Yonge and St Clair Toronto – Office Space for Lease – March 2012

Please note the attached office space is not listed with OfficeSearchToronto.com but call us first at 416-643-3713 or email us here!

New listings at Yonge Street and St Clair.
New OfficeZilla Listings – St Clair Avenue

1 St Clair Ave East
2 St Clair Ave East
21 St Clair Ave East
22 St Clair Ave East
60 St Clair East
1 St Clair Ave West

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Increased Workstation Control Brings Higher Job Satisfaction, Less Stress

Original Post – By: Stephen Searer

Most people that have worked in an office would probably agree with a recent study (pdf) that was undertaken “to examine the relationship between workstation features … and the comfort and performance [of employees]“. They found:

• The greater control employees have over the adjustment of interior workstation features, the lower the stress they experience.

• The more effectively the interior workstation layout supports the work process, the greater the job satisfaction.

Workspace Control

It comes as little surprise that employees would experience less workspace stress when they have more control over their workspace. When thinking through many offices that I’ve seen, employers have often chosen less-expensive models of furniture that often come with less customizability. The study found that “task chair, lighting, display shelves, storage, keyboard and mouse trays, and monitor arms” are all important to employees.

Workspace Effectiveness

While it might seem that all employees need is a desk, a chair, a computer, and access to office supplies to be effective, the study found that a workstation that is tailored to the specific job is the most effective and improves work satisfaction. Workstation variables “such as amount of space, arrangement of furniture/equipment, storage capacity and accessibility to reference materials influence the quality of the work process, which in turn affects job satisfaction”.

Takeaways

• Think through employee needs when designing workstations, but revisit after several months and ask employees if they have any additional needs.
• Don’t forget that all employees are not average human size and might have different needs from one another.
  • If you’re going to spend $300 on each chair, consider offering several options at that price point.
  • Many furniture manufacturers now offer adjustable height desks.
• Employees will most likely have a better impression of their company management if their work needs are considered.
• If possible, produce data regarding the changes made to workstations to prove effectiveness. But, don’t forget that some things may simply have perceived value and add to employee satisfaction.

Readers: What adjustable workstation features have you found to make you more effective and your job more satisfying?

Poorly Designed Open Offices Are Sources Of Major Distraction (And Ways To Reduce It)

Original Post – By: Stephen Searer

Open office layouts have been the dominant style for office designers for several years. While the debate continues to rage on about whether they are superior to closed offices (most likely not cease any time soon), a 2005 study examining the effects of office design on workplace distraction caught my eye.

What I appreciate most about this particular study is that it did not take any particular side, but instead identified common sources of distraction in open plan offices and possible solutions through better design.

Distraction Findings

One statistic found that for “57% of the subjects, combined background noise caused “major deterioration” in their ability to concentrate.” The major sources of distraction were:

1. continuously ringing telephones
2. people’s conversations (both face-to-face and telephone)
3. printers/computer/keyboard noise
4. outside noise

A second concept identified that employees did not grow accustomed to office noise, but rather reported more disruption the longer they were exposed to it.

Distraction Solutions

If you do find yourself or your employees becoming distracted at work (and it isn’t from reading Office Snapshots), perhaps one of the following solutions from the study will help:

• Provide quiet areas away from noisy equipment and other people for workers who need to concentrate on tasks that require undisrupted attention (e.g., writing, mathematical tasks).
• Incorporate absorption materials and partitioning to make background noises such as voices less distinguishable from one another.
• Choose phones that have adjustable ringtones or that can easily be silenced when unanswered.

Other distraction reducers:

• Don’t put a loud department that is on the phone all day next to developers that are concentrating.
• Encourage communication that will not be a source of distraction for other employees.
• Allow employees to listen to music with headphones.
• Stop watching cat videos.

What have you found to help minimize distraction in an Open Plan office?

#CRE Public vs Private data debate – CBRE vs CoStar

First, my thoughts:
Until we have a more distinct line between what is public and private data, the debate and heated exchanges will continue. Example, I see no reason why I can’t post pictures of office space and buildings on my website with the brokers / listing agents name prominently displayed as the person to call for additional info. The brokerages and agents however, for some reason, don’t want this information “out there on the net” and threaten to call TREB / RECO to file complaints. My rebuttal to this is, maybe I should call your Landlord and let them know you are not doing your best / fiduciary duty to get the listing information out to as many people as possible. Usually that’s not taken very well but I don’t get it?!

Where’s your line as it relates public or private information / transaction data / marketing material? Can I post pictures of a building I have taken or the vacant space I have toured to save my clients time or is this private? I believe transaction data to be private but pictures of lobby’s, individual spaces and what is sent out publicly via brokers and tenant’s flyers to be public.

The original article that got it all stirred up:
CoStar CEO Andrew Florance is peeved. He heard that a CBRE executive sent a memo to agents asking them not to provide lease data to CoStar. In a Washington Post story, Florance said that CBRE should be examined “…by the federal government for anti-competitive practices…” Just like the CoStar/LoopNet merger is being “examined” for possible anti-trust violations.

I suppose some smaller brokers might cheer Florance on for taking CRE behemoth CBRE to task. After all, big national brokerages and industry consolidation puts the smaller ones at a distinct disadvantage.

This concerns CoStar, too. Florance claims CRE “…is the most concentrated industry that exists”. And that the “concentration” of brokerages leads to hoarding data that keeps owners and tenants from using “alternative” brokers.

But Florance isn’t championing the smaller broker at all: “One thing that could happen is that owners lose the ability to represent themselves because they lack the necessary information.” Where would owners get the information to represent themselves? From CoStar, of course.

Let’s get one thing straight before we continue. The data in question is lease data. Publicly traded companies have to provide some lease transaction details in financial reports but private companies do not. CoStar is whining about uncooperative brokers interfering with CoStar’s “right” to get this data.

This has nothing to do with what is right. It’s about competition for data and clients – those owners and tenants CoStar would have bypass the agent. If CoStar can’t get this data, they have less to offer. And without comprehensive data, their reporting will always be suspect. Poor CoStar…

The problem for CoStar is that is that there is no reason for agents to give CoStar lease data of private companies especially when the agent has confidentiality agreements. Even without a written agreement, the permission for transmission and publication of that data is rightly at the discretion of the tenant or owner – not the agent.

I don’t want to hear how agents should provide this information for the good of the industry. How is it good for the industry to pass along private client information? Is the handful of lease comps you might get worth betraying a confidence?

And don’t get me started about the value of someone else’s lease information. Reliance on lease comps is over-hyped in most markets. Even if you could standardize the transaction details, all a comp represents is a unique set of conditions in a single moment of time that cannot easily be generalized to any other deal. You get all you need to know about where prices are going by looking at asking lease rate trends.

Regardless, CoStar wants the data. And it takes a lot of gall to complain when your competition won’t give it up. That’s right. Any brokerage that collects its own data is CoStar’s competition. History shows what CoStar likes to do with it’s competition.

If CoStar really wants to be the premier provider of CRE data, their researchers should get off their lazy butts and call the people who really own the data – the owners and tenants – instead of harassing agents. What? Too difficult? Can’t get anyone to return your call? Welcome to the world of commercial real estate… Maybe handing out a “Power Owner” award will help.

Hey you!  Agent?!  What are your thoughts?

Generational Differences in the Workplace and What They Mean for the Future of Office Design

By: Stephen Searer
Origional Post

A recent study set out to see how generational differences affected preferences for workspace features and capabilities. I found it to be fairly enlightening.

Definitions:

+ Silent Generation: born between 1929 and 1945
+ Baby Boomers: born between 1946 and 1964
+ Generation X: born between 1965 and 1978
+ Generation Y: born between 1979 and 1997

Findings

The study found that all generations found workplaces to be important, but the workplace features each generation deemed important differ greatly.

Now What?

The study also identified some common themes that were apparent through the study with regard to future workplace design and the generational differences therein. Below are the cliff notes, and if you want to read them in their entirety, don’t forget to check out the research here.

Choice – “The office will serve as the setting for an array of social activities and collaborative work experiences, providing spaces that employees can choose from based on their immediate needs.”

Experience – “Baby Boomers value function, Gen-Y values connection. The workspace will evolve from its strictly functional role (providing support for individual and group work processes), to being part of a holistic system that creates a work experience—embracing the social and emotional components of work.”

Integrated Work – “The most effective spaces will support the seamless transition of people moving between individual and group work modes, both between locations and within their primary workspaces.”

Distributed Interaction – The plan of office facilities will be “landscaped”—still quite open but interspersed with some enclosed offices, lots of formal and informal meeting spaces, huddle rooms of varying sizes and formats, and small amenity spaces (pantries, coffee nooks, etc.) (Wymer, 2009; 2010). Any of these spaces can be used to support the short, informal meeting style of the typical employee of 2020.”

Avison Young releases 2012 commercial real estate forecast

Avison Young – full report

CANADA
Office

Leasing activity was strong across Canada’s office markets in 2011, with vacancy rates decreasing and rental rates trending upward in most markets nationwide. Canada’s overall office vacancy rate has declined steadily from 9.2% at the depths of the recession in 2009, to 8.3% in 2010, to 7.6% in the closing months of 2011 – solidifying the recovery.

Six of the 12 Canadian markets surveyed experienced a decrease in vacancy rates of varying degrees in 2011. Surprising many market observers, Calgary posted the most impressive improvement over 2010 with vacancy plummeting 340 bps to 7.2% as 2011 drew to a close. From West to East, vacancy rates also fell in Vancouver (-80 bps to 7.6%), Lethbridge (-50 bps to 9.4%), Mississauga/GTA West (-40 bps to 11.6%), Toronto (-70 bps to 7.9%) and Montreal (-60 bps to 8.6%). From West to East, those markets that witnessed a rise in office vacancy included Edmonton (+90 bps to 10%), Winnipeg (+40 bps to 6.9%), Ottawa (+40 bps to 5.6%) and Quebec City (+20 bps to 4.7%). Regina remained unchanged at 1% – the tightest office market in the country once again.

Looking ahead, the national office vacancy rate is forecast to decline an additional 60 bps to end 2012 in the 7% range. While vacancy rates are expected to hold steady in Montreal (8.6%) and Ottawa (5.6%), rates are expected to trend lower in Vancouver (-120 bps to 6.4%), Calgary (-200 bps to 5.2%), Edmonton (-140 bps to 8.6%), Lethbridge (-20 bps to 9.2%), Mississauga/GTA West (-100 bps to 10.6%) and Toronto (-70 bps to 7.2%). Conversely, due to some much needed supply, Regina will see its vacancy rate climb 320 bps to 4.1% by the end of 2012. Other markets that are expected to see an uptick in vacancy include: Winnipeg (+10 bps to 7%), Quebec City (+60 bps to 5.3%) and Halifax (+130 to 10.3%).

Important Office Features?

Interesting survey – check it out!

What are the three most important features that make an office a better place to work?

• Individual Workstation Comfort (68%, 94 Votes)
• Proper Lighting/Temperature (57%, 79 Votes)
• Proximity to Home (53%, 73 Votes)
• Useful Meeting Spaces (28%, 39 Votes)
• Nice/Clean Restrooms (15%, 21 Votes)
• Well-stocked Kitchen (14%, 20 Votes)
• Recreational Activities (12%, 16 Votes)
• Ability to Workout/Shower (11%, 15 Votes)
• ‘Green’ Design (9%, 13 Votes)
• Other/Added in the Comments (4%, 6 Votes)

Commercial Office Leasing Guide Toronto 2012

The Costs and Benefits of Office Design

If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ve no doubt seen offices designed on the cheap as well as ones that cost a pretty penny. Because of this wide range in price, I find myself wondering: At what point does the cost of a project outweigh the benefit of the proposed results?

Broad Reasons for Great Office Design

Without getting into the specifics of each, there are fairly clear reasons that a well-designed workplace can be an important asset for any company.

• Improve efficiency of employees
• Improve workplace atmosphere
• Improve employee wellbeing
• Improved means of enticing prospective talent
• Improved means of impressing potential customers

The Costs of Great Office Design

Let’s take a peek at some reasons you might find a well-designed office to be expensive:

• Construction/Designer Costs
• Furniture
• Larger Space
• Time Intensive

Analyzing the Costs and Benefits Together

Without putting dollar signs on each of your employees, it is important to think through your reasons for improving your space and whether or not those are worthwhile investments. That’s not to say that you either make the improvements or don’t make them, but rather a call to make intelligent decisions about what is most important for your organization.

• Google obviously feels comfortable designing posh, fun, and photogenic workspaces in an effort to entice employees, but is it really necessary for the average employer to spend incredible sums of money on an office as a means of recruiting? Probably not. Instead, focus on building a great company that your employees love working for.
• That said, many companies do see the importance of using their space as an advertisement for their company, their creativity, and their product. But please know that just spending money on an office to make it seem like your are an amazingly creative company is not enough to actually make you an amazingly creative company.
• If you’re really keen on spending $2000 on each employee’s workstation, but can achieve the same efficiency or wellbeing gains for $1500, why not go for the less expensive option?
• Construction costs are the bulk of any major office redesign, while furniture is the least expensive. Facebook’s Palo Alto office was completed with a low cost/sqft because they were able to chose a space without needing major construction work.
• Sometimes, beyond money, redesigning an office can be a real pain and used up more time than you would actually save by having a redesign.

All of this said, envying over photos of offices is one thing, but when it comes to actually designing an office, please make sure that the goal of your design isn’t to win the prettiest office award, but rather to win the best functioning space to work in.

Original Post by Office Snapshots – By: Stephen Searer

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