Moving an entire office can be daunting. If you find it difficult to plan a residential move, then moving an entire headquarters may be even more of a challenge. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make it all much easier. Here are a few tips to ensure your move goes as smoothly as possible.
Start Planning Early
As soon as you know you’ll be moving office spaces, it’s time to start putting a plan together. You’ll need to think about the following factors:
Budget: Your budget will affect nearly every part of the move, so be realistic and ensure there’s a little wiggle room for surprises. You’ll need to cover moving supplies, such as boxes, a removal company, and transport, as well as assembly and unpacking for everyone at the new office. There may be surprises, so the extra cushion will help you avoid a fright if you end up with extra costs.
Move Date: Set a move date as early as possible. This will allow you to create a timeline and have everything laid out in order. This also gives the other people in the office a bit of warning about when everything will change. However, before you say anything to them, be sure to have all your plans laid out so they can ask questions and you’ll be able to answer easily.
Settling Process: It takes time to move into a new place and this is particularly true when you’re moving dozens or even hundreds of desks, computers, and chairs. You’ll need to set aside a reasonable amount of time to settle everyone in. You may have to bring people in to set everything up, or you can plan to have each employee set up their own space. Removal Company: You should make an appointment with the removal company as soon as possible. Many are completely booked and will need plenty of advance warning to ensure they are ready for you. It’s a good idea to plan at least a couple of months ahead. With your plan in place, you can begin to execute it as the big move gets closer.
Decide the Layout for the New Office
Once you have access to the plans for the new office, it’s a good idea to sit down and figure out exactly how you will lay it out. Where will the desks go? Is there space for a break room? Where will the conference rooms be? All of this should be planned out early on so you can simply move in and start setting up as soon as you are there. With the layout in hand, you’ll know just where to put everything, which means it will be much easier to unpack and set everything up.
Assign Move Managers for Each Section of the Company
Each area of the business should have its own manager for the move. This person will be responsible for dividing up duties and for ensuring everyone has packed up their own items. This can really help make the move go easier. Rather than having one person pack everything for everyone, each person is responsible for their own desk and belongings. They can pack as they see fit but are responsible for securing their belongings. This prevents arguments over possible missing items and helps ensure that there are no problems while you are moving.
How to Find the Best Removals Company
You’ll want a removals company that has the experience necessary to move an office. If you have more than five or six employees, you’ll need to check that they have a large enough lorry to handle everything. For larger offices, they’ll need multiple lorries.
It’s also a good idea to find out what other options the company offers. For example, they may do the packing or the unpacking for you. It will cost extra, but this is a good way to eliminate any stress from the move, by having the removals company handle everything for you. Find out if the removals company has good reviews before you hire them. It’s best if they already know how to move an office, as it can be quite a large job. A removals company without the necessary experience may struggle with moving so many pieces of furniture. However, if they have done this type of removal before, it should go fairly smoothly.
Hold a Final Packing Day
On the day of the move, most people should be given the day off. However, the day before this will be the final packing day and you will need everyone to handle their own packing. If they’ve been working up until this point, there will be last-minute items that need to be put away in a box. Everyone should have their box ready to go and sealed, with their name on it, to avoid any confusion.
Let IT Sort Their Items First
The technical side of things can be particularly confusing and your IT department will need to be the first into the new office. They’ll set everything up for phones and the internet. They should go in before the moving day to prepare the space, even if they can’t connect anything until the moving day. The office won’t usually function without IT up and running, so it’s essential this part of your team get everything going before the other workers move in. You can unpack and set up the desks while they’re working on the tech side of things. This way, when the IT team is ready to connect computers and phones, everything will be ready for them.
Provide Tours
Everyone in the new office should know the procedures in the new office. This means a tour for everyone (do this in smaller groups if there are too many people) around the new place to show them the exits and escape routes. You should point out any emergency information the workers need to know and ensure the rules of the building are well known. Everyone should feel relatively comfortable in the new office by the time they’ve spent a few days there. Part of this is due to being shown around and also from signs and exploration.
Change the Address
When you move to a new location, your old clients will need to know where you are. This isn’t always essential, depending on whether you operate out of the office or have clients coming in. Either way, you will need to update everything to ensure the correct address is on all business cards, publicity, and or social media sites.
Your suppliers will need to know where to send things, so give them some warning to ensure they have time to make the change. This will help you avoid having packages or deliveries going to the old office.
Label Your Boxes
Whether you are packing or the removals company is, it’s important to label every box with the contents and where it should go. You’ll be glad of this information when it comes time to settle the office in. Each box will be pre-marked with which area it is to be in and you can direct the removal company to ensure the boxes are where they should be. From there, you’ll want to assemble a team to handle the unpacking. They should set everything up and have it connected and ready by the time the remaining employees come in.
Moving your entire office is a big undertaking, but with these tips, you’ll find that it is much easier to manage than you thought. The right removals company will help immensely, so it’s important to choose wisely. Now that you’ve moved into your new space, you can begin to get back to normal, or at least as normal as possible.
Are you in search of a quality removals company to look after your move? Dunbar Removals is ready to help you make the transfer. Contact us today for more information.