Before relocating to a new business location, you must conduct careful planning and risk assessments to make a move convenient. The risk assessments you conduct should not be limited to financial matters only but also spread across to aspects such as corporate culture. Relocating offices to another city or state must be done with minimal damage to the business operations. What should business owners and executives consider before moving their main base of operations?
Workspace flexibility
Companies with strong corporate culture have flexible work schedules allowing employees to alternate between working at home or the office. Perhaps the current office space catering to the business allows flexibility in terms of office space size and workstations. To make the adjustment convenient, ascertain the policies your new office space enforces. For example, find out if tenants are allowed to use coworking workspaces because they can be used by occasional workers.
There are vibrant and buzzing offices with coworking space Miami beach has to offer. Assess the current amenities and flexibility you have and try to match them before relocating since this can cause friction between employees and management. The main goal when considering workspace flexibility is employee satisfaction with their new offices. Prioritizing employee satisfaction contributes to higher productivity and good customer service.
Costs of living
Relocating to a different city or state might force a portion of your current workforce to look for options to move closer to the new office. Employees moving to a new area will face some problems such as tardiness for the first few days. These minor problems are expected, but long-term issues such as the struggle to meet the local living costs should be considered seriously. Carefully researching local living costs is critical to determine whether the prospective location is good enough for the employees.
Considering local living costs can also clarify whether finding new employees will be challenging or not. If there is no other perfect location to relocate your business, plan for a dynamic workforce with remote workers. Alternatively, reassess the budget to give employees additional financial support in the form of a raise or added employee benefits.
Growth opportunities
Growth opportunities must be part of the relocation plans regardless of the circumstances triggering the move. Whether it is an economic slowdown, different business focus, or other internal company reasons, assess how each prospective location can contribute to business growth. Instead of focusing on short-term results of relocating, visualize growth opportunities over the long run.
Consider vertical growth within your current industry in the form of product expansion or a wider customer pool. On the flip side, assess the disadvantages of each prospective location on business operation growth. You might be surprised to find out that seemingly favorable locations could recede company growth and potentially run it into losses. Alternatively, consider the possibility of tapping into different emerging markets related to your line of business.
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Local corporate landscape
Prevent corporate culture shock! Different locations have varying folkways of doing things. For example, in some cities, you can show up to business meetings wearing jeans and a shirt. In other areas, this is frowned upon and even perceived as a flagrant disregard of the local corporate culture. Visit the prospective locations, get a sense of acceptable corporate cultures locally, and determine if your business would fit in. If not, consider finding a location with like-minded progressive businesses with fitting modernistic corporate culture.
An excellent example of this is Silicon Valley. This location has made a name for itself because it has major tech companies. The corporate culture in this vicinity is very relaxed and flexible, whereas Wall Street is completely opposite. Therefore, find where you fit in best and relocate within that vicinity instead of trying to force yourself into a different setting.
Overhead costs
Finances are the bloodline of all businesses, and lower profit margins impact the potential growth and long-term goals and objectives of the company. With that in mind, it is imperative to assess the difference in overhead costs your business will incur. Some of the overhead costs not commonly considered include taxes, utilities, and supplies.
Will it be harder to source supplies used at the office frequently? What are the overall utility costs in the new location? These are some very important questions to answer before relocation. If you are relocating to a different state, how much will the new taxes cost? Also, think about the shipping and freight charges the business will incur as time goes on compared to what you are paying now.
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