For businesses, the process of relocating to new office premises is potentially costly, time-consuming and disruptive. That’s why it’s vital to make sure you move into the right premises for your company.
If you’re beguiled by office space that’s bigger, fancier or in a more prestigious location than your business really needs, you could end up paying for your mistake in the form of unnecessarily high rent, for an extended lease period.
Conversely, move into office space that’s too small or lacking in facilities and you could be forced to repeat the relocation process six months or a year down the line. This effectively wastes the money, time and effort involved in your first move.
Here we discuss some of the things you should consider when planning your office space, before you start looking for new office premises.
Assessing your space requirements
There’s a lot to consider when planning out the ideal office space, so it helps to follow a systematic process.
1. Map out your existing use of office space
The first step is to document exactly what space you’re using now and for what purposes. For example, how many employee workstations are there? What IT equipment do you currently house on the premises and how much space is used for storing files and stationery?
Do you have a meeting room and if so, how many does it seat? How big is the table? What about a kitchen for staff – and if you have one, what large appliances and furniture does it include?
Recording the answers to these types of questions can help you establish basic requirements so that you don’t end up moving into new premises where your needs won’t be met. At this stage, it’s helpful to be detailed. For example, you might even choose to measure the dimensions of office furniture that has to be accommodated in new premises.
2. Pin-point the real objectives of moving
Once you know exactly what your current use of office space involves, you and your team can develop a clear idea of what should change or be improved. When doing this, it’s important to consider how your company’s needs are likely to change in the foreseeable future. For example, do you need an extra meeting room, space for additional employees or room for a bigger computer lab?
The objective of your move may be specifically to downsize or cut costs. However, even if it’s not, you shouldn’t focus only on what extra space might be needed. A move is an opportunity to streamline, cutting down on clutter and configuring the work environment for better efficiency and collaboration.
Perhaps it’s time to replace overly bulky, immovable office furniture and heavy partitions with items that are more suited to a modern, collaborative work environment. You might also choose to move archived files or computer equipment offsite, or to clean out unnecessary equipment altogether.
3. Create a detailed requirements list
Once you’ve clarified the goals of moving to new premises and the changes you want to make, it’s time to combine this information with details of your existing use of office space.
As a simple example, if your office already includes 14 workstations and you want to be able to accommodate another six employees, it’s clear how much space you’ll need for workstations at new premises. Similarly, you can detail how much storage space you’ll require based on plans you develop at step 2.
Once you know exactly what your requirements are, you’re in a position to find the perfect office premises. You’ll also have a clearer idea of what will be involved in the relocation process.
To manage costs and ensure that the office relocation process goes as smoothly as possible, it’s a good idea to use the services of professionals.
K-Mark can help with everything from project management to bulk filing solutions and furniture installation at your new office premises.
