The Most Important Things to Consider Before Moving Office
Look Before You Leap
As your business expands, you will ultimately need more space to house your growing company. As tempting as it may be to give up your current lease and begin searching for a new office, it is important to consider possible changes you could make to ensure your current space continues to function well for you.
Think Strategically about Your Space
Before you jump into an office move, it can be valuable to look closely at the space you currently have and consider it strategically.
Strategic thinking in business often only focuses around the company’s product or service as opposed to the business space itself. When companies get their strategy correct, the business grows and this ultimately creates the need for more space. The extra space needed can often be quite reactionary, resulting in an immediate move, which can be hugely disruptive to the company’s overall strategy, leading to huge inefficiencies in many aspects of the business model. Infrastructure, transportation, logistics, management and time can all be challenges that must continue to evolve as a company expands and develops, therefore it is important to apply strategic thinking to every aspect of your business, including its space, as opposed to just the overall business model.
Rearrange Your Space
Evaluating the space you have and rearranging it may be all you need to do to save some money, accommodate more staff or fit more things into your office. Really consider your workspace and get some good space planning done.
Free online software such as Roomstyler can be hugely beneficial when rearranging a room. The software allows you to put in the exact dimensions of your space and add furniture to it, enabling you to virtually plan and remodel your office quickly and easily before you physically move furniture around, saving you a lot of time and effort.
Often it can be as simple as replacing some out-of-date furniture for something more modern that is better aligned with your brand. Scrapping that old Ikea sofa for a sleek corner sofa could really help breathe new life into a tired space.
It can also be helpful to reconsider the work areas you currently have. Does your sales team–who are out of the office 80% of the time—really need a big desk area all to themselves or, worse still, an individual office? Evaluating individual workspaces and making appropriate changes allows you to prioritise space and reallocate it suitably.
Clever space planning and furniture selection can have a huge impact on the numbers of people who can work in a space, and by better use of the square footage, there is often no need to acquire a more expensive office. By renegotiating and reducing any extra space you have, there are savings that can have a direct impact on your bottom line.
Redecorate Your Space
Your office should be an inspiring place to work: what’s around you should inspire and motivate your team to produce their very best work, and to ultimately be more productive. Sometimes all you need is a simple change of interior design to help spark that creativity and inject a breath of fresh air. Something as simple as replacing old wall art or even redecorating and decluttering a neglected desk space can work wonders.
Your office should also be an inspiring and friendly environment for your clients to be in. The space should reflect your brand and, perhaps, your own personal style and tastes. Have fun with decorating your office; it could be a great team-building exercise for everyone to bring in a new item for the office and see how you could really transform the space in an afternoon.
Review Your Lease
Before giving up your office space, it is often worth reviewing leases and terms to see if there is an opportunity to save. Often when reacting to changes in the size of a business, the terms under which a work place are let are heavily geared in favour of the landlord. However, landlords are usually keen to retain good clients and risk losing you as a tenant unless they are flexible to the needs of your business, therefore it is important to consider renegotiating on the terms of your lease to try and secure a better deal for both parties.
Conclusion
Consider how you can make your current office continue to work well for you through being strategic; rationalising and being more creative with your space; or renegotiating on your terms. Making simple but strategic changes to the way your office functions could save you a lot of time and wasted space, whilst renegotiating on current lease terms could ensure you get a better arrangement with your landlord which benefits both participants.
Tinto Architecture, Interiors and You are helping multi-sector clients across Scotland review their space requirements and set out a strategy for growth. We help businesses get the very best from their work spaces through creatively shaping them to align with their company values.
