How to Prepare for an Office Move - Step-by-Step Guide
Published by Chris Townsend
Office moves are a particularly delicate type of move because of how much can be impacted if proper protocol isn’t followed. Delays in the move, or damage to your items, can have a severe impact on your business. Any setback could mean potentially pushing back the opening date of your new office.
As such, you need to carefully plan how this move is going to go. To help you with that, we have come up with how to prepare for an office move and a list of essential steps to follow while planning and executing an office move.
Checklist to Plan the Move
Make a moving checklist help for your planned office move so you’ll have something to fall back on if something goes wrong
Office inventory, tossing out non-essentials, forming a relocation committee, making arrangements with interior designers, and contacting cross-country moving firms are just a few of the items that should be on your moving checklist, as stated below:
- Come up with a timeline
The relocation should be arranged based on the crucial dates in the business calendar. Make a mental note of the events as they unfold on the moving timeline. Your present lease's expiration date should also be taken into account.
The property management should be aware of the impending relocation date. Notify all workers and suppliers of the upcoming relocation date.
- Draft a communication plan
Internal communication should provide required information to employees, while external communication should provide required information to customers, clients, and suppliers, ensuring a nonstop operation of your organization while the planning an office move checklist is ongoing.
As the announcement date approaches, interact with employees to gain their feedback. Request comments on each aspect of the move or new office space so you can determine which aspects you can easily handle and incorporate into your moving planning process, such as:
- Workplace essentials such as privacy screens, standing desks, lighting, and so on.
- Changing the seating order after certain employees requested it.
- Replacement of equipment such as cracked screens, faulty keyboards, and so on.
- If there are multiple possibilities, how do they prefer to work
- Disallowances for moving large boxes and assisting with relocation chores
- Recommendations or preferred office design
Communication can be done in a variety of ways, including:
- Through departmental or divisional managers
- Through the company's internal Facebook group
- Through a survey
- Through the company's email
- In a small company, in a direct meeting
Create a system for sending additional information after the initial communication. Your relocation may necessitate sending information every month until the day of the move. Enlist the support of your company's internal communication staff to ensure timely distribution of information (if any).
- Communicate the move
Depending on the size of your office space, you can educate your staff about the big relocation through a town hall presentation, a lengthy email, a short video, or a newsletter part.
Regardless of the approach you use, the announcements should be detailed since people need to know everything. It will be easier for you to arrange each part of your office transfer if you tell them everything they need to know about the relocation.
As you create the announcement, make sure to include any essential items in your job list. If you promise your employees that they will be provided an office relocation checklist before the moving day, for example, you will need to add producing and distributing a checklist to your timeline.
A checklist for your announcement is provided below:
- The date of the relocation
- The new office’s address and name
- Employee roles during the move (if any)
- The reason for the move (this could be in the form of a letter from the company’s executives)
- Any info employees need to know about the upcoming move
- Make an Inventory list
Before you migrate, it's critical to get rid of any workplace goods that won't be useful in the new location. Before transferring, you can donate or destroy goods such as damaged desks and chairs, bookcases, and décor that will not be used in the new office.
You can also trash office papers that you don't intend to use again. Look for organizations to which you can give any extra office equipment or features. When you establish a checklist, you will be able to keep track of each of your belongings as you move.
Before you relocate, make a list of all the firm furniture, assets, and other items that employees are using. Also, make sure you have a physical copy for your records.
- Take the time to inspect the new location before the move
It is critical to pay a visit to the new location where the workplace will be transferred. If the new office walls need to be painted, contact a painting professional to do it before the relocation.
Examine the walls and floors thoroughly and thoroughly. You may also hire a carpenter to deal with concerns like partitioning in the new structure. Make use of this time to plan where electrical outlets, office desks, and cubicles will be placed.
Use this time to figure out where and how much furniture a given location, such as the lobby or reception, can hold.
Optional: Create a relocation committee
It is critical to involve your employees in the relocation process as early as possible. The relocation committee will assist you in planning and executing the event, as well as easing the transfer for the rest of the staff.
Since the move develops, make sure the committee oversees the responsibilities and assignments allotted to each member, as there will be plenty to do. Make sure you assign some to your employees and keep track of each task.
Checklist to Get the Move Started
- Hire a reputable moving company
After taking inventory of your belongings, the first item on your to-do list should be to choose a reliable moving company. Instruct one of your staff to compile a list of five moving companies, which you will then thoroughly research before deciding whom to use.
Before you hire one, acquire many quotations, figure out your budget, and compare their services. If your move budget allows it, you can also employ professional packers.
Because those fragile and bulky items will be handled by experts, the entire packing process will be made easier for you. You might also ask each employee to pack their desks or offices to get rid of things they don't need.
- Review your moving plans with the mover
As the moving day approaches, make sure you stay in touch with your moving company. Make time to sit down with them and go over the furnishings and floor plans. If you wait until the day of the relocation, you will frustrate all parties involved.
Have a walk-through with your staff in the new office space before or on move-in day to show them the new workplaces. Make them feel welcome, and make sure you answer any questions they may have.
- Determine if you have to clean the old space
If your relocation company did not take care of the cleaning, you will have to locate someone to do it for you unless the building management takes care of it.
If you're unsure, ask the building management about it to prevent being charged for not cleaning or cleaning that was unneeded.
- Set up the new space prior to arrival
Other businesses in the area could be impacted by office relocation, particularly if their garages, parking spots, or driveways are temporarily closed during the relocation process.
Even though these spaces will be briefly blocked, proper notification should be sent to the nearby businesses.
Set up utilities like electricity, telephone, gas water, etc… prior to the moving day to make things go more smoothly. Contact your garbage provider as well. Arrange the installation of these services before the move if possible.
Prior to the move day, verify how easy it is to access the intended loading and unloading areas to avoid issues.
You will save a lot of time if you can allow the movers access to elevators, emergency doors, or loading docks. You might need to request access to these facilities from the administration of the building.
- Label all of the boxes with their intended destination
Office movers advise that you label all of the boxes and designate the specific spot where each of them is supposed to go. You are free to use any labeling method you want, so long as the information is properly communicated. For the movers, this will make matching easier.
As an additional step, you can assign numbers or colors to the employees and mark the boxes with labels of the same color or with the same numbers. Each employee's location should be labeled with their number and each part of the office should be tagged with tape that matches the team's color. Employees should be provided a label with their name, color, and number to put on their boxes.
Final Thoughts
Hence, these are the things to consider when moving offices. If you follow the steps of this guide you shouldn’t have any issues relocating your office. If on top of that you plan and execute your move through Three Movers, the whole thing will be over in the blink of an eye.
We have successfully completed countless office moves in the past all across the country. Contact us today if you need your office relocated.
How should I pack for an office move?
Pack everything that is currently in your workspace, including the desk(s), bookcase(s), closet(s), etc. Label both your trash and recycling bins! Before putting something into a moving box, put very little objects like paper clips and loose pens or pencils into envelopes, baggies, or smaller boxes.
How do you announce an office move?
It should be concise and straightforward, describing the new location of the business, the reasons for the transfer, and how and where people can express their comments. Holding a meeting with department heads to brief them and get their feedback on the procedure is a good idea prior to making an announcement.
How do you handle office moves?
To handle the office move, you need to make step by step plan to run a successful and smooth office move such as: developing a timeline, visiting a new office space, making an inventory list and etc.
