Conducting an Office Move Risk Assessment

If you’re noticing the telltale signs that your current office isn’t fit for purpose, it’s time to start thinking about moving into a new space. But that’s easier said than done. An office move is a major undertaking and one that comes with a considerable amount of risk.

An office move risk assessment can help you identify where some of the major challenges lie so you can think about how you’re going to overcome them. But where should you start? Here’s our guide to conducting a risk assessment for your office move, along with some examples of how you can mitigate these risks.

What is a Risk Assessment?

Risk assessments are a systematic and thorough way to identify the hazards and risks that may occur during an event. During an office move, every part of your company is affected, and a risk assessment should start as soon as you make the decision to move offices. As well as considering things like security challenges and the potential impact on your staff, you should also look at your next office location and what it can provide for your team.

When relocating your business, it’s worth taking the time to perform an office move risk assessment to help you identify the risks and control or eliminate as many of them as possible.

What Areas Need a Risk Assessment When Moving Office?

Your office move risk assessment can be performed by yourself or a key employee and should focus on the following areas:

New office specifications

Before looking for offices online and booking your viewings, think carefully about what it is you need from your new workspace. You may need a larger space for a growing team, or you may have noticed that your target audience is in a specific area of the country. Whatever the reason for your move, you should know what you need before you start looking. We recommend considering:

• How long a deal can you sign? Where do you see your company going in the next 12-24 months? Forecast your headcount and choose the space that you need and can afford.
• How many desks do you want? Consider your current working practices — office-based, hybrid or remote — and think about whether you need a dedicated desk for every person. Think about what kind of office you want, too, be it serviced, coworking or managed.
• Where do you want to be? Where your employees live, how they commute, where your clients are based and the amenities you and your team would like nearby are all important factors to consider. Here’s more on how to choose your business location.
• What’s your budget? It doesn’t matter whether it’s per annum, per month or per desk, having an upper limit in your head will prevent you from overspending. If you’re struggling to find the space you need for your money, changing your location could help your budget stretch further. There are also several hidden costs of moving to consider, which you need to keep in mind before you start searching for your next space.
• What’s your business’s culture? Matching your company’s culture to a location and the right type of office space can reduce the risks and increase your chances of a successful move. For instance, how much collaborative vs. private space should you have? An agile office layout may be better suited to your business than a traditional office layout.

Human resources

An office move is not only a big step for your business, it can also bring a lot of upheaval for your employees. Consulting your team throughout the process and asking for their office location preferences can reduce the risks of losing valuable employees and having to hire and train new staff. Be sure to communicate the office move to your team and even to your clients or customers, and remain transparent so you can answer any questions they may have.

Business operations

If you’re not careful, moving your office location can disrupt your service delivery and, at worst, even lead to a complete shutdown during the transition. Downtime during your office move can reduce productivity and damage relationships with your clients, so it’s worth identifying the risks and taking steps to reduce them. For example, you may look into paying for a flexible office space for your team while your office move takes place.

Flexible offices are ideal in this scenario, as short-term contracts mean you’re not locked into a lengthy lease. Serviced offices, especially, are designed so you have everything you could need in an office, including desks and furniture. The only thing you need to do is plug in and go.

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Technology

Migrating IT and data systems to your new office can be a nightmare, particularly if your business relies heavily on in-house infrastructure. The risks here are multiplied tenfold if you use outdated systems. There are specialist teams who can manage the transition of your IT equipment and systems to the new office to reduce the risk of downtime. The move may also be a good opportunity to upgrade outdated technology.

How to Complete a Relocation Risk Assessment for Your Office Environment

With so many areas to cover and such a large number of risks, you should approach your office move risk assessment systematically through the following steps.

1. Identify the risks
   Be as thorough as you can when thinking about the risks and the different ways they could affect your office move. List the potential threats to your property and data, think about what could go wrong when it comes to your business operations and talk to your staff to determine the risks that may not be obvious to you.
   Working through our moving office checklist can help you identify the risks at every stage of the process.
2. Assess and prioritise the risks
   Next, work through the risks you’ve identified and prioritise them based on the likelihood of them happening and the impact they would have on your budget, your service delivery, your employees and your move.
3. Put preventative measures in place
   Think about the proactive steps you can take to control the risks or remove them entirely. Decide on the preventive action you will take and put contingency plans in place for the risks you can’t control.
4. Implementation
   Finally, record your findings and inform those who could be affected by the risks of the steps you intend to take. Make a team member responsible for implementing each preventative measure and create a timeline for putting them in place.

Moving offices can be stressful and there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it. However, get it right and the benefits of relocation are well worth it. At Knight Frank, we can help you find the perfect flexible workspace for you and your team. Just get in touch with your office space requirements and we’ll do the hard work for you. Plus, our expertise won’t cost you a penny.

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