SUCCESSFULOFFICEMOVES
Moving offices can be time-consuming and complex. However, at Active Workplace Group we have 25 years’ experience in ensuring that it is as stress-free as possible. An office move is more than just moving furniture, crates and people. It requires detailed planning and strategic thinking.
Talk to your people
It is important to engage with your people early on and set realistic deadlines. You may consider seeking feedback from your people on what works well in the current workplace and what they would like to change. Active recommends and uses a people survey for this and it always includes wellbeing and commute factors. This is an important tool to inform your workplace strategy and make the workforce feel consulted and considered.
Saying Goodbye
A successful move starts with looking carefully at your current lease. It is important to understand when your current lease expires and whether there is a break clause and how you are obliged to send notice and when. Most office moves need to be formulated at least 12 months prior to physical move. Active has an excellent record for hitting deadlines but we always recommend building in contingency into your timelines and dates; even if there are no hiccups, it removes a bit of pressure from the move. On the relocation projects Active delivers, we ideally would like to be appointed at least 3-6 months prior to the move, but we have learnt to adapt to both short-notice situations and delays. Don’t forget to factor in the timescales and costs of cleaning, dilapidation and other works that may form part of your lease obligations when leaving. At Active we often work on projects that encompass the full spectrum,
Location, location, location
Location is important to your business but also to your people. All the bells and whistles of a new office will make no difference if your current employees are unable to get there. Changing their commute times or moving to a more remote location without public transport links could result in an exodus. Striking the right location balance is key to your move success. Bus, rail, parking and local amenities are all part of the bigger picture that matters.
Sustainability Considerations
Legislation and a moral imperative means that sustainability should now form a crucial consideration in office spaces. Whether you select premises because of these features or build upgrades into your new design, the factors that you should consider in choosing or remodeling a new location might include:
- EV Charging points
- Grade of EPC rating
- Solar Panels
- Efficient and sustainable HVAC
- Green Energy Suppliers
- Recycling & Waste disposal methods
- PIR/LED lighting
- Renewable construction materials for fabric and furniture
- Reuse potential for existing assets
Layouts suited to Flexibility
There is no doubt that hybrid working is here to stay. Clever design in your new office will not only help you to sweat the floor space efficiently but also speaks to talent that demands the ability to flex in the way that they work. You’ll recruit and retain talent in the workplace by providing office space ‘perks’ like gyms, showers and relaxed spaces and you should look for a property that gives you at least some of this or be prepared to build it in. You can make the spaces flexible too, at Active we install a lot of partition walls that can transform multiple intimate spaces into group working areas or function rooms at the click of latch.
Move Champions
At Active we always provide a single point of contact for all our relocation projects, and we recommend that you do something similar. Appointing a project leader and an internal team responsible for the delivery of the move is a crucial success factor. This can be a move or estates manager or in smaller settings an office manager. Then from each department appoint a ‘move champion’ who will be responsible for communicating with their team, being an advocate of the move and ensuring tasks are completed on time.
Budgets
Moving office is a big investment. It is crucial you budget realistically for this and consider all costs which need to be included. In our experience, typical costs include but are not limited to the following:
- Consultancy fees
- IT costs – external IT support
- Legal fees
- Printing and stationary
- People costs. E.g. potential overtime/unsociable hours and training
- Lift engineers
- Building security
- Move management fees
- New furniture/IT installation
- Recycling of redundant furniture
- Office cleaning – deep clean services
- Secure shredding
Embrace the Circular Economy
From both a sustainability and cost perspective it can be really useful to decide what items you’ll keep and move to your new offices. Which items are in each department and their condition? Will you need to order new furniture and or IT? At Active we utilise our network of resale and charitable connections to keep our clients’ assets in the circular economy as far as possible, we also source secondhand furniture for clients who need more but want to be cost or planet sensitive.
Talk to an Expert
An office move may be a once in a working lifetime event for you but at Active we manage them year-round and have done so for 25 years. We have all the necessary expertise to hold your hand, predict the unseen and find solutions to every eventuality – because we have usually seen it all before. Yes, office moves are disruptive and monumental for staff but in our experience, they can be stress-free and successful with careful planning and management.