MAIN OFFICE OPERATIONSGrowing Pains?

How to avoid the pitfalls and maximize your investment.

If you are planning an expansion or structural change of your Main Office Operations, there are plenty of things to consider. But, like many projects, it’s all in the preparation. So before you do anything, it’s important to solicit input from your management team to ensure everyone has the same goals in mind; analyze your business model to confirm the growth can be supported; and review staffing needs to determine space requirements now and down the line. But this is just the start of an effective expansion plan.

Growing pains are a positive sign, whether the growth is organic or comes from mergers and acquisitions. It means business is good. As stressful as it might be, creating space to meet additional staffing and operational needs can be accomplished by following some simple, time-proven steps.

by James G.

Don’t ignore the elephant in the room

Clutter. Main Office Operations are often clogged with paper. And while the industry is moving toward going paperless, Main Office Operations still must comply with document storage requirements. Even though digitally imaged banking documents are easily

First off, think beyond today… and even tomorrow. The biggest mistake made by those tasked with meeting searchable and accessible to clients via online and mobile banking, not all banks have the time or resources to jump on the paperless bandwagon. But one thing is certain – paper reduction is here to stay. According to a survey conducted by Fidelity National Information Services, some banks even place up to 98% of documents into a shredder once they have been successfully digitally imaged––talk about freeing up space! the space needs for burgeoning Main Office Operations is looking for the quick fix. Taking over a conference room or boardroom is shortsighted. Transforming an office into open space with cubicles to squeeze in more people or moving whole groups to ancillary buildings is tempting, but not a longstanding plan. Though expeditious, these efforts are shortterm at best and really counterproductive to the integrity of your operations. What happens in two years time? Or four? With the next wave of growth, the whole process (and disruption) starts all over again.

What’s more, many buildings are already cluttered with antiquated equipment and other general storage. This causes the same problems as paper clutter.

Dealing with Legacy Structures (and their limitations)

A commonly held fallacy is that a renovation is always more cost beneficial than a new-build.

To be frank, many Main Office Operations buildings show the ravages of time. Some of these older buildings might have environmental issues, electrical wires running all over the place, cramped quarters, and paper everywhere. It’s just not a comfortable or healthy environment… and this will absolutely cut into efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Before beginning any construction, a structural and code review of your existing structure can give you the data to make the right decision Does the current layout still meet your needs or has the integrity of the operation been lost through add-ons and jerry-rigs to handle changing staffing requirements? Does the configuration make jobs easier or worse? Can the layout be reconfigured to meet your growing demands? Is the building run down or does it have environmental issues?

Is it ADA-compliant and up to all building codes? Is the cost for upkeep prohibitive? Will it be more expensive to make the necessary changes rather than to build new?

Doing a Deep Dive into Employee Issues

One final factor in your building plans — the employee. Today it’s not enough to simply make more space. It’s also about making more of the space. Will your new space be ADA-compliant so that you can take advantage of talent that may be differently abled? Is the space well planned so that operations are streamlined and efficient? Is it appealing to the new breed of employees who are looking for an “environmental feel” to their office? Does it have the “well-building” qualities that today’s employees are finding at other retail businesses?

are realizing that staff – no matter the industry – are now looking beyond salary and position and career. They’re looking at how their day is going to be better because of where they work.

Side goals of a renovation, of course, are improved efficiency and cost-savings. The temptation is to simply replace the windows or HVAC in hopes of cutting operation costs, but that can also be short sighted. Other key considerations include whether your expansion plans include adding a wing or additional floors, or moving load bearing supports and walls. These are all factors to be considered before making any decisions to stay in an existing structure or move operations to someplace new. Making a data driven decision will include all the factors above as well as the historic nature or community importance of your building, the price of real estate in the area, the costs involved in bringing an existing structure up to code and the ramifications of write-offs if you choose to move operations to a new location. In all cases, exhaust the potential of your existing site and building FIRST.

“Well building” is a movement that some employers are using as a recruitment tool to attract the best and brightest talent and also to retain quality employees. It goes beyond green building, natural lighting, clean air and water, to create a comfortable setting – a space that feels homey and welcome. It’s all about bringing home into the workplace with different generational areas like exercise rooms, lounges, cafeterias, social areas, downtime areas, meeting areas, etc. Space planners

The bottom line: it takes a systematic and professional approach to help you get the most out of your Main Office Operations expansion. This means analyzing the positives and negatives of your office space as it exists and then adding in the most important variable – the potential gains of your renovation or new-build plans. Partnering with an experienced provider who is knowledgeable in all of the above areas with a proven history of execution can help you get the big picture and maximize your operations investment leaving you to do what you do best….run the bank.

Get the big picture. By charting out the positives, negatives and potential for improvement across several areas, professional space planners can ensure you get the most out of your new space.

James G. Caliendo is a former bank executive and now President and CEO at PWCampbell, a 113 year old design-build and retail services firm. In the past 20 years alone, under Jim’s direction, PWCampbell has worked with over 500 financial institutions influencing millions of square feet of retail and operational space to create engaging, impactful, and scalable solutions for every sized facility project.