Business Growth - 5 Tips for Successfully Upsizing to A Bigger Workspace

There comes a time in every company’s journey, when the current workspace is simply too small to fit anymore. You keep trying to make room for new desks, put up some extra shelves in the storage room to fit a few more products, or transform the meeting room into a second lunch area, so your employees can all have a place to eat.

If you made it this far, congratulations! It means your business is thriving and growing, and that can only be a good sign. But upsizing into a new premise can sometimes be downright intimidating. You need to plan everything out way ahead of time, to make sure you are not killing productivity, find the right professionals to help expedite the process, as well as make sure the moving does not put a hole into your budget. The tips below will ensure that you succeed in making the big move, all without losing your sanity or hurting profits.  

Find a good location

Whether you decide to move in a building that is already constructed, or you plan on building everything from the ground, you need to make sure that the location satisfies your business’ needs. Depending on the type of company you are running, you will need to make sure you have enough room to fit all your employees, facilities, storage, and parking.

Make sure you have a clear idea about the space size you need and find a place that is able to accommodate everything. Also, keep in mind that, depending on the nature of your business, you may need to comply with some regulations as well. For example, warehouses or businesses that work with chemical products can’t be located near residential areas, because of pollution and other factors that may affect neighbors. 

Set a moving budget

After finding a location, you need to think of the budget. This depends highly on whether you want to buy or rent the property. If you plan on buying the space, you need to have a much larger budget on the spot, whereas if you want to rent it, you only need a fraction of the money. 

Keep in mind that you will also have to spend money on renovations, new furniture, hiring movers and other hidden costs that may appear. It is recommended that, besides the actual budget, you should also have a cushion budget set aside for unpredicted costs. 

Plan everything ahead of time

Plan the moving at least a few months ahead, to make sure you don’t have to interrupt work and affect clients, employees, or the overall wellbeing of your business. It is recommended that you have at last three months to take care of everything, after finding the building. But that again depends highly on the nature of your business. If you run a software development company, for example, the moving process is going to be far less daunting than if you were to run a manufacturing company.

Create a timeline that involves all the work that needs to be done, up until the moment you are plugin everything in and opening the doors to the new place. Unpredicted events can happen at any time, so do make sure you allow a bit more time than necessary for the big move. 

Hire professionals to help you out

To make things easier, make sure you hire professionals to help you out with everything. You will need to hire someone to handle renovations, a moving company to help bring everything in from the old location, as well as a cleaning company to make everything spotless before you move in.

When looking for professionals, make sure they have all the newest technology, to expedite the process. Yes, they may cost more, but the results will be much better. Also, do take a special interest in the way they handle customer service. As a customer service supervisor at Higher Access explains, making sure you have access to a team of professionals that is willing to no only do their job, but also educate you into what is best for your business is paramount. 

Give your employees notice about the move

Last, but not least, make sure you give your employees notice about the move way ahead of time, so they can prepare for it. Even though they may not need to help with the moving process, they do have to pack and make sure nothing they need is left behind.  

Also, take into consideration that some of your employees may need to make changes in their itinerary if the new headquarters is situated in a different part of the city. They may need to change their commuting route, find new means of transportation, or change their schedule, to come to work in time.