Frequently, when office users are considering the office leasing issue, it is likely more a result of an impending lease expiration than any overarching need to make an adjustment in their space. Inertia is quite comfortable and if lease expirations weren't as frequent, there would be a great deal less consternation on the intimate details within the space, good or bad. In Europe, some firms have occupied the same space in the same building in the same town for decades and even centuries. Even firms with the highest of high tech fit right in on the forth floor of a four hundred year old building with no elevator.

 

Opportunity is in how you look at things. Lease expirations must be looked at as an opportunity to reevaluate your use of space, which starts with how your company operates functionally and determining the ideal.  

Human nature frequently forces us to jump right into things we should be better prepared for.  When you have decided that you want to start the process, it will be natural to want to go out and see some buildings, kick some tires, act like a customer.  Take caution  in touring buildings; there is a risk of commencing the landlord's engines revving. This will generate many questions which are unanswerable and possibly actually start some form of negotiations that were unintended. This puts the cart way before the horse, and forces you to loose control. My suggestion is that you leave the urge to see buildings until you are in the best position to manage the information.  This information flows from the needs assessment and criteria.
 
Establishing an exact summary of what is ideal for your company will establish a benchmark against which to test not only every other office space you may see in the upcoming year, but also your present space. Functionally, this is very pragmatic. In order to make the office leasing process as smooth as possible, establishing this definitive criteria allows you to test each building you may consider against objective criteria. Such subjective elements like view, image and feel can wait and be tested later, AFTER the objective test is met. Having this fixed test abbreviates the process of touring buildings as certain ones can be disqualified (or put on the runner-up list). Applying this test through your Leasing Team means that you avoid repeating your need over and over to multiple building owners and not telling any two the same information. 

 

Whether a corporate executive, CEO or entrepreneur, this system is set up for easy development and planning. No single element during the leasing process will have such a profound impact on every other decision you make in the future other than the Criteria, Needs Assessment and Programming.  

Needs Assessment are the physical, tangible items of your lease which measure how you use the space best to accomplish your business planning goals. Examples would include each individual in the office, each function from offices to storage, work areas, private offices and or modular partitioning, files, conference areas, kitchen or coffee facilities, break or smoking rooms, floor size, floor weight capacity, life safety requirements, parking, telecommunications, automation, supplies, board room, reception area, mail/copy room, executive dining room, storage, computer room, special electrical equipment, special HVAC requirements, law library, and floor weight capacity concerns. 

 

The Criteria are the general senses that you wish to apply to the company such as image, client or customer perception, view from office, view toward or of the building from outside, distance from employee's or executive's homes, proximity to customers or vendors, corporate identity, other tenants in the building and services such as restaurants, service stations, banks, cash machines, and parking. Address any political influences such as the owner or company head likes triangle-shaped offices, requires proximity to his/her country club or can only be in single-story buildings. Are there any real ancillary aspects such as, needing to be in proximity to biggest client (but you don't want him to know it), concerns about your competition, corporate identity as hindrance or help? 

 

Programming is the inter-relation between the Needs Assessment/Criteria and any property which may be considered. The programming also involves diagramming the tenant's functions to their preferred configuration, such as department growth, optimum adjacency and interaction (or need not to) with other company functions.