If I have an office with 10-20 agents in the bull pen area, is it given you're going to provide 10-20 PC's and a spot for each agent? Or is it better to have people share desk space, particularly new agents?

Sharing Desk Space:

I have seen problems arise between the agents over "their" desk space.

I have also seen large offices with no assigned desk space of any kind, all desks/work stations equipped with a computer are available to any agent on a first come first serve basis.

While some other large offices, with the agents being independent contractors, have the same work station set-up, but with no desks or chairs for the agents to sit on, other than those in several “conference rooms” reserved for client meetings.

The theory being that most productive work is done outside the office and they don’t want agents just sitting around.

You don't need a spot for each agent in a bullpin. It would be empty most of the time. You might give them a file drawer or something if they want to keep things in the office- but they don't really need anything more than that. Plus leaving anything at the office is a real pain when you are working somewhere else and decide you need it. I have a private office set up complete with computer, printer, files, maps, fully furnished, etc. that agents can use when they meet clients, and with my 8 agents it sits empty 90% of the time.

I agree totally. I thought there might be less physical usage of the cubes; and why pay for empty space! I think I'm going to do first come, first served with assigned drawers. Top producers will get an assigned seat or office. And then as you say, there will be an office that anyone can reserve to meet with clients. The only thing I worry about is the "sweat shop" perception, but again if the desks sit empty 90% of the time...

Addendum:

I asked a broker friend of mine with 60 agents, how he got by with so little parking space for his agents, and his reply was that he has never had more than 12 agents visit the office at one time, and therefore there was never a parking problem.

Before going on my own I was with a company that had given me a desk spot of my own. When we moved in to the computer age I bought my own laptop and had a network connection at that desk. I had access to the internet and company files that were stored on the server. My own files were on my laptop and went home with me at night where I could continue work on them as needed.

As the Assistant Office Manager I was involved in obtaining and arranging more desks for for additional agents. The broker, 2nd level above me, soon decided he would rather have new agents double up on small desks while some full size desks were sitting empty. His reasoning was that the new agents hadn't "earned" a larger desk yet. The agents, both new and old, thought this was a crazy way of not best utilizing the available resources. It had the exact opposite effect from the motivation the broker wanted!

I would NOT work at an office where I did not have my own desk......

I also would not work in an office where I did not get my own desk.

Right now, I have my own private office, desk, bookcase, credenza and two guest chairs.

I spend about 50% of my time in the office, and I want to be comfortable, not scrounging around for a hi-lighter or a pair of scissors that have gone missing because whoever was at my desk last took them and didn't put them back.

Keep in mind that I also work in a market where there are only 33 agents in the entire market, and there are 12 agents in my office, so it's not as much of an issue as it is with places that have hundreds of agents.

I'm curious when you started out new, were you assigned your own cube? Did you get the office later when management figured out that you were more of a producer than a "here today, gone tomorrow" type? As long as people are using the desks and are productive, I have no issue giving them space. But if the desk is sitting empty for extended periods of time, I have to think twice about the resource and its use.

I agree that managing your resources is important, and you don't want to assign a desk to someone who is not producing.

If I ran the place, I'd give full-time agents a desk space and let part-time agents share spaces.

When I first started, I was sharing a desk with another agent, but within a very short amount of time, I moved to an upstairs private office. This was once the owner saw my dedication to a full-time position and that I was actually going to produce.

Here we literally get a desk with phone. I have my own printer, computer, etc. Through the network we have internet access and high speed printer use.