New Year, New Office: Top Reasons To Move To A New Office Space

Get packing your things ready for the new office

January is the time of year when many companies will set new budgets and devise their business plans for the next 12 months, making it the perfect time for fresh starts and opportunities. Nonetheless, this doesn’t just mean expanding your existing product or service offering, or hiring new members of staff; the New Year is also a great time to start thinking of moving to a new office space!

There are many good reasons for choosing to move your business to a new office. These include simply outgrowing your original space, as well as wanting to branch out by opening additional offices to cover more areas of the UK in order to expand your existing client base. In fact, having an office in Cardiff or Newport is ideal if you want to increase your business’s presence in Wales, while choosing a Swindon-based office will mean that you’re conveniently located on the M4 corridor. Because of this, the town is linked to many important towns and cities in the UK, including London, Reading, Bristol, Cardiff, and Swansea.

Even if a lack of space or business expansion isn’t the reason you want to relocate, moving your office to a new location can be beneficial because it can open up more opportunities for your company. This could be by making your office easier for any potential visitors to find and travel to, or by ensuring it’s in closer proximity to other businesses and networking venues in the area.

Re-locating could just be a case of moving from your bedroom to the boardroom. Bronte Cresswell, Director of SheTheSocial, ” I currently work from home running social media pages for clients through my business and I often find I get distracted or lose motivation. Working from home means you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off, you can’t collaborate with work and you have very little accountability aside from what you place on yourself.”

Ready to move to a new location in the New Year? Here’s what you’ll need to consider when choosing a new office space.

Do You Need Bigger Office Space?

“When moving offices, it is essential that you have learned around what space-planning involves and that you have a good idea of how your space is going to be planned out. You will find that a lot of reputable office fit-out companies will offer space planning services completely free, however, you still need to understand how it works to ensure you are happy with your new space.” – Emma Holloway, Office Design Company

If you’re unsure of whether you’re close to outgrowing your current office space and will need to move to a larger one this year, an easy way to determine this is by measuring your existing premises. This is because as an employer, it’s your legal responsibility to provide each member of staff with at least 11 cubic metres (or 40 square feet) of floorspace to work in if the ceiling of the room is under 3.0 metres. (source: Health and Safety Executive)

To check if your office is compliant, you’ll need to divide the total volume of the room by the number of employees that would typically be working in it at one time. If you’re close to reaching the minimum amount of space needed, then it’s definitely time for you to start looking for a new office!

Erin Conrad, of  Telco Solutions says:

“Ensure all data is backed up and that you have all your telecoms, phones, ethernet ready to go in the new office. A few days, or even hours of downtime can affect business and your trading hours – not to mention your bottom line. 

As Ryan Jones, Sales and Marketing Associate for Advanced Commercial Interiors says:

“One of the main reasons companies decide to move offices is because of growth. Let’s say your company started 1 year ago, and has grown from 10 employees to 20. Your office is going to be filled to capacity! So, you need to find a bigger office space. Many start-ups will choose a small office space when they are starting out as it is cheap, but as they grow their office space needs to grow too!”

Kate Hart, Home and Office Relocations Manager at Fantastic Removals says:

“What I learned is that the reason behind 90% of the office moves is either the office space (organizational issues) or the productivity ability of the employees.”

Which Location?

When choosing the best location for an office move, there a number of factors to consider. As well as ensuring your company premises are easy for any potential visitors to travel to for meetings and other business matters, it’s also beneficial to be based in a location with good networking opportunities and support for companies. As an example, there is plenty of support for start-ups and small businesses in Swindon, thanks to the Wiltshire Chamber of Commerce and the Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub. Switch on to Swindon is also a great business initiative that brings Swindon businesses together.

Daniel Fay, from Office Movers  believes:

“Companies are looking for a more flexible space when their leases run out and location is still key but the happiness and contentment of their staff is proving a big driver in what spaces these companies are choosing to move to.”

Another factor to take into account when choosing a new office space is whether there are any nearby facilities for you and your employees to utilise for holding meetings, as well as running errands during lunchbreaks. At Rombourne, each of our serviced offices in Cardiff, Newport, Bristol, and Swindon are conveniently located near the likes of coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, pubs, and retail stores.

As Renae Smith, Director of The Atticism says:

“ Location – I think having an office in a specific location helps you appeal to certain clients.”

Should You Choose A Serviced Office?

Finally, you need to decide whether you’d prefer to manage your own office, or take advantage of the additional benefits of renting a serviced office in a shared building. When you choose a serviced office from Rombourne, not only can you take advantage of our fully-equipped meeting rooms and kitchen facilities, but you will also benefit from having your visitors greeted by an on-site receptionist.

Additionally, we provide our clients with all of the on-going support they need, and our friendly teams across the UK seamlessly combine a professional service with a welcoming atmosphere in our centres.

As serviced offices are a great way for businesses of all sizes to cut costs and reduce downtime, make sure you take this into consideration when choosing a new office space for your business.

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