Planning an Office Move: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Office Relocation

They say that moving house is one of the biggest causes of stress in life. But what about moving office? If you do not own business, you have the added stress of ensuring that nothing gets damaged. If it is your business, there is the logistical nightmare of transporting everything you own from point A to point B.

You have to ensure that customer and confidential data is protected. Then there is the technological equipment to transport safely. And you will want to set up quickly at the new location.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Office Relocation

So, the very first thing you should consider is whether to hire a professional office moving company.

Here are just a few reasons why it makes sense to get in the professionals.

Hire professional office removals services

First of all, you have to be very careful if you are going to ask employees to lift heavy office furniture and equipment. What would happen if they hurt themselves whilst carrying a piece of furniture? They might be off sick for months.

Secondly, they may damage an expensive item of equipment, lose vital computer data or damage the building. Is your company going to pay for that?

Commercial office removal companies have business and liability insurance. Their employees are highly trained and skilled in handling and manoeuvring heavy items of furniture.

Finally, office removal services can help you create a step-by-step process and timeline that includes every stage of the office move. And in the right order.

For example, they will know whether to move out technical equipment before office furniture. How best to pack up confidential client documents, plus, they will also have storage facilities.

Designate your moving team

Whether you use a removals company or not, it is a good idea to appoint a team manager to oversee the office move. Depending on how big your office is, assign leaders for each separate department. If you have a small office, it will be down to you.

Assign the tasks to the moving team. Don’t forget common-use areas such as receptions, foyer, toilets and kitchens.

Create your plan and timeline for the office move

Experts suggest starting the planning of a small office move three months before and for medium to large offices at least six months beforehand. It is possible to complete the actual move in a day if you have a small office with minimal equipment.

However, for larger offices, you should expect the move to take several days and carried out in stages.

Step-by-step plan

3–6 months before the move

Check the move in/move out dates. Experts advise closing your business for one or two days and relocating on a weekday. Remember, some office premises do not open over the weekend.

Make a list of contacts that need to inform of the move.

Start archiving old documents and saving data to the cloud or external hard drives.

Discuss how long the move will take and whether you’ll need to book storage. Examine the floor plans of your new office and identify areas such as electrical points.

Have regular meetings with staff to involve them in choosing where they work. Moving can cause anxiety for employees, be sure to include them in every step.

You will want to start designing the layout of the new office so that you’ll know exactly where to direct the moving company on the day.

A month before the move

Use this time to rid the office of unnecessary clutter. Anything that can be recycled should be sorted and put into the appropriate waste bins.

Organise new office stationery with the name and contact details of your new office premises.

Notify customers, suppliers such as cleaners, services such as electricity, phone lines and broadband of the date and new address. It is a good idea to hire a professional cleaning company to come in on the day after the move to provide a deep clean.

One — two weeks

Finalise your moving plan with the removal company. Draw up your timeline and make sure your staff have a copy. Discuss any logistical problems that may come up.

Ask employees to pack their personal items ready for the office move.

Designate a person who will be responsible for handing back the old office keys and taking the new ones.

Confirm the moving date and time with the cleaners. Check your stationery order with the printers.

Day before

Set aside any unwanted furniture or technical equipment for the moving office company. They will have the facilities to donate it to a worthy cause.

Make sure everything is packed, labelled and ready to be transported.

Double-check your staff have copies of the office move timeline plan and confirm the time of the start of the move.

Moving day

On the day, keep to your checklist. Remember your moving company will take the lead, but you can aid them by making sure everything is labelled and packed securely.

Hand the keys back at the end of the move and inspect the premises after the deep clean.

Hopefully, everything should run to plan but remember, any kind of move is stressful. Keep calm and enjoy your new space!