Tips on how to downsize your office space

Thanks to the impact of the coronavirus, many business owners have been forced to rethink the way they run their business on a day-to-day basis. For many, the pandemic has given them a first-hand look at what level of productivity is achievable through remote work. As a result, many are seeing the need to downsize to a smaller and more budget-friendly space.

For those businesses ready to make the move, there are several things to consider before the packing can commence. The tips below can help business owners ease their business into the downsizing process.

Give Employees the Choice to Work from Home

According to a report by BBC, not only do more people want to work from home than ever before, but businesses are also starting to see the benefit of allowing their employees the choice to work from home. While some workers can work from home permanently, others are embracing a hybrid model that incorporates both office work and remote work. These hybrid remote-office models come in various forms, with some companies giving employees the chance to work three weeks of the month from home with the last week of the month in the office.

Other models require employees to be in the office at least one day a week and employees can choose whether to work in the office or to work from home for the other four days. All these models, if implemented correctly, can be viable for businesses that don’t require all their staff to be on the premises five days a week.

Before choosing a new office space, business owners should evaluate how much space they will require if a certain percentage of their staff is working remotely. The staff who are only in the office once a week do not need a dedicated space in the new office.

Choose Smaller, Energy Efficient Hardware

Thanks to advances in technology, desktop computers, and laptops are now more compact than ever, which means they take up less space in an office environment. When looking to downsize an office, upgrading the hardware that the business currently owns could help further decrease the size of the space you will need.

Before a business makes the move to a new office, business owners need to ensure that the property they want to rent has a valid EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report). An EICR report can give renters peace of mind that the electrical circuits in the building are in good condition, that there is no defective electrical work installed, and no risk of electrical shock. This is important if you have a lot of IT equipment, such as on-site servers. Companies such as Trade Facilities Services offer a range of certificate options for domestic, industrial, and commercial buildings so businesses can be assured that, wherever their office space is, they will be covered.

Take Your Business Into the Cloud

One of the biggest consumers of space in an office is the server room that houses a business’s data. By choosing to use a virtual data centre, business owners cannot only open up space in their office, but they can also save money on IT technicians to manage the server.

These are just some ways that businesses can streamline their downsizing process when looking to move into a smaller office space. By following some of these tips, business owners can manage the move more easily which should result in a less stressful situation.

For more information visit the Trade Facilities Services website