Why Employee Travel Time Analysis Should Be Part of Every Office Relocation Decision

When businesses evaluate a new office location, the focus is often on rent, building quality, amenities, and proximity to transport links.

However, one of the most important factors in determining whether a relocation will be successful is frequently overlooked: the impact on employees' daily journeys to work.

As organisations continue to encourage greater office attendance following the pandemic, understanding how a location affects employee travel times has become a critical business consideration rather than simply an HR issue.

The Commute Matters More Than Ever

The pandemic changed how many people think about work and commuting. Employees became accustomed to greater flexibility and, for many, significantly less travel.

Today, as businesses seek to bring teams together more regularly in the office, employees are placing greater value on their time and the quality of their commute.

A location that adds considerable time, cost, or complexity to an employee's journey can quickly become a source of frustration and dissatisfaction. For employers, this can have consequences that extend far beyond employee wellbeing.

The Hidden Cost of Increased Travel Times

One of the biggest risks associated with a poorly located office is employee attrition.

When commuting becomes more difficult, some employees may decide that the role is no longer right for them. This can be particularly problematic when experienced staff, senior leaders, or specialist employees are affected.

Replacing employees is expensive. Recruitment fees, onboarding, training, lost productivity, and management time can quickly add up. In many cases, the cost of replacing a key employee can exceed several months of salary.

A location decision that negatively impacts even a small percentage of the workforce can ultimately cost far more than any savings achieved through lower rent or occupancy costs.

Protecting Key Talent

Not all employees present the same level of business risk.

Some individuals hold critical knowledge, manage important client relationships, or perform specialist functions that are difficult to replace. Where a relocation significantly increases travel times for these employees, organisations may face a range of financial and operational consequences.

Potential business impacts include:

• Increased recruitment, onboarding, and training costs.
• Loss of key talent and institutional knowledge.
• Additional retention costs to support affected employees.
• Reduced productivity and employee engagement.
• Disruption to operations, projects, and client relationships.
• Potential negative impact on revenue and business performance.

These risks are rarely considered within a traditional property appraisal, yet they can have a significant impact on the overall success of an office relocation. Understanding how key employees are affected before a decision is made enables businesses to identify potential challenges early and incorporate workforce considerations into the wider business case.

Recruitment and Future Growth

Office accessibility does not only affect existing employees—it also influences future recruitment.

The size and quality of the available talent pool is heavily dependent on how easily candidates can reach a workplace.

An office that appears well connected on a map may, in reality, be difficult to access from the areas where potential employees live. Conversely, a location that offers better travel times for a larger proportion of the workforce can improve recruitment prospects and support future growth.

Looking Beyond Distance and Transport Links

One of the most common assumptions in office selection is that being close to a major station automatically means a location is accessible.

In practice, this is not always the case.

Two offices may be only a few miles apart yet produce dramatically different commuting experiences for employees. The number of transport changes, service reliability, walking distances, parking availability, and actual journey times often matter far more than simple proximity to a station.

The only meaningful way to understand accessibility is to analyse travel times from where employees actually live.

Making Better Location Decisions

Employee travel time analysis enables organisations to understand the real-world impact of a proposed office location before a commitment is made.

By analysing travel times across different transport modes and times of day, businesses can identify:

• Which employees benefit from a move.
• Which employees may be adversely affected.
• Potential retention risks.
• The impact on key personnel.
• Recruitment and talent attraction implications.
• The overall accessibility of different office options.

This creates a more complete picture of the true costs and benefits associated with a relocation.

A Smarter Approach to Workplace Strategy

Property costs are important, but for most organisations, people remain their greatest asset and largest expense.

Understanding how a workplace location affects employees allows businesses to make more informed decisions, reduce risk, and support long-term performance.

As office attendance becomes an increasingly important part of business strategy, employee travel time analysis is no longer a nice-to-have exercise. It is a practical tool that helps organisations balance property decisions with workforce realities.

The most successful office decisions are not simply those that reduce occupancy costs or secure a prestigious address. They are the decisions that support employees, strengthen recruitment and retention, minimise operational risk, and enable businesses to perform at their best.

Because the success of an office location should not be measured solely by the building itself, but by how effectively it works for the people who travel there every day.