AIBU to close our office?

Look into flex space, I manage a building that provides flexible office space to around 60 other businesses. Contracts start from as little as 3 months and all bills are included, we even have an on-site gym that's free for clients to use. Definitely the way forward for businesses like yours. Just don't go with a big name like Regis.

I’d consult with the people who work in the office regularly. Personally I wouldn’t want a job that was 100% wfh and I also prefer more in person contact during the onboarding process, but these are personal preferences and your team may be different.

I'm a non exec on the board of a company who gave up their office and moved everyone to WFH to save costs due to downturn in business. They're quite a flexible company anyway and some more remote employees did WFH most of the time. It did mean some costs in providing equipment, upgrading wifi and security etc. There was a weekly Teams call for all staff to update on what was happening and discuss work.
Within 6 months the employees petitioned to go back to office working. . Some of the reasons given were young children at home, partner home working causing friction, and several said they missed the social aspect. Two had left as they felt they missed on learning and developing from more experienced colleagues.
We now have a small area in a shared office. It's not great as some of the other tenants aren't very respectful and there are concerns around confidentiality and security. There are complaints that private rooms have to be pre booked yet often lie empty. Sometimes there's only one person in, other times there are more people than desks.
I'd think through all the options carefully and consult with staff quite thoroughly.

I'd have a meeting with the 12 who work in the office and discuss informally the options and ask them their thoughts. If the hardest worker decided to leave because of it, would it impact you by the £40k a year you'd save? Would a smaller premises be a better option? Or would they all be happy to WFH permanently?

I knew of one person who would rather leave than work from home, because her husband didn't want her working at home for a reason we never worked out. But that was her decision to make and she made it.

I've been involved in offices closing, staff being moved across the country and you really have to weigh up the pros and cons of it before you make the decision. Sometimes it is a bigger PITA than you could ever have thought whilst other times everyone was over the moon.

Do off sites instead. We used to do 3 days of an intensive one in a foreign location - where we also had workers. Worked really well. And made a big difference because you got to know people in a way we never would have otherwise.

Could you compromise and hire a smaller office.

I feel like your existing staff may be fine, but training new starters would be a nightmare. You may also lose key staff who prefer to work from an office.

Do it. You'll find you open up a much bigger and better talent-pool when you want to hire more staff as well.

Perhaps float the idea past those who are permanent office staff first? Some may prefer an office base and/or not have somewhere suitable to WFH so it could be a downsize with access to hire a meeting room for when you need more space is better than entirely losing the office. There are also the practicalities of where to keep any physical items e.g. storage also has to be paid for. Could you sublet part of the existing office to offset the cost?

Often, the office is key to how staff perceive the company's identity/base, so something small is better than nothing at all, and getting sales teams together at least monthly with the chance to have a quick word with someone who is office-based face-to-face shouldn't be ignored.

I'm seeing a lot of companies move to serviced offices with options to rent more space as required, but they're not necessarily saving much money overall.

Just check about the alternatives and perhaps set one day a month where an office is available. Also somewhere for interviews etc and a PO Box for correspondence.

Hope somehow the 40k saving can benefit your customers in lower charges.

If your business doesn’t rely on collaboration then it could be a good way to save money. But you need to support managers in developing the skills they need to manage remote workers and recognize that you will probably need increased IT infrastructure and may get staff turnover (may not - some people hate WFH, others love it).

A friend with a family business left his purpose built rented office (5 rooms and a reception/meeting area) and now has a two room set up over a high street shop. His PA (his DW) and him are the only ones in every day. The remaining 7 staff WFH and come in as and when required.

I used to work for a blue chip company that closed the office (was costing £500,000 a year) and then just had meetings at a venue that was hireable. It was fine, although given that we were all WFH, it did impact upon team spirit/productivity, the ability to learn from each other and the social aspect of it. Perhaps an interim step could be smaller premises.

YANBU. Staff will likely be grateful too. I rarely go to the office now. I have a long commute and there is usually only one or two others in when I go.

Bosses are very relaxed about people not going in but want to keep the building. Seems a waste of money to me.