Is it possible to work without an office space? Can't you internationalize faster if you have people all over the world? Will you solve the personnel problem if you work more flexibly?
These questions have been going through my head for some time. We currently have an office in Oldenzaal and Amsterdam, and we are very happy there. But we are growing out of our office in Oldenzaal, and finding a new office is more difficult than expected.
That's why I asked myself: why do we even have an office? I asked this question within the team, but also other people around me. I often heard the same answer: 'Don't you need an office as a company?'. Great answer, but not the answer I'm looking for. Why does a company need an office?
A few good reasons for having an office space
- You have a permanent place to work
- You can receive people
In any case, it's good to know that I don't think about rules and how things should be done. None of us at all. We are open-minded and like to take risks.
So a 9-to-5 job is not an option for us at all. Everyone can work wherever, whenever and however you want. That is freedom. A lot of freedom. But I believe that if you let everyone do what they are good at, and do it in their own way, much better results can be achieved. Often faster too. As long as the deadlines and agreements are met. Everyone has that responsibility. And everyone can deal with that.
That's our way of working. And I also firmly believe that it is the new way of working. But we want to go one step further. So then I come back to the question: 'Why do we still have an office space?'
A permanent place to work, I just indicated that that is nice about an office space. But we always work where and when we want. So we are not looking for a permanent place at all. We are also a member of several organizations in the Netherlands where we can work flexibly. So we can be in many places along the highways and cities in the Netherlands.
People receive the same. This can be done at these flexi-places, or you can meet in the lounge / restaurant of a hotel. But we often go to our customers. So this is also no obstacles. All arrows point towards 'we no longer need an office'.