Following on from our Office Move Timeline, which sets out a 6-month plan of action, we focus on 5 Reasons to Relocate Your Business.
Sometimes, the decision feels out of your hands, but this article may help you see other reasons why an office move could be good for business.
There are many reasons you might consider moving office, what is driving your plans?
1. Your lease is expiring
If the lease on your current office is expiring, you have two options: negotiate new terms to stay or find a new office and move. Sometimes extending your lease isn’t an option, possibly because renewal terms aren’t favourable or because your landlord requires the space back. In these cases, you’ll need to start hunting for new premises.
2. Your business has grown
A growing or diversifying business would typically require more space. This could be for on-site facilities including warehousing and storage. Equally, there may currently be insufficient space for new staff and associated equipment, along with breakout space and facilities.
The Health and Safety Executive website summarises workspace requirements:
“Workrooms should have enough free space to allow people to get to and from workstations and to move within the room, with ease. The number of people who may work in any particular room at any one time will depend not only on the size of the room, but on the space taken up by furniture, fittings, equipment, and the layout of the room. Workrooms, except those where people only work for short periods, should be of sufficient height (from floor to ceiling) over most of the room to enable safe access to workstations.”
In short, if your business has grown too big for the workspace you currently occupy, you’ll need to move.
3. You’ve consolidated
In contrast to the point above, your business may have changed direction and as a result, you require less space for staff and equipment.
In cases, such as changes to workplace policies that promote remote working, your current office may have more space than you require. As a result, you might be paying for space you don’t need or use. So, relocating could be an effective cost-saving measure.
4. Opportunities in a better location
In the days of cloud computing, remote working and collaborative technology, location is considered less critical to business operations. That said, your business may benefit from being closer to customers concentrated in a particular part of the country.
Location isn’t only about being close to your customers, it’s also about making things easy for your staff and operations. Your current location may be ‘in the middle of nowhere’ or it may be in the centre of an increasingly congested city. In either case, a better location could improve logistics and commutes. As such, it might also aid recruitment.
In some locations, businesses can benefit from support programmes or qualify for funding. This could provide the opportunity to scale operations. Are you aware if this is an option in your new location?
5. Your current office is tired
Is it time for an upgrade to inspire your team and better reflect the values and achievements of your business? Relocating to a modern or well-maintained facility can set a positive mindset that energises your team for future success.
When a building is energy efficient or benefits from natural light, it might result in lower running costs. Equally, improved accessibility can benefit employees and customers.
Be aware:
There may be other reasons why you plan to relocate your business, but this is not a decision to take lightly. There are considerable costs and legal requirements involved in moving an office. What’s more, unless it is handled with care, you risk losing employees and customers in the process.
If you are planning an office move and would like a copy of the complete Office Relocation series, or need support with handling the IT infrastructure we can assist. Contact us today to find out more.
