For those employers knee-deep in an office relocation project, uprooting your employees and rebuilding from the ground up is no small feat. Though relocating your team can feel like a pain-staking chore—one that dips into company time and derails top-priority projects—starting over somewhere new can recharge unmotivated employees. Fresh start aside, moving office can also facilitate effective communication, reduced operating costs, and boosted staff morale.
However, the process of moving is not without significant strife. Here is a compilation of the most helpful moving tips for planning your office relocation. These are tips that every employer should consider when moving offices to make the transition as streamlined as possible.
Make arrangements for the company vehicles
When kickstarting your office relocation project, make arrangements for the company vehicles. All too often, employers sidestep this critical step when moving offices. As they sink deeper and deeper into this bottomless ball pit of to-dos, scheduling car shipping services takes a back seat to new leases, budget concerns, and office relocation team complaints.
While you may be thinking that you can move all the onsite vehicles yourself with the help of your employees, depending on how far you are moving, that might not be a feasible option.
Many companies, such as Guardian Auto Transport, can help you move on-site vehicles from one office to another. Leaning on a reputable auto shipping company like this can save you time, money, damages, and frustration.
Because your company vehicles are investments essential for completing day-to-day operations, arriving at a new office with damaged, dented, or dinged vehicles can send any employer into a spiral. Avoid rocky roads by handing over keys to a trusted professional.
Update addresses
When moving offices, informing suppliers and customers about the new location is common knowledge. However, have you considered other finer details that you’ll need to update?
For one, you’ll need to update your websites and modify online listings, business cards, letterheads, social media, and forms. You may even need entirely new service providers, depending on how far you plan to go.
While you likely won’t make these changes pre-move, it is a good idea to list out and pre-order the documents that you’ll need to update. Because some processes can take nearly a month to go through, effective time management is critical.
Keep data safe
Whether you’re kicking it old school with paper files or you’ve gone completely digital with your company’s sensitive information, there’s likely confidential information tucked into every nook and cranny of your office space. Because you run the risk of misplacing items during moves, the chances of security breaches increase tenfold when moving on such a large scale, should this paperwork end up in the wrong hands.
To safeguard against damaged or lost information, be sure to upload all digital data to a cloud server if the hardware is damaged. Additionally, organize all paper documents before the move and compile a catalog of what valuables you’ll need to keep track of during the relocation process.
Hire help
If you’re a busy working professional, you’re likely planning to use a moving company for the big haul. Moving companies are the best option, as they have a ton of experience, possess the proper equipment for moving, and offer damage insurance.
What’s more, a good moving company can help you brainstorm a moving plan. Additionally, these go-getters will be able to help you navigate the moving process from start to finish. Whether they’re packing up the office or helping with set-up, there isn’t a challenge (or bulky furniture item) they can’t conquer.
Talk to your employees
At first glance, you may think that your employees have all their ducks in a row. You might even assume that they’ve discussed relocation matters behind the scenes and are ready to tackle the project head-on. While this hope-for-the-best mentality may suffice in the short term, it’s a risky move not to inform your employees fully.
Be sure to address all employees, not only about the actual moving process and the allotted timeframe but about any new rules or regulations the new location may have. Also, be sure to distribute a complete list of all phone number, email, and fax changes to all current employees. Additionally, a checklist of what each employee is responsible for in the move would considerably smooth out the process.
Start planning early
Perhaps the most important tip for moving offices is to start planning early. Too many employers procrastinate their pre-moving to-dos, forcing them to squeeze relocation checklist items into a seemingly impossible timeframe. To mitigate unnecessary stress and remain cool, calm, and collected, avoid procrastination at all costs.
If you start planning well in advance of the move, you should be able to hire any help you will need, get any questions you have answered, properly inform your employees, and thoroughly clean out the office with minimal hassle.
Wrapping up
While these six tips and tricks make up a fraction of the average office relocation checklist, these steps will put you on the right path to a hassle-free move. As a final piece of advice, remember to take your time. You may feel inclined to rush the process along, but this strategy will only lead to costly mistakes.
