The Hidden Costs of Office Decommissioning
After the pandemic forced workers to dust off or create their home offices, some employees are realizing that they don’t want to go back to the cubicle life.
According to a survey by PwC, 83 percent of employers say the transition to remote work has been successful for their organization, and 55 percent of employees want to continue working from home at least three days a week. As employers prepare for permanent shifts to more flexible workplaces, many are beginning to downsize or decommission their offices — and seeing the hefty price tags that often accompany those processes.
Decommissioning involves returning your space to its original condition, as stipulated by your contract. This may include removing all of your belongings and cleaning the floors. Depending on your lease agreement, failure to do so can result in a heap of unnecessary costs. The fees for your agent and legal support, as well as any deposits you may forfeit to your landlord, are the more overt costs that you probably already know. But the unnecessary costs don’t end there. Here are four costly mistakes that people make when decommissioning an office:
1. They don’t hire professional help.
Between preparing for the transition and keeping their business running, most leaders don’t have the time or capacity to also worry about what will happen to their unwanted equipment and furniture. While they busy themselves with the other steps of the transition, they may leave the furniture removal to the last minute and end up with a wealth of belongings they don’t know how to handle. Instead, a partner like Armstrong Relocation – Houston can develop a custom plan for your move, helping you liquidate or recycle any items you no longer need.
2. They send everything to the landfill.
Up to 8.5 million tons of office assets wind up in landfills every year, according to data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Not only is this an environmental nightmare, it also represents money down the drain. At Armstrong Relocation – Houston, we can maximize the value of your assets by finding them new homes. It’s a win-win solution — you get money back, and landfills save millions of square feet in space. We have the best interests of our clients at heart and will work to offload your unwanted belongings in a way that’s cost-efficient and environmentally-conscious.
3. They disrupt their business while decommissioning their office.
A Udemy survey found that 34 percent of workers like their jobs less when in distracting workplaces. And if you are trying to manage something as big as decommissioning in-house, you are creating plenty of distractions. However, the right outside partner knows how to help you move with as few disruptions as possible so you do not face any losses in revenue or productivity. While your moving team handles the dirty details of your decommissioning, you can focus on your business’s stability and growth during the transition. Our expert team at Armstrong Relocation – Houston can manage all the logistics for you, including providing storage, finding buyers, managing donations, disposing of waste, removing debris and more.
4. They don’t do their research when choosing a partner.
Decommissioning an office in an efficient, cost-effective manner is a science, and you can’t trust just anyone to handle it properly. An inexperienced partner may undervalue your assets or take longer than necessary, ultimately costing you more money in the long run. Our team at Armstrong Relocation has been providing custom solutions since 1922 and has large-scale decommission experience, such as for leading Fortune 500 companies. As an organization with 31 locations across the country, we also have the partner network that this process demands. We’re not here to waste your time or ours. We value efficiency and know-how to get the job done in your time frame.
Are you downsizing or decommissioning your offices? Don’t make any of these common mistakes. Call Armstrong Relocation – Houston today at 281.897.1118 to discuss how you can avoid the hidden costs of office decommissioning!
