Tenant Tips/News

Some interesting facts:

• 90% of all companies' printing expenses are not being identified and evaluated.
• On average, equipment, supplies, and service only represent 10% of the total office document expense.
• For every dollar spent on equipment, supplies, and service, another nine dollars are spent on other related costs:
  • IT support
  • Infrastructure
  • Admin and purchasing
  • Document production
  • Document management
• 42% of global wood harvest is dedicated to paper production.
• 5.4 million tons of paper is consumed annually by U.S. companies.
• The average employee prints 10,000 pages each year.
• The annual printing/copying/imaging expense per employee is $800-$1000.
• It would cost $150,000 to fill your car's gas tank with inkjet ink.

Today, most businesses are looking to reduce expenses, increase productivity, and improve environmental strategies. Look toward your document and print services provider for solutions that can help you achieve these goals.

Sharp Business Systems is a Mack-Cali Advantage Program preferred provider. The company specializes in document and information management solutions and offers an award-winning line of multifunction copiers and printers, in addition to a Managed Print Services Program to help achieve these goals. Please contact Rose Masone at rose.masone@sharpusa.com or call 201.644.2828.

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Whether you’re realizing your dream by starting your own small business, or you’re looking to relocate a corporate headquarters, Mack-Cali has a variety of options for office space that provide the class A environment you desire with the savings you need:

Plug-and-play space: Offices that are already wired for telephone and high-speed internet access.

Pre-built space: Offices that offer conventional, efficient layouts with newly upgraded features, immediately ready for your move-in.

Fully furnished space: Offices that come equipped with desks/workstations, chairs, file cabinets, and/or other pieces of furniture. In many cases, plug-and-play and pre-built space may be fully furnished.

By taking advantage of these convenient options, you have the opportunity to:

Eliminate significant costs associated with setting up your technology infrastructure, designing a layout, and/or furnishing your office space. With the money you save, you will have more to invest in the success of your business.

Save time and maintain productivity with office space that’s ready to go. By choosing office space that allows you to automatically check off a few items on your to-do list, your organization will spend less time waiting around to get to work, and you can spend more time tending to valuable business.

Get flexibility with office space and a landlord that give you the freedom to expand in the future without losing significant money (or your mind!), since your financial investment in your space can be largely reduced, and Mack-Cali has numerous product types and sizes to meet your changing needs.

And, the best part is that you don’t have to give up the class A amenities and service that Mack-Cali provides at all its properties:

• Stable, respected ownership
• Award-winning, on-site property management
• A streamlined leasing process with in-house professionals
• One point of contact for all facility needs
• Top-quality property improvements
• A variety of product types that offer options for evolving business needs

How can I get more information?

Email us today, and let us help you find affordable office space that meets all your business needs.

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Using architecture to reflect a company’s brand has historically applied more to retail spaces than offices, said Matthew Jarmel, a principal of Jarmel Kizel Architects, in Livingston. But “over the last five to eight years, corporations have started to take their brand identity and try to merge it with architecture.”

These days, companies are more inclined “to infuse a space with [their] brand rather than not,” said Dana Jenkins, principal and design director of Gensler, a Morristown-based architecture firm. “They find it really necessary to communicate who they are.”

Expressing brand identity in an office is cost-effective in a recession, because “a lot of the work is cosmetic renovation work, where you’re not really making wholesale changes,” she said.

In designing the Parsippany headquarters space for Sun Chemical Corp., the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments, three years ago, Gensler employed various visual elements to highlight the company’s history and products to both staff and clients.

Sun Chemical’s trademark red pigment was used on all of the entrances and transitional spaces, while other pigments and inks were incorporated throughout the facility, Jenkins said. A 15-foot timeline of the company’s 190-year history was installed in the reception area, so “there’s an educational piece right off the top of how the business got started.”

Brand identity strategies differ depending on the type of company. With consumer products companies, “it’s really easy to communicate the brand,” because the company has a tangible product, Jenkins said. But for service companies, identity is expressed more through the finishes and furniture chosen for a space, she said.

Lynn Campbell, Sun Chemical’s manager of corporate marketing, said employees get a sense of pride from the design, while customers “look at the breadth and scope of what we do. It gives people the feeling that it’s a big, solid company,” she said.

How an office space is organized also can say a lot about a company, said John Clarke, a partner at Clarke, Caton, Hintz. The Trenton-based architecture firm is designing a law office in which an open café and lounge will be located at the center of the offices; that amenity is intended to accommodate the attorneys’ long hours. “The hierarchies are pressed down so people are more equal, there’s not so much a formality,” he said.

Other companies, meanwhile, establish an identity by having a uniform look and feel to their office spaces, said Marlyn Zucosky, director of interiors at Clarke, Caton, Hintz. “A lot of clients have multiple branches, they want continuity from office to office,” she said.

Such was the case for the firm’s design of Cambridge Mercantile Group, a global payment company that relocated its U.S. headquarters to 902 Carnegie Center, in Princeton, in March. The space was set up so that the glass-enclosed executive offices and conference room are located on opposite ends, with an open trading area in the center.

“If you were to visit any other Cambridge location, whether in the U.K. or Toronto, it would have a similar look and feel,” said Leslie George, managing director for the Toronto-based firm’s U.S. operations. After moving to the Princeton firm and seeing its familiar design, “I saw a big difference in attitude and pride and work output,” George said. “It made a big difference in coming to a space like this, as opposed to a space that was just thrown together.”

This article, by Evelyn Lee, originally appeared on www.njbiz.com on 9/28/09. It is reproduced here with permission from NJBIZ.

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Square Footage

Assess your space needs. Consider the total number of employees, and the type of space you'll need; the number of offices versus cubicle space; adequate and appropriate IT space; and the number of conference rooms and storage rooms. Be sure to plan for future expansion requirements. A standard density rule for work and common areas is to allow 250 to 285 square feet per employee, with call centers requiring about 180 square feet per employee. If you require significant square footage—perhaps for a headquarters location—you may also wish to consider having a facility built-to-suit for your business.

Configuration

Do you like the way your office is configured? If not, you may want to reconfigure the space or move to newer, more efficient office space. When renovations are necessary in more than 20 percent of the space, it often makes sense to consider changing spaces. The efficient use of your space is key.

Location

Does your location still work for you and your staff? Consider commuting time for employees, traffic flow, access to highways and mass transportation—and don't forget—proximity to clients and customers.

Technology

What are your present technological requirements? Today, most buildings have high speed Internet, but not all. Do you require satellite or specific bandwidth and fiber optic service? Computer equipment may require supplemental HVAC for cooling and/or backup generators for power redundancy. The amount of energy a building can supply and its efficiency in delivery must be carefully evaluated.

Moving Expenses

Moving expenses—including company downtime and construction costs—can be significant and should be evaluated based on the quality and efficiency of the improvements you gain if you move to new space.

Amenities

Today, properties with a variety of amenities are strongly appealing to employers who wish to help their staff balance work and family life. From dry cleaning services, on-site cafeterias, banking and childcare to fitness centers and walking trails—consider what's important to your employees' environment and lifestyle.

Property Ownership and Management

You'll want to consider the strength, stability and reputation of the property owner and manager. Look for an on-site management team that's receptive to your needs, and make sure the owner has the financial strength and stability to commit resources to maintaining the building.

Remember—Mack-Cali can assist you with your space decision—whether you require a renovation, expansion, relocation, or brand new facility. Contact your Mack-Cali leasing representative for more information.

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"My first recollection is utter and complete boredom because they could all be over in 10 percent of the time," said Jean Marie Fish, who recently retired after working 28 years in corporate media and media buying for Unilever, first in Englewood Cliffs and later in Manhattan.

Fish is not alone. Disorganized, rambling meetings top the list of pet peeves, cited by 27 percent of workers polled by Princeton-based Opinion Research Corp.

"Structured business meetings with a closely followed agenda are often the most productive, particularly when attention spans can be short," said Jeff Resnick, president of Opinion Research USA. "A disorganized meeting is a disengaged meeting that will rarely result in the desired outcomes."

The second-ranked complaint is people who interrupt their peers and try to dominate the meeting. It was cited by 17 percent of those polls, one point ahead of cellphone interruptions.

The top five also included people who fall asleep in meetings (9 percent) and meetings with no bathroom breaks (8 percent).

The survey also showed that coming late or leaving early is less of a concern than disorganized meetings or those in which the leader allows one person to dominate with what one executive called "useless or irrelevant information downloads to the group."

"We call those people the 'human rain-delay,' " said Ski Austin of Tenafly, the National Basketball Association's executive vice president for events and attractions.

Although cellphone interruptions rank high on the list, workers evidently find Blackberry use in meetings less intrusive, placing it eighth at 5 percent.

But it is a growing problem, and "my No. 1 pet peeve," Austin said.

"It used to be that you could gather a group of people with a single-purpose topic into a conference room and have the full attention by having removed them from the potential distractions within their own workspace," he said.

"Now, unless you have a Blackberry embargo, one constantly finds heads down and hands flicking emails back to various co-workers or contacts during your meeting," Austin said.

"While many people are hesitant to actively stand up and leave the room to take a cellphone call, those same people think nothing of a quick email to so-and-so, as it doesn't cause the same disruption," he said.

"It's really annoying when you know people in the meeting are emailing each other."

Even so, it can come in handy.

"I was in one of those deadly, never-ending meetings, so I hit the speed dial on my Blackberry to have it call my cellphone, and left the room to 'take that call,' " Austin said.

"Sometimes, technology can work in your favor as well!"

© 2007 The Record (Bergen Co., NJ)/ Kevin G. Demarrais
Reprinted with permission.

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• Plants remove toxins from the air. These toxins come from a variety of sources, some obvious and some not so obvious. Paint, cleaning chemicals, electronic devices such as printers and copiers and building materials are just a few. The results for workers are not unlike a cold or flu: headaches, runny noses, sneezing and coughing. The answer comes from NASA research that proved plants remove many of these toxins from the air, promoting a healthier and more productive workplace.
• The research findings recommended using at least one plant per 285 square feet; using different varieties, especially leafy plants with more surface area and, if possible, provide a plant within each employee's "breathing space".
• Plants have also been shown to relieve stress. Research carried out by Surrey University showed that plants helped to create a more relaxed atmosphere and eventually led to a 60 percent drop in absenteeism. In other tests, carried out by Washington State University, those people with a plant on their desk showed 12 percent faster reactions and their stress levels were reduced dramatically.
• A well-designed interior plantscape enhances the look and feel of your organization. Visitors sense and interpret a "complete" look when plants are part of the déor. It says you look after the important details and want to create a welcoming experience for the visitor and employees.

Where to start?

The best way to begin is to bring in an expert who can survey your facility and draw up a proposal based on many factors. The two most obvious are design and budget.

Design is a broad term that combines your aesthetic values with the surroundings and visual opportunities. What kind of light exists, what type of plants in what kind of decorative containers should be implemented and how will they complement your décor are just a few of the questions that need to be answered.

Budget seems obvious but there are a few options. How many plants? Where should they be located and how will this affect maintenance costs? Should you choose modest or high-end containers? Your plantscape professional will guide you through this process and help you make the best choices.

No matter how you measure it, a well-designed interior plantscape pays important dividends over time.

Blondie's Treehouse, Inc. is a Mack-Cali Advantage Program preferred provider. The Company provides interior and exterior plant design and maintenance, custom holiday designs and silk installations to clients throughout the tri-state area. For a free price quote, please contact Ann Miller at ann@blondiestreehouse.com or call 914.777.6300.

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