You might have just outgrown your current space and you’re looking for a bigger office somewhere in the same town, maybe you’re looking to move the whole firm to somewhere that fits in with your plans and makes you more attractive to overseas clients or investors… whatever your reasoning, you can’t overlook the fact that you need to keep the business ticking over while you move.
The first thing you need to get in order is the whole relocation process. You can’t put a timeline on something this important to the company and you can’t be expected to do it all yourself, so appoint someone as an almost “project manager” to oversee the move and take care of things such as moving the firm department by department, organizing furniture removal via uShip for example and sorting out important factors like the electricity so you can hit the ground running when you move.
You’ll also need to come to a decision on whether or not you’ll be employing any new members of staff when the time comes to make the move. Obviously you’ll have to have personal discussions with your existing staff to let them know about the move and whether or not they’ll be remaining with the firm or whether it’s too far away from their home for them to continue working in the business.
Taking on new members of staff is a difficult enough procedure, but when you’re looking to take on a number of new starters in one go it becomes even more difficult as you have to ensure they all settle in quickly and bond with the existing team members.
Cost is another key consideration, as certain areas cost much more to run a business from and live in than others. If you’re moving from the outskirts of London into the capital itself, you’ll notice a sizable increase in the rates you pay even though you weren’t a million miles away to start with. However, if you were to move from a small industrial estate in the Midlands to the capital there will be such a jump in cost of living that you could find your existing staff choose to remain where they are, so you’ll need to bear that in mind when choosing your location.
