If the time has come to expand your office, there’s a lot of things you’ll need to consider before choosing the right space. For example, will you move to another location or expand your existing property?
It’s vital you do as much planning as possible if you want to ensure the expansion is a success. To help, below you’ll discover the best tips for expanding your office space and the main things to consider.
Assessing the financial implications
Whether you’re opening up an entirely new branch, or moving your office to a larger location, you need to be aware of the full costs involved before you choose the best space.
Don’t just look at the costs of renting or buying the office space either. You also need to consider the running costs, salary costs for any new staff you need to hire, and potential loss of profits if there’s too much competition in the area. Unless you have an in-depth picture of how moving will affect your finances, you could soon find your business failing.
Have a good idea of how much space you actually need
Another important consideration, is how big you need the office to be. This can actually be quite difficult to work out. However, there are tools and resources available to help.
Devono for example, doesn’t just supply offices to rent, it also has an excellent office space calculator. This enables you to work out exactly how much space you need by looking at how many employees you have, whether you need meeting rooms and a reception, how many open plan working spaces you’ll need and whether you need a tea point included.
Understand the legal requirements
One thing that shouldn’t be ignored is the legal requirements you might need to meet during the expansion. Did you know for example, that employees are required to have a set amount of space to work in?
According to Regulation 10 of the Workplace Regulations 1992, when divided by the number of staff you employ, the empty office should measure at least 11 cubic feet. However, this may not be enough space depending upon numerous factors.
It’s worth doing your research to ensure you are following the legal requirements regarding space, otherwise you could end up facing a pretty high fine.
Overall, the above are some of the most important considerations to make when expanding your office. Ignoring the financial and legal aspects can land you in pretty hot water, so always do your research before you decide upon a new office space.