Businesses and organisations move offices for a lot of reasons: expansion, downsizing, getting better market coverage, lease expiration, or even disputes with the building’s rent. Whichever the case, office relocations can be quite challenging and costly, which is why you’d want to have a good grasp of what to do and what to look out for before you make the transition. That said, we’ll be taking a look at questions that would help guide you when relocating your office:
Why Are You Relocating?
The reason behind the relocation should be taken into account when finding a new place to relocate to. If you’re relocating to expand, you’d want to find a larger and preferably more convenient location for your new office that can accommodate additional staff and equipment. If you’re downsizing your operations and need to cut overhead costs, you’d want to look for cheaper and smaller office space. If it’s to get better market coverage, its best to move to a more visible and accessible location. On a related note, if you’re considering expansion, try to determine whether it’s more beneficial to relocate to a bigger office space or if it’s better to open a second branch of your office.
How Much Is It Going to Cost?
Although projecting the estimated total cost of relocation is important, you should also be able to answer the following questions: how much are you willing to spend, and how much can you afford? Moving your office can be very expensive, from getting a new lease, to refurbishing, doing renovations, and the actual hauling and transferring of equipment and furniture, the costs will continuously rack up. That said, you’ll need to consider all the costs to avoid any surprises, set a budget, and stick to it as much as possible.
Who needs to know about the relocation?
Similar to when you move houses, you’d want to update certain people as well as some organisations and businesses that you’ll be relocating. When relocating your office, it’s essential to let your stakeholders (clients, partners, customers, vendors, etc.) of your new location and when you’ll be moving. You may also want to utilise your business/organisation’s social media page and website to post the details of the relocation. Lastly, make sure you update your location in Google Maps, listing sites, and even email signatures/footers.
How to deal with office furnishings?
How you manage your office’s furnishings depend heavily on your office design plans. If you’re transferring to a fully-furnished office, it’s going to be a lot easier for everyone, and you’ll have to deal with the storage or disposal of your old office furnishings. However, if you’re moving into an empty office space that’s yet to be designed, renovated, and filled with office fixtures and equipment, it may be a bit trickier. If you’re expanding and wish to keep your current office fixtures, you’d need to have a design and layout that goes well with your existing office furniture. But if you want to start from scratch and have a sleeker-looking office in London, it’s best to hire a well-reviewed office interior design specialist to help you out with the layout and furniture.
Do I have a good moving plan?
The move should be as fast and as easy as possible. You have to remember that the longer it takes for you to relocate, the more it’s going to cost you in terms of lost productivity. So make a good moving plan that would allow you to streamline the moving process and get your new office up and running as soon as possible. You may want to consider transferring by phase, or perhaps continuing your current operations until the new office is fully renovated and ready for operation before moving.
Conclusion
Relocating offices can be a stressful transition, but if you’re able to answer these questions and have a solid plan, it can be a lot easier. So, if you’re about to move out, make sure that you take all of these into account for a less taxing and more seamless relocation.
