Relocating the Office

Why relocate your business? Maybe you’ve outgrown your current office, you’re in need of a more efficient space, or you’re hoping to save money on lease since folks are working from home now… the reasons are all unique to your situation. We understand it takes courage to ultimately make the decision to relocate, so kudos to taking that leap! And while this decision can be a great thing for your business, it also has its challenges, particularly if you’re trying to balance a busy workload with all the planning that comes with moving an office. 

Say you’ve found the perfect new office for your business, and maybe already signed the contract for the move-in date, but now you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with dealing with the actual move. The emails are still coming in, your phone is still ringing, and you may or may not be dealing with all the other things that come with running staff, inventory, and scheduling. Ah!

CHECK OUT THESE 3 TIPS to making your business move a successfully smooth transition:

TIP #1: Appoint a Move Manager

Planning early and appointing someone, or a moving company representative, to handle the deadlines, task delegation, and layout is extremely important to your bottom line at the end of the day. Depending on the size of your office, you may want to have the office manager handle it, or you may want to ask your chosen moving company to take charge of this to remove the burden from your list.

Getting supplies, or having your moving company drop off boxes ahead of time so that each employee can pack their own desk is a great start. This can be done over time by putting away all the non-essential items that maybe are décor, or things that you just don’t need as part of the necessary workflow each day. Label each of these boxes diligently and set them aside for the movers.

Creating a checklist that works backwards from the move date is a must-have. Download our sample checklist here to get you started. This will show your employees what they should pack and when, what’s happening on the day before the move, and what they should be prepared for on the actual move day. Don’t forget about the plan to get back to business, by coordinating with I.T. and working hours.

TIP #2: Design a Layout

Thinking about the new space, the items that need to be moved, and where they would best suit your office’s workflow is defiantly something you do not want to wait until the last minute to think of. Start with at least a hand drawn map and short list of major furniture that is being moved, its final location, and its electrical needs is an essential task.

Are you an undercover architect lover? You can use this free online tool to help you layout your new office. It’s pretty cool, you can drag and drop, and there’s color coding and a variety of shapes to choose from that accurately represent typical office furniture and electronics. Have some fun while you’re at it!

If you’re not into designing much but you want to collaborate with your staff, you can even use a Google Doc or Google Sheet where you can simply use boxes to represent the items in your office. Adding comments and sharing the file with others to get their input is helpful, as they may think of things you hadn’t considered.

TIP #3: Celebrate the Victory

Uprooting an office is stressful for everyone, including your employees. Budget for a small party or special celebration of the new office move to say “thank you” for everyone’s cooperation in making it happen.

There’s something about the bonding experience of moving together that brings people together. Taking time to pause the workday for few laughs and bring some relaxing vibes back into the space makes it feel less like work and more like family during these times.

Conclusion

You decided to move for a good reason hopefully, and it was a lot of work! But, being prepared, planning ahead, and using our checklist here hopefully helped delegate the process. Knowing that the future of your business and your sanity were maintained by letting someone handle all the moving parts is likely the best decision you could make.