How can you identify the best location for a corporate headquarters?

Form a Steering Committee to define what are the strategic objectives of the HQ and how are they ranked in priorities, these could be Access to Market, Access to Talent, Cost Optimisation, Brand, etc.

If you don't need a prestigious element of the best building in the city, take into consideration residential area with good public transport - it will be much cheaper, with less traffic, available parking spaces, bike access and potentially more fresh air. Sounds good?

First question, do you need a physical HQ? Is a better solution a ‘digital HQ’ and a network of physical spaces which plug into it? If you are acquiring a building, which locations will work well for staff? What about transport connections, amenities, suppliers/partners and clients? So many of these searches descend into an ego trip. Don’t make that mistake.

In my opinion, today Dubai is world wide preferred as headquarters. Everyone wants approach to place , ease of doing business, Security , favourable conditions, Taxes , daily expenses, social infrastructure, public transport/ services , etc will help better to decide .

Absolutely, defining clear objectives, performance metrics, and aligning with organizational values are crucial for choosing the best location for a corporate headquarters. This strategic approach ensures that the chosen location supports and enhances your business goals.

Perception versus reality. Look past the superficial state of your current buildings (assuming you have some). How do they actually work in practice and what do people value about them? What can you really afford to commit to and what business changes on the horizon might impact a large commitment to a new space?

In assessing your current situation, for considering locations and drafting a baseline space program, you need data: both hard and soft data. How much space do you have, and how much do you need going fwd? Where is the optimal location logistically? This is an equation of gathering space utilisation data, static and dynamic space density, finding out work styles and preferences of individuals, teams and functions, mapping out current and future (desired) work culture via workshops [office-centric/ hybrid/ remote-first / fully remote]... mapping out where people currently live, and simulating commutes to assess the current vs. optimal HQ location for the majority of in-office workers, assessing what the office will be for, eg. collaboration?

As you'll see in my comment for "step 5, engaging the stakeholders", I beleive that needs to preceed steps 3 and 4. You need to know ehat the stakeholders (customers, partners, employees etc.) need from an HQ and what general areas for locations serve them best, in order to optimise their success. So before diving in to research potential locations, you need to find the right "ballparks" of what makes the best destinations for commuting to and for, and about how much space will be your MVP, if you first know your workplace strategy. Will you be adopting a more distributed workplace strategy, with more than one location or/and with remote-first policies and/or with access to flexspaces in addition to an HQ? > ENGAGEMENT comes BEFORE scouting

Engage a consultant/IPC. Depending on the nature of Business, find out which micro markets would suit from an address point of view. Also a Heat Map analysis can be done to check employee convenience to commute. Depending on the requirement Grade A Building can be identified with all safety compliances etc.

Full financial analysis is very important, but don’t forget the qualitative analysis and things like amenities, accessibility transit, etc. which will better the employee experience coming to and from the office. A system to score both quantitative and qualitative factors helps in the review process.

Indeed, evaluating alternatives through methods like scoring models, decision matrices, or SWOT analysis helps quantify and visualize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of each option. Assigning scores or ratings based on preferences aids in finding the optimal location that aligns with your business objectives while considering potential benefits and risks.

Realistically, I don’t think many large firms will want to run this by committee. And doing false consultations on choice of building is counterproductive. But, you definitely need to engage a good cross section of staff at an early stage, to understand what really is and isn’t valued in the current location/building (if a move). These factors need to be given proper weighting in the process. When it comes to delivering the change, these are always akin to a grieving process (where it’s a longstanding site and there is some attachment to it), so extensive listening and time to work through it are key! Well connected and strong ‘team champions’ make a huge difference, by helping to filter requirements and plan for the practicalities.

Engagement of stakeholders should be at the beginning of step number one not at the end of the process. By the time properties have been toured and financial analysis completed it’s too late to engage the stakeholders. Otherwise, you may have to start the process all over again.

Engaging stakeholders and gathering their input through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or workshops is essential. Understanding perspectives, expectations, and concerns from employees, customers, investors, suppliers, regulators, and communities helps build trust and consensus, contributing to a more informed and well-rounded decision-making process.

I disagree with the AI generated article in this sense, that I beleive stakeholders need to be involved at a much earlier stage than this: you shouldn't be narrowing down your options before you've involved the very people who the whole project is meant to serve. It's not about creating buy-in, because that is created automatically if you survey, interview and engage the management team, change agents, the workforce and various external consultants through co-creation workshops from day one. These should serve as input to the first step, of setting and defining your objectives and targets - and assessing your current state versus desired state. Othewise, you'll just be seen as pretending to engaging the stakeholders. People aren't dumb.

Across Globe , one can evaluate the pros & cons of any market within 60 days . After making decision,present to other stakeholders , take Yes , Hire a good consultant for the area , conclude the deal .

The workplace is a company’s physical, social and digital platform for operating, designed to support successful working. Strategic workplace management begins by joining forces between traditionally separate functions such as Human resources, ITC, Health and Safety, Communications & marketing, Legal & CSR, Finance, and Real Estate. This inter-disciplinary team of experts is typically lead by a Workplace Manager role. Her aim is to ensure that all aspects of the workplace are aligned for optimizing operational excellence. More and more workplaces have begun to adapt flexible or hybrid ways of working. Increasingly, thus the best strategies are adaptive – and that goes for workplaces too.

You may want to check several factors around logistics. This includes access to public transportation, parking space, bike rental, car-sharing, average travel / commute time for employees. The best building and office fit-out might not help, if your employees have to jump several hurdles to get to the office.

When identifying the best location for a corporate headquarters, you can consider factors like accessibility, proximity to target markets, availability of skilled workforce, infrastructure, and cost of living.