Has your business been growing at a steady pace and you can’t decide whether it’s the right time to relocate your office? Yes, moving can expand the business and boost the company’s morale.
However, office relocation can be a risky move, and unless it’s absolutely necessary, there are ways to go about it.
So, before venturing into a bigger office, you might want to consider upgrading your startup office instead. You’d be surprised how utilizing startup office space can do wonders and save you both trouble and serious cash in the process.
5 Things You’d Be Considering While Upgrading Your Startup Office
Read the following advice and get to work!
1. Start with furniture
Developing your business means developing your brand as well. But your credibility, product or service quality aren’t the only things that attract loyal customers.
Part of your brand position is based on the visual impression created by the furniture in your office. But it’s not just about customers. Researchers have found that good office design positively impacts employee engagement as well.
Good furniture is part of this design, but how do you choose the right pieces when upgrading your startup office? The key word here is diversity. This means that you should try and introduce a variety of seating options besides the notorious swivel chair.
Turning to less traditional furniture such as swings, hammocks or going bold with standing desks might have a positive impact on your customers.
If you want to increase employee efficiency, ditch flat surface desks and go for pieces that have cabinets and drawers.
Changing your furniture might reinvent and maximize your space so that moving isn’t necessary. The best part, however, is that it doesn’t have to be costly. On Craigslist, you can outfit your office for less than $500 – give it a try!
2. Amenities matter!
If your office is all about sitting in front of computers with dull coffee breaks, you need to rethink your strategy. In the modern workplace, the amenities game is becoming stronger each day.
We’re slowly moving towards the concept of the so-called ‘smart office’, which will be an employee-centered office that caters to their needs. For example, a simple ping-pong table could change the way your employees interact at work.
Nap spaces, massages or kegerators could also contribute to workplace satisfaction. As you’re upgrading your startup office, you might be lacking space, but there are still features that you can introduce that will work.
For example, free food is something that is easily attainable and which might please your co-workers. On the other hand, high tech perks are currently on the rise. Amenities such as wireless charging are becoming increasingly common and they don’t take up space at all.
If you’re out of ideas, speak to your colleagues. There are many different ways to motivate employees at the workplace, and they know themselves better than you do.
3. Get the most out of your space
Speaking of not having enough office space, there are ways to maximize it. The goal here is to know exactly what you want to accomplish with each square foot. Every bit of space should serve a purpose of some kind.
Otherwise, your whole office is at risk of becoming a universal space for eating, meeting, team collaboration and all else in between. In other words, if you don’t mindfully designate the purpose of each chunk of space, your workplace will be chaotic.
Decluttering is the first step to upgrading your office space, although the more appropriate term would be purging. Getting rid of unnecessary furniture elements and piles of old paperwork will noticeably improve the productivity of your employees. It’s a common fact that clutter in the workplace creates clutter in the mind, so a more organized space is directly linked to productivity.
The best way to envision the new layout is by thinking about how people move around your office. The action of traveling through the space should be relaxing, so excessive elements that cause barriers need to go, as they both literally and figuratively stop the flow of creativity. Only if dejunking doesn’t provide for much-needed space should you consider relocation.
4. Know how your team works
Creating the right space and the right working environment can be a tough call. However, it becomes much easier once you have a good understanding of how your team works.
For example, if you know that your team doesn’t fancy the standard office cubicle style, then it would be best to avoid it. Whenever teamwork is involved, the environment should be open, allowing for the ideas to flow.
Of course, the space layout depends a lot on the nature of the business. For example, programmers or engineers might require private areas and quiet spaces, as opposed to a social media team that thrives in quite the opposite setting.
Sometimes, a mix of workspaces is the best solution, as everyone can switch depending on the mood or the work they are doing.
Moving is exciting but carries a lot of risks too. If you can set up your existing office in a different way, why not set your financial goals towards business growth instead of setting it aside for moving expenses?
5. Don’t move until you have to
In the end, it’s important not to take moving lightly. The beginning stages of a business are extremely important, and every step should be carefully thought through.
Keep in mind that real estate is unbelievably expensive. After all, every dollar you spend on a bigger office could be invested in further growth of the company.
There’s nothing wrong with choosing an office and sticking to it until max capacity. Choosing a larger space early on usually proves to be a waste of money while upgrading your startup office is a much more sensible option.
Read Also:
- The Ultimate Office Supply Checklist for New Small Businesses
- How to Achieve a Safe and Secure Office
- Top 5 Home or Office Security Automation Tools
- How to Find and Design a Wellness-Minded Workspace
- Growing Spaces – Why coworking Spaces Are Perfect for Startups
Author bio: Paige Anderson is a content writer and SEO expert managing blogs in the design industry, and works for many companies such as purpleheartmovinggroup.com. She is especially drawn to office interior design, particularly workplace design. She is interested in helping people become co-creators of their work environment, in this way enhancing their productivity and satisfaction.
