The office plays an important role in the productivity and efficiency of your business. A smart, attractive office motivates employees. It also impresses visiting clients by reflecting your professionalism.
But what if your office has seen better days? When enhancing the work environment becomes necessary to maintain or improve business performance, you have two choices: renovation or relocation.
The better option for you will depend on a variety of considerations. We’ll be looking at these in this post to help you decide whether to refurbish your office or simply move.
First things first, though, and this means realising when it’s time to relocate or remodel your office.
When It’s Time for an Office Refit or a Move
You may need to overhaul your office or look for new premises for various reasons.
You want to enhance your business brand image
Updating your office can transform the way your business is perceived and boost confidence in your products or services.
Is your current workspace adequately depicting your company ethos? If not, it could be time for a redesign or a move.
You need more space to expand
If your office is becoming overcrowded in your efforts to meet the needs of business growth, you may be able to improve the situation with a more open-plan design to optimise flexibility.
If there’s insufficient room to do this, moving to a larger space could be more cost effective in the long run.
You want to downsize
Moving to a smaller office could save you money in the long term if your employees are increasingly working from home – a growing trend in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, subletting unused space could provide a further stream of revenue, if your lease contract allows this.
Staff morale is declining
If your office hasn’t been upgraded for some time, it can have a negative impact on your employees. They may feel frustrated with working conditions they regard as less than ideal or even inadequate.
A new office refurb or new premises can significantly improve staff morale, while enhancing brand perception among clients.
Your office lease is expiring
If your office lease is coming to an end, it presents the opportunity to think about finding a new location.
This will also avoid the hassle of renegotiating the rental agreement with your landlord.
Making Your Decision
Based on the above considerations, you may decide:
- An office remodel will be more cost effective than relocation, especially if you can renew your lease on competitive terms.
- The existing space is adequate for your business needs, so there’s no need for the upheaval and cost of an office move.
OR
- A new location will better suit your business needs and provide easier access to potential clients.
- Relocation will provide an opportunity for positive change, with more space to grow your business and develop your workforce.
Benefits of Refurbishing Your Office
If your office is just looking a little tired and run down, it may require only a minor makeover to enhance the working environment.
If you’re expanding or re-branding, you may need a more extensive renovation, such as a new, open-plan layout.
Either way, an office refurb brings many benefits when planned, budgeted, and managed properly.
It allows you to revitalise the space and get the advantages of a new office without having to move. And you can incorporate design and layout changes to optimise space and improve work and traffic flow.
Considerations When Refurbishing an Office
When considering an office refit, one important factor is whether you need to organise a business refurbishment loan.
Other questions to ask yourself include:
- Do computers and IT systems need updating?
- Do you need more storage space?
- Is your existing office furniture ergonomic for staff wellbeing.
- Are partitions in the right places?
- Is the lighting adequate?
- Could you make better use of natural light?
- Is the heating, cooling and ventilation system efficient?
- Does carpeting need replacing or will a professional deep-clean suffice?
Benefits of Moving to a New office
While moving to a new office is a challenge, the advantages can outweigh the disruption. When planned carefully, it can be an exhilarating, forward-looking time and bring many benefits for both your business and your staff.
Relocating can:
- Give you a fresh starting point to breathe new life into your business.
- Reinvigorate your workforce and the company’s working culture.
- Allow you to introduce new, innovative ways of working.
- Make it easier to grow your business.
- Give you an opportunity to discover where you could save money.
Considerations When Moving to a New Office
Before moving to a new office, it’s critical to ensure it will meet your current and future business needs.
Once you’ve found the right space, you need to consider:
- How to budget for the relocation.
- How to minimise disruption during the move.
- Whether the new office space needs redesigning to meet your needs.
- Should you keep existing office furniture or sell it and buy new furniture?
- Is this the time to upgrade IT and communications systems?
And don’t forget to tell your clients well in advance that you’re on the move!
To Move or Not to Move?
Whether you start afresh with new premises or stay put and give your existing office a facelift will depend largely on your circumstances.
For example, you may now be able to afford a move to a more prestigious location after all your hard work in building the business.
Or maybe you already have enough office space to cope effectively with expansion, without paying more rent for a new office.
Renovating your office or moving will both incur extra costs. A refurb may appear cheaper but the costs can still be high.
That said, a refurb or relocation can both give your business key benefits that will be worth the expense, including a positive work environment.
In the end, deciding whether to renovate or relocate comes down to whichever suits your business needs better.
