Moving is a stressful and expensive experience, so choosing to move to a new office is not a decision to take lightly.  The move will only be worth the cost if your current office space has reached the point where it is holding your company back from further growth and success.  Here are five signs that it’s time to leave your current space and find a new office.

You Simply Need More Space

If your current office space is feeling cramped, the thought of moving has probably entered your head.  Running out of space is one of the most common reasons businesses move, especially if they anticipate continued growth.

Even if you’ve been hiring at a fast pace, take a moment to assess your current space before starting the hunt for a new one.  Sometimes purging and reorganizing is all you need to open up your office.  Are you holding on to a lot of old physical files?  Digitize all of the information you can, and clear out the unneeded filing cabinets.  Do you have equipment you don’t really need?  If your office needs a printer, but you rarely make copies, you probably don’t need a giant industrial copy machine and printer combo.  Is your office furniture and layout efficiently designed for the space?  Sometimes a little rearranging can open up a surprising amount of floor room.

If you’ve looked at these potential solutions and find that you have simply outgrown your space, it’s time to launch the search for a new office.  When you’re looking at potential offices, keep in mind your company’s long-term growth plans.  Your goal should be to find an office with space that you can grow into while staying within your current budget.  Business.com offers some great advice for finding the right amount of space for your company.

You Can’t Effectively Organize Departments

Even if you have enough physical space in your office, you may still need to move if it is poorly laid out for your needs.  Perhaps one area of your business performed better than expected.  Now you have to expand that department, but there’s not enough space in their current section of the office, so you need to do some shuffling.  If there’s no way to manage this shuffle without splitting departments or moving people to inconvenient areas of the office, it’s time to start looking for a new space.

Some office spaces have awkward layouts even without unexpected department growth.  Perhaps you started renting a space when the business was younger and the affordable rent made up for the fact that one part of the space was located in the basement, another was on the second floor, and the rest was in a strange loft area.  You may have plenty of space for employees and equipment, but if your layout makes it difficult for departments to communicate easily or feel like they are fully connected to the company as a whole, it is probably best to move to a new office.

You Need a Whole New Look

If your office is looking dingy and dated, it could be holding you back.  You may not be eager to bring prospective clients in for meetings when you’re not proud of your space.  A dingy space is also a turn-off for some of the best and brightest job candidates, not to mention your current employees.  Who wants to spend eight hours a day in a worn-down, dull-looking room?

The appearance of your office says a lot about your company.  Employees and clients who see the space will make assumptions about the company’s success, culture, and ability to move with the times.  Sometimes fresh paint, new lighting, and modern furniture is all you need to bring a space out of the doldrums and into a bright new future.  If the needs of your office go beyond a quick and simple face-lift, or if your lease has restrictions on remodeling, it may be more cost-effective to move.

One thing you can’t change about the look of your office is the area surrounding it.  Landscaping, neighboring buildings, road conditions, and neighborhood reputation are all out of your control, but they still affect how clients and employees see your business.  If the area is scaring valuable people away from your office, no amount of remodeling will help.  It’s time to find a new office for your business.

Your Location is Holding You Back

The appearance of your office location is not the only reason to consider a move.  The convenience of your office to target employees and clients could make a huge difference in how well your business can compete in your industry.  

If you are currently located far away from the city and big neighborhoods, your office is probably too inconvenient for potential hires or clients to even consider.  On the other hand, if you’re in the dead center of heavy city traffic, your office could be too stressful to visit or make it to work on time.  Long or heavily trafficked commutes are highly taxing to your employees.  The stress affects their work when they finally make it into the office, if they don’t decide to find a new workplace entirely.  If it’s difficult for employees to get to work, you can also bet that clients won’t be motivated to go out of their way to visit you.

If your current location is hindering your ability to grow, it’s time to find a new space.  Choosing the perfect location for your office requires plenty of planning and research.  You’ll need to consider where most of your target employees and clients are located and search in an area convenient to that location.  You’ll also need to consider how well your industry is performing in the area.  If there are too many competing companies, you may struggle to grow while you fight over the best employees and clients.  If companies in your industry keep failing in the area, it’s probably best to steer clear; there may not be a strong enough client base to support your company’s growth.

Finally, keep in mind nearby amenities when choosing a good office location.  Employees will appreciate being near places like banks and post offices so that they can quickly take care of chores during a lunch break.  Having a variety of restaurants in the area will also make employees happy, and nice restaurants give you more options for entertaining important clients.

You Could Save Money

The most straightforward reason to consider a move to a new office is simply to save money.  It’s worth keeping an eye on rent prices in good locations in case the market changes and you could snag a good deal.  You should also be on the lookout for more affordable rent if you are currently paying extra for office amenities you don’t really use.

If you do find a great deal on office real estate, don’t jump into signing the contract too quickly.  Carefully research the area to make certain it is the right location for you.  You should also calculate the cost savings to ensure that it won’t cost you more to make the move (in both cash and productivity losses) than you will save in the new space. If the price and location are right, start packing your boxes and think about how to use the money you’re saving to help your business grow even more.

Once you’ve moved offices, you will probably need some different furnishings to fit the new space.  You can save some money by purchasing used cubicles and office furniture chosen to be a perfect fit for your brand new office location.

Have you ever needed to move to a new office?  Tell us about your experience!  We’d love to hear why you moved and how it helped your company thrive.