Watching your business expand is exciting. However, those changes often come with growing pains, like recruitment, new space requirements and on-boarding. Going through a programming exercise is one way you can predict staffing increases and ultimately, accommodate growth more seamlessly.
The first step is performing regular projections. Knowing how you’re growing and performing ahead of time can help businesses adapt to changes in a timely manner. It’s also important to conduct quarterly or monthly reviews of your space utilization. This will help you not only predict when you might run out of space a year or two in advance, but it will also help you determine if your forecasts are still accurate.
While we recommend companies have a back-up real estate plan, we understand that’s not always possible. So, we’ve pulled together some of our tested strategies to help in accommodating rapid growth:
- Use flexible furniture that can be moved and rearranged easily.
- Stay away from private offices when designing your space. They make it harder to open up a floorplan, and reconfiguration typically requires high construction costs.
- Choose the “right” workstation. Start by understanding the type of work you are performing and space you need. Are traditional, enclosed workstations essential, or will benching work for some of your employees?
- Understand the job requirements of your team. Are there employees who could work from home a few days, or do they need to have a permanent space five days a week?
- Don’t sacrifice aesthetics if they are a part of your culture. Having an attractive workspace can be an important tool in recruiting and retaining talent.
As you add new staff, it’s important to also plan ahead. Order furniture early, so it is ready for the employee(s) first day. Be sure to place your order 10 weeks before a person’s start date. However, if construction is also required, you’ll have to begin even earlier. We recommend implementing a design and selecting furniture and equipment that can evolve with you.
