Congratulations! Your business has grown significantly thanks to your hard work and dedication. Now you need to add more members to your team and find an even bigger office space.
Before you sign the contract, here are some questions that will guide you in your hunt to find a new home for your business.
Is the building well-maintained?
Sure, the building may look fine at first glance. There are no exposed wiring, no broken tile, no falling ceiling, and whatnot. However, you will be working in this facility every day for the foreseeable future. You have to make sure that everything is in proper order before you commit.
Here is where building commissioning can help you. You can find professionals in Portland, Oregon who can assess whether all systems within the property (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc.) are working as intended. Once you are ready to renovate, they may also help you improve energy efficiency and employee productivity in the long run.
You should also ask previous and current tenants if the building owner takes good care of the property to make sure that you will have a pleasant experience in it.
Where is it located?
Location is one of the most important aspects of the space that should be considered before you make a decision. Where your business is located can increase your profit and expand your clientele or completely tank the growth you have been enjoying.
More importantly, your office should be somewhere accessible to your staff. It should be easy for your employee to find public transport that will bring them to the building and then back to their homes. If not, they might opt to leave and find employment somewhere that is much closer and more accessible.
In addition, choose a building that has nearby businesses. There should be restaurants where your employees can go out and eat during lunch breaks, bars and cafes where they can unwind at the end of the workweek, and other places that can make working there a lot more exciting.
What facilities does the property offer?
Now, this is where you start inspecting whether this property is the right fit for your business. First, there should be ample space for all of your employees and the activities that you plan to do in this building. Aside from deciding where desks should go, you should also look for areas where you will have the conference room, pantry and dining room, storage, etc.
You should also check whether the space has thick walls. You do not want to deal with noises, whether from outside or within your team, to permeate everywhere. It will be distracting to hear the chatter in the reception while you work or have a meeting, for example.
Outside, are there enough parking areas for everyone in your team, or do they have to walk a couple of blocks away from the office to get to their vehicles at the end of the day? Will you have your own bathroom or do you have to share it with another business? These things should be kept in mind when you finally make a decision.
Of course, you can transform any office to your liking at the end of the day. It is, however, important to get a space that will work well with your business and its culture before you move.
