CORT News Center
CORT Partners with Businesses to Embrace Workplace Furniture Trend
FAIRFAX, VA (May 28, 2008) - From "hoteling" office space for telecommuting or temporary office workers to establishing standards to outfit home offices, CORT is helping businesses stay at the forefront of office furniture trends.
For more than 35 years, CORT has been the nation's leading furniture provider in the "rent-to-rent" industry providing solutions to businesses of all sizes, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500.
Many businesses are adapting to market trends that include a more mobile workforce and a rise in temporary assignments for workers. For example, hoteling provides flexible, shared work spaces "on demand" for employees who work part-time or traveling among multiple offices, and guests who may be visiting the offices for meetings. Many businesses are also asking their employees who telecommute to spend some time at the office to foster collaboration among teams.
In addition, many companies are adopting formal policies to provide high-quality, standardized office furniture for telecommuting employees for assurance that employees have productive and ergonomically safe work environments in their home.
In a practice adopted from residential home staging, commercial real estate agents are staging available office space with furniture. Commercial agents are also offering these staged offices for "flex" temporary office space for companies while other office space is being adapted to meet the company's needs.
"Flexibility is the foundation for many of the trends in the office environment and use of office furniture," said Paula Green, CORT's vice president of national accounts. "To attract and retain the best employees, companies are committed to providing high quality work environments. Just as telecommuting and hoteling provide a flexible work environment, renting office furniture provides the flexibility to 'right-size' the amount of furniture assets a company requires to meet fluctuating needs. CORT is helping businesses with solutions to embrace these trends."
Furniture can accumulate as a significant hidden cost and burden on a corporation as excess furniture accumulates through age or shifts in company size and locations over time. When the total life-cycle cost of ownership and the capital consumption for furniture acquisition is considered, the opportunity to outsource these functions and costs should be considered to unleash valuable human and financial assets for higher return opportunities in the company's core competencies.
According to a recent survey of companies by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), the average cost for furnishing a private office is $6,447, while a cubicle is $3,870. The size of those investments adds up quickly. The need to furnish or refurbish offices increases along with a company's churn rate - the process of moving employees and furniture. In addition, the IFMA survey reported that more than half of the companies use off-site storage for office furniture, accumulating costs for storage space as well as salaries and time required for employees to manage the space. In many cases, these costs and substantial depreciation expenses are incurred for furniture that companies are unlikely to re-use.
"Organizations of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, are investing far too much to move, store and maintain an inventory of furniture," Green said. "They incur substantial storage and disposal expenses on unproductive assets. CORT partners with businesses to provide a smart financial alternative, providing furniture with flexible rental terms that allow companies to use the furniture they need, exactly when they need it, lowering asset costs and improving cash flow. And all with one phone call."
Editors Note: CORT is exhibiting at the NeoCon World's Trade Fair from June 9-11 in Chicago at booth #2069.
Largemouth Communications (for CORT)
scott@largemouthpr.com
919-459-6452
