During these uncertain economic times many business have been forced to downsize and relocate to commercial property which is often smaller and cheaper.
Alan Whitehead of specialist office relocation management firm, Whitehead Francis Associates, believes that moving to a smaller and cheaper commercial property can often have an adverse effect of a business.
He said: ‘Shrinking staff numbers may well lead businesses to consider a move to smaller premises. But unless they really know what they are doing, that move could be the death of them…Relocating a business is hugely complicated and highly stressful, leading potentially to extremely expensive mistakes being made by ill-informed managers.’
Mr Whitehead feels, perhaps unsurprisingly given his companies function, that companies who bring all relocation decisions in house are the ones likely to suffer. He feels that in order to get the best deal for a business, the opinions of professionals with a good deal of experience in business commercial property relocation should be sought.
Companies must also be realistic in regards to the logistics of moving premises. Alan Whitehead declared: ‘Leave plenty of time for proposals to be developed and for materials and equipment to be ordered and delivered. If you don’t, mistakes will be made, things will go wrong and delays are bound to occur.’
The main thing which organisations do wrong when relocating to a different commercial property, according to Mr Whitehead, is not allowing enough time to correctly mange a smooth relocation process. Relocating commercial is a difficult process and such an upheaval cannot be fully completed in a matter of days. It will take staff a number of weeks to fully settle in their new surroundings.
There are occasions where companies have moved commercial property successfully and kept all relocation operations in house. In order to do this, a solid amount of research and thorough planning must be undertaken. Moving commercial property is definitely not a decision which should be taken lightly.
