Relocating a business is a costly process. Disruption to operations as well as the sheer expense of the project is causing many business owners to consider other options. Upgrading your current workspace instead of moving is a choice that is becoming more and more popular. In this blog post we’ll discuss the reasons why improving your offices is an option you should consider seriously.
Times have changed for workspaces, and it is indeed possible to increase your workspace whilst operating from the same building. Intelligent workspace design has led to organisations reconsidering their space layout and making savvy choices to enhance the productivity of every square foot of their space.
On average 30% off office space is wasted or underutilised.
Even if your office feels full to bursting, there are often intelligent spatial changes that can be made to free up valuable space and offer you opportunities for growth.
Embracing an analytic approach will enable you to understand what is going on in your workspace and a a workplace survey will give you the evidence you need to make future-proof decisions.
If your lease end is fast approaching, will your landlord negotiate better rates for another term? You’ll be surprised how many landlords will be willing to discuss the rates. Don’t forget that if you move out, they will have to find a new tenant which could be a time consuming process. Consider funding building repairs or upgrades in exchange for a more favourable rate.
Your current office space is presumably working for your people. Changing your location, even by a few streets will cause disruption and potentially increase travel times for your staff. Remaining in your existing location will enable your people to maintain their current travel routines, thereby lessening frustration and disruption. The less your people have to worry about, the more they will concentrate on their daily tasks.
ABW (or Activity Based Working) is a growing trend that has helped many organisations to save valuable office space and enhance productivity. This approach to working matches tasks with the office environment to guarantee maximum efficiency. It requires an in-depth study of your working habits to ascertain the best solution for your business. Once the data is gathered, you are able to build a workspace that exactly matches your every day tasks and activities. This ensures that no office space is wasted with traditional design elements that aren’t going to be best suited to your organisation.
Many traditional boardrooms are unoccupied throughout a working day. Could you free up this space for more valuable purposes, such as individual workspaces or smaller meeting places?
Use an upgrade project as a way to involve your team and get people motivated and enthused. Consider other parts of your office and how a small change could make a big difference. For example, could your washrooms use an upgrade, would a new teapoint be a welcome addition to your space, or is a gym a great way to improve the wellbeing amongst your team members? Upgrading technology is another way in which you can enable your people to become more efficient and allow them to work in alternative locations (instead of having fixed desk locations). If your team are able a more flexible working environment you could reduce the number of desks. (for example if many of your sales team have their own desk but are often out of the office)
Do you have space to enlarge your existing office space? If you have a warehouse or large space, could there be an option to add in an enclosed mezzanine floor or partition off an area of unused space to convert to offices.
Could you rethink your upcoming relocation? There are many opportunities to use a workspace more intelligently. However it is important not to make any decisions without discovering what you actually need. Take an evidence based approach, and carry out a workspace survey to ascertain the facts about your workspace. Find out more about our evidence based approach here.