

This process of launching a traditional office space typically includes: 

1. Designating members of your executive team to spearhead the process 
2. Connecting with a commercial real estate broker who learns what you’re looking for and goes out to source options for you 
3. Entering into negotiations on a binding letter of intent with the building owner to lock down rent costs, term lengths (usually between three and five years), tenant improvement allowances, and additional costs and fees 
4. Reviewing a lengthy lease agreement with your broker and a lawyer 
5. Customizing and renovating your space to your needs 
6. Determining your hardware, furniture, and infrastructure needs and implementing them on your own  
7. Hiring, training, and paying full-time staff to run the office 

Then, once the office is open, there are the day-to-day time-sucks to deal with, including: 

• Managing employee schedules 
• Planning meetings 
• Ensuring that all office functions run smoothly and effectively  
• Contributing to ongoing office management decisions, troubleshooting issues, and workshopping or overseeing maintenance challenges 

So, it’s also vital to consider: 

A. The dollar value associated with the time those executives invest in sourcing and running an office and  

B. The opportunity cost of pulling their attention away from their core functions 

Crunch the Numbers: Putting a Price on Your Executives’ Time 

To quantify the time demands of office dealings on your company’s executives, consider: 

• Which executives are typically involved in office-related matters 
• Salary estimates for each of those executives 
• How much of their time, on average, is focused on the office 

The numbers in this exercise will vary by organization, but here’s a hypothetical example.  

The Chief Executive Officer 

On average, CEOs are estimated to spend about 5% of their time on office-related tasks. If your CEO collects a salary of $400,000 per year, the value of their time spent on office-related tasks would be $20,000 per year.  

The Chief Operating Officer 

The heavy-lifters of office initiatives, COOs may spend anywhere from 15% to 25% of their time on office-related activities, especially during periods of office expansion or major relocations. With a hypothetical salary of $350,000, office-related dealings would cost your company between $52,000 and $87,500 worth of COO time each year.  

The Chief Financial Officer  

With an average of 10% to 15% of their time dedicated to office initiatives each year, a CFO with a salary of $300,000 would contribute between $30,000 and $45,000 worth of company time to office initiatives.   

Between these three executives, you’d be looking at six figures worth of time being drained by dealing with office matters.  

And this is before you account for the contributions of:  

• Human Resources which helps ensure that the office environment meets the needs of employees. They might also manage seating arrangements, amenities, and employee engagement within the space. 
• Legal teams that review and approve leases and service agreements and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements during the acquisition and running of the office. 
• Other department heads who may need to provide feedback on space requirements and amenities that align with their team’s operational needs. Their input may influence layout decisions, design, and office location. 

Here’s where things get more complicated: the numbers in this example only reflect the quantifiable dollar value—but the opportunity costs of this time are incalculable.  

What could your CEO, COO, and CFO achieve with all of that time back to focus on their core competencies? 

How to Stop Wasting Your Company’s Time on Office Space

Traditional office leases will demand significant attention from your executive team. This is simply the nature of the beast. 

But with a serviced office like HQ by iQ, the upfront and ongoing time investment drops to near nill because these spaces: 

• Have short, simple agreements 
• Are fully move-in ready and customizable, so there’s less time required to equip and upgrade them 
• Require significantly less planning time than traditional leases 
• Have tech infrastructure in place alongside all the business tools you need 
• Are fully staffed  

Most importantly, serviced office operators are in the business of creating premium office environments. At iQ Offices, our core competency is providing unparalleled curated workspace experiences, and we’ve spent more than a decade perfecting our craft.  

So, if you’re ready to move your organization into a premium workspace and let your executive team focus on what they do best, book a tour of your local iQ Offices location today. We’ll take care of your office so that your team can focus on generating revenue, empowering your team, building your brand, and driving your business forward.