Relocating offices can be a daunting prospect. You’ll have to find the right location for your new offices and also spend time and resources organising the move, making it a potentially costly and time-consuming venture.
However, if your current office no longer fits the bill for the needs of your staff and your business, moving to a new facility will be a huge benefit. Below are some of the signs that you might need to start planning your office relocation.
Your Lease is Due to Expire
If your current lease is due to expire, it could be the perfect time to assess how your business is working in your current offices and whether you need to make any changes. It could even be an opportunity to see if you might be able to get a better deal or more space for your money somewhere else. You’ll need plenty of time for a commercial move, so you’ll want to allow around one to two years to plan the relocation, including finding your new offices and organising logistics.
You Haven’t Got Enough Desk Space
If you haven’t got enough desk space for your team, then it could be time to find bigger premises for your business. It may be that you need to provide more space so people can keep a safe distance from each other and reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19. Or it might be that your team is growing – you might try to squeeze in extra desks in your current offices as you recruit more people, but this will likely result in an unhappy workforce working in cramped conditions. Which leads us to our next sign that it’s time to move offices…
There’s a Reduction in Productivity
A cramped and cluttered office is not conducive to a productive working environment. If you have lots of people trying to work in a small room, you’ll probably have issues with noise, which can be extremely distracting for your employees. Plus, too many people working in a small office will inevitably lead to disorganisation, which can also increase the tension in your team and negatively affect their productivity.
You Don’t Have Enough Storage
When you run out of storage space, you’ll find that your office quickly becomes cluttered and unorganised. Whilst business storage solutions can help, if you have documents and supplies that need to be on site, you’ll need a bigger office to store them in. As well as affecting your employees’ productivity, having a disorganised and messy office will look unprofessional if you have customers visit your office.
You Don’t Have a Break Room
Being able to provide your employees with a break room is important for giving co-workers an opportunity to relax and socialise and increasing their morale. If you don’t have room for a break room in your office, or if the break room you had has now been utilised for an extra meeting room or storage room, it might be time to expand and find a bigger office.
You Have Meeting Room Clashes
As your team grows, you’ll likely have more meetings. You could find there’s increased tension between the co-workers if you have lots of staff all trying to book one meeting room. Productivity could decrease if people aren’t able to hold the meetings they need to do their work, or staff may need to hold meetings around desks, which could be distracting to other people. You might also have to resort to taking clients out to a local café for a meeting, which isn’t always suitable. If you aren’t able to create additional meeting rooms in your current office, you may need to relocate somewhere new.
You Don’t Have Enough Parking
Not having enough parking at your office can be an issue for both your employees and your clients. It might be that you don’t have enough spaces at your current location, or that people have to pay for expensive parking. It might be that your staff have to park a long way away from your office and walk in, which can cause low morale amongst the team. If you have problems with parking, you should think about relocating to an office that has more suitable facilities.
The Location Isn’t Right
The location of your office has to be convenient not only for your employees but also any clients and customers who may need to visit the premises. You may want to move to an office that has better transport links or is more central. This is especially important if you plan on growing your team, as your business will be more attractive to potential recruits if it’s easily accessible.
You Want to Expand Your Team
It might be that your current office has enough space for your current workforce. However, if you want to grow your business and recruit more people, you’ll need more space.
You’ll ideally want to move to a bigger office before you start hiring, so your new starters will be able to start work in their own space and in a calm and organised working environment. You might find new recruits are put off if they have to start working for you in a cramped office. When you’re looking for a new office, think about your plans for the future and how you envision the size of your team.
Your Employees Are Telling You There Isn’t Enough Space
The biggest sign that you don’t have enough space in your current office is when your employees are telling you exactly that. Your staff will be the best measure of whether your office is big enough or in the right location, and if your staff aren’t happy, you’ll likely find that they’re not as productive.
You could try sending an anonymous survey to your employees to find out what they think of the current premises. If many come back to say that there could be improvements, start thinking about finding a more appropriate office for them.
When you know it’s time to relocate, Britannia Movers International is the expert in office removals. Whether you have a business of 5 or 500 employees, we can ensure your office relocation is undertaken safely and professionally. We’ll help to plan your business relocation efficiently so you can carry on with your business with minimal downtime. Contact us to speak to our expert team about how we can help with your office removals.
