In November of 2017, HubbleHQ made a BIG move from our former space in Shoreditch to a new space in Angel.
This was a big step for us. Our Shoreditch office was where we grew up for the past three years—from a team of three to a bustling office of 22 people.
We’ve now set up shop at RocketSpace in Angel and are continuing to grow as we head towards 2018. The decision to move office was not taken lightly, as we had to consider many factors. Our big move was both a testament to the success of HubbleHQ and a reminder of the years of hard work and dedication that went into making HubbleHQ what it is today.
Along this journey, we learned a lot.
From one growing startup to another, here’s what we learned about moving office.
Create a timeline
There are a lot of moving parts to think about when planning your move. Take the terms of the contract of your current office into consideration. Set dates for progress and decisions—this will ensure that you are not remaining stagnant in your office search.
Check out the HubbleHQ Office Move Checklist here.
Find what’s most important to your company
Is it the location of the office? Is it the facilities provided? Or is it that you need space with lots of room to grow?
Each company has different needs, and in a different order. The most important is identifying what your company needs MOST.
For HubbleHQ, it was finding a serviced office near our old location in Shoreditch that fit the culture of the company. We’re a tech startup, so for us, working in a fancy, corporate environment didn’t fit our cultural needs. We sent out a survey out to our team to find what was most important to everyone. We wanted to make sure we were including every team member’s opinion as much as possible when choosing an office.
We also needed to consider the legality of moving. In some areas, there are laws restricting employers from moving too far away due to the length of employees’ commutes. Regardless of the legality, you don’t want to lose good talent by moving to an inconvenient location thereby making commutes too long.
Think about the future
Will you be growing significantly in the near future? Will you even be growing from three to 22 desks in the next year?
When looking for an office space, you want to plan for the future year to 1.5 years out, not just the present. Although you might not need space now, if there is any room for growth in the future, consider if the space you’re looking at has ample room available.
Be patient in the search process, but act quickly once you find The One!
Even for us at HubbleHQ, where we deal with office space every day, it took a while to find the proper office that fit all of our needs. Knowing what was out there, we were particularly picky—but doing research on your options is important.
Once we decided on the best option, our perfect office, we acted quickly. There are many other companies looking for similar spaces, so you don’t want to miss out on the right opportunity!
Figure out what you have, what is going to the new office, and what is going in the bin.
Taking inventory of what you have and deciding what’s going to the new office and what’s staying behind is essential. Paying to move things that are going to be thrown out is pointless and wastes valuable space in the van you rent, the boxes you buy, or in the hands of a moving company you pay. It’s also important to make sure that nothing gets forgotten, so create a checklist of inventory to make sure you have everything both at the old and new locations!
Picture yourself in the new office
What amenities are you looking forward to using? Are there set-up costs that you need to consider? Are there fees for redirecting mail? Or are there cancellation charges for your current cleaning service? Try to account for as many of those costs as possible so you’re not blindsided by unexpected costs!
This was something that we could have been better at. For example, we didn’t factor in the costs of redirecting mail. In total, it was £200 per person for the mail to be redirected to our new location. It would have been easier for us to consider these costs beforehand, rather than allocating budget last minute once we realised how expensive our mail-forwarding would be.
Be realistic and prepared to compromise
Depending on the budget you set and amenities you need, you’ll have to be prepared to compromise. Knowing what types of offices are available in the market and what the current supply is is important. These factors fluctuate throughout the year, so sometimes it’s best to talk to the experts (that’s us!)
Get in touch with our tenant advisory team for an overview of the market!
Be transparent and communicate!
People react to change in different ways, so try to keep your employees as informed as possible about the process. This will ease any tensions about moving and will make them feel included in the decision-making process.
Taking these factors into consideration will allow the most stress-free moving process possible. Being organised and planning ahead are both very important. Delegate tasks to different employees so that all of the move is not on just one person’s shoulders.
Once the move is completed, sit back, relax, and enjoy your new space!
At HubbleHQ, we celebrated by going bowling together as a team. We were able to celebrate how HubbleHQ has grown over the years and get to know our team members better.
Looking to make a BIG move as well? Click here to check out all of our offices around London!
