How to Move an Office
Office moves can be an exciting time for a business, but they can also be stressful. That stress will probably set in when you realize you have to figure out how to move an office, how to keep everything organized, and how to do it all in a time-efficient manner so that you do not disturb your business.
Heroes Moving & Storage understands all the overwhelming parts that need to be addressed when planning an office move. Our professionals have put together some of the best moving tips they’ve gained over our years of experience. Some key factors of these tips are that you should keep your employees happy and stress-free during this time, plus you should focus on the transitional workflow when moving and remember to take the time to get settled and reorganized in your new space. We have broken down a move into different phases to help keep you calm and organized.
Phase 1: Plan
If possible, you should give yourself and your employees about 6 to 12 months to plan. Here are some steps to follow when planning an office move:
- Pick one area where you will keep the office “to do” items and other important notes that will be needed.
- Organize key and important documentation.
- Announce the move to your employees and speak with them about the move.
- Establish a moving budget, purchasing process, and timeframe.
- Record key details (such as employee headcount and the size of old and new offices.)
- Make two lists – one of what you have and one of what you will need.
- Talk with your team leads and managers to establish a workflow strategy for the transitional period.
- Create an internal moving team. Have employees volunteer to help with the planning, packing services, unpacking, and office decorating.
- Create a different email address that is used solely for move-related questions.
Phase 2: Preparing & Packing
This phase should be about 3 to 6 months before the move. During the second phase, you will be looking for a trustworthy moving company and getting those wheels in motion. Here are some other steps to take during this phase of an office move:
- Ask for recommended vendors – Skip the research and talk to experts that have been in your shoes before. They can help you find a moving company, trucks, boxes, and even cleaning services.
- Secure movers – This can make or break your move, or at least how smoothly it goes. After looking over recommended companies, you’ll want a few questions answered. For example, how flexible are they? Do they charge per job or per hour? What are former customers saying about working with them? Also, do they provide packing and cleaning services?
- Get moving boxes – This may seem like an easy enough task, but it is important to understand that getting the wrong-sized boxes or boxes that are too weak to handle the weight of your items can lead to damaged belongings or even a mess if the box breaks.
- Book and confirm moving trucks – Once you have booked and confirmed your moving trucks, you will want to establish loading and unloading stations with movers.
- Find cleaning services – If the movers you hire don’t offer clean-up services for your old space, then you will want to find someone who does. This is, of course, unless the building handles that.
- Double-check everything – Even the most organized, detail-oriented people can forget things in the craziness of an office move. Take the time to do a few walk-throughs of every space of the office to ensure nothing important is being left behind.
- Downsize – Moving is a great time to sort through the clutter and minimize what will be taking up space in the new office. Take the time to carefully comb through your belongings to make sure everything that is being packed is needed or important. If there is furniture or other equipment that won’t be making the move, then hold a pre-move sale or put it on consignment to help make back some money spent during the move.
- Begin packing – The earlier you start packing, the less overwhelmed you will be as you get closer to our move date. Make a list of everything that needs to be packed and slowly start chipping away at it. You can even leave office instructions for employees to show what kind of documents or equipment should be packed first and last.
- Make sure all your moving volunteers are on the same page – Having committee meetings will keep the move, and everyone involved even more organized. Meetings will also help them work as a unit to take the stress off each other and have a successful move. This is a great time for employees to raise any questions or concerns they might have about the move. Here you can also set and go over the new seating arrangements for the new office and get employee opinions and feedback.
Phase 3: Moving and Organizing
This will take place about 3 months out from the move date to the move date itself. Here is what will need to happen during the third phase:
- Label all your boxes to ensure they go to the proper place in the new office.
- Talk with employees about any last-minute concerns or questions. Make sure they know where they need to be.
- Connect utilities in the new building and disconnect utilities in the old.
- Finish packing everything up, and make sure the absolute necessities are packed last and unpacked first.
- Create a decoration plan for the new space.
- Move everything to the new building.
- Unpack.
- If you are feeling up to it, have an office party to celebrate the new location of your business.
Contact Us Today
If you have any more questions about office relocations, contact us today. Our movers and packers are here to help.