In these budget-constrained times, we share the five best ways to save money on an office move.

The traditional cost items in an office move are:

  • Project management
  • Interior design
  • Fitout
  • Furniture
  • Appliances and fixtures
  • IT
  • Removals
  • Clearance of your old office

Here are five ways to cut all of these costs:

  1. Negotiate a Contribution from your Landlord

Landlords sometimes pay for part of a fitout such as flooring, or will contribute to the cost of the fitout. Ask about this when negotiating your lease.

  1. Think DIY

Some things you can do in-house to save money on an office move:

The first stages of interior design (specifically the staff consultation phase) can be run internally. Dedicate a wall as a ‘Wailing Wall’ where staff can put up post-it notes of their likes and dislikes about the current office. This allows everyone to help shape the new office and can inform the design brief, avoiding the need for the designer to do time-consuming and expensive staff engagement sessions.

A competent staff member can take the project manager role for small office moves, providing the staff member with the chance to show their skills on a substantial high profile project.

Staff can pack their own things, saving money and encouraging vetting of what is moved, reducing the size of the load and the storage requirement for the new office. Limiting the volume that staff can take with them encourages consolidation and avoids boxes full of junk in your beautiful new office. This can be a fun exercise on the afternoon before the move with pizzas and good team-building as senior managers muck in.

The team-building can continue as removals can also be done by staff; van hire can be surprisingly inexpensive. Remember to arrange the necessary parking permits.

And the IT department can look after the IT transition, saving on expensive contractors who can leave longer term issues that your in-house team have to unravel in the future. Your IT team is not going to cut any corners because they have to live with the consequences.

  1. Remanufacturing Offers Big Furniture Savings

New furniture is very expensive. Remanufacturing brings worn furniture back to as-new condition by reusing the long-life elements, like steel and aluminium frames, combined with new parts. High quality remanufacturers, like Rype Office, can remake furniture so that it is indistinguishable from new in appearance and performance.

Remanufactured furniture costs less than half the list price of new furniture and has an environmental footprint less than a third of new. You can read more about how to halve your office furniture bill and the sustainability benefits of remanufacturing including what is the most sustainable furniture.

Most remanufactured furniture is sourced from the second hand market, but remanufacturing your own existing furniture saves even more – especially when the avoided disposal costs are included.  WRAP estimates that in 2012, 300 tonnes of office furniture went to landfill every working day.

Some remanufacturers can provide assistance with the design of your new office furniture layout, saving on interior design fees for the furniture and furnishings.

Remanufacturers can also pay for your unwanted existing furniture, creating revenue as well as saving on disposal/recycling costs and reducing waste.

  1. Save Money on Contractors

Competitive tendering is recommended to reduce the cost of a build, and a fixed price contract ensures that you don’t pay for cost overruns. Keeping requirements simple will also help you save money on an office move because contractors increase their prices heavily when they do not understand a client’s requirements or they are asked to do something unfamiliar.

  1. Decoration Cost-Savers

Street art is being used to create colourful, unique artwork. We have compiled a collection of fantastic London street art to inspire you.

Companies can also keep in touch with their heritage by displaying historical items in their offices. These can be found (for free) in your cupboards and storerooms and, done well, can create a low cost authentic feel within a new office space.  Examples of items include product prototypes, models, and superseded manufacturing equipment.

Vinyl transfers are a modern, low cost way to add decoration, words and colour to an office.

 

In conclusion, companies are becoming smarter and more resourceful when it comes to moving office, and this is allowing them to save money on an office move.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

The Rype Office team believes that every workspace can and should be attractive, sustainable and lower cost. Rype Office makes this easy by providing more sustainable office furniture, including high quality remanufactured items, and has a design team to help clients create beautiful, productive offices at half the list price of new.