Every move has the potential to be overwhelming, but there are few moving scenarios more stressful than finding yourself in charge of moving offices to a new location. There are so many different elements moving simultaneously that it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
From managing employees and packing to finding a new location and the best moving company possible, there’s a lot on your plate. The team at Junk-a-Haulics has compiled this overarching office relocation checklist so that, if you find yourself put in charge of an office move, you’ll know exactly what to do.
Scheduling
The first, and perhaps most important, step of any successful office move is meticulous planning. As the person in charge of this relocation, you should not only have everything scheduled, but it should all be clearly mapped out so that your employees or coworkers all have a firm understanding of what’s to come and what’s expected of them throughout the move.
Review Your Current Lease
Before you get your heart set on an office move, you should make sure to read the fine print of your current lease. Will you be financially responsible if you move early and break the lease? If so, what’s the penalty? Will you be responsible for any damage conducted throughout the move?
Having a clear understanding of what’s in your current lease is paramount to a successful and strategic office move.
Create a Moving Budget
Once the details of your current lease are understood, documented, and communicated with your team, it’s time to determine your business’s budget for this move. Listing out all of your moving expenses streamlines the entire process. This is important because having a moving budget in place will help you, and your entire team, remove the possibility of overspending.
Having a budget created and shared with your entire team will allow everybody to understand the scope of the upcoming move, from both an internal and financial perspective.
Contact a Moving Company
Once your budget is clearly determined, it’s time to decide who will be helping your team with the big move. While you could task your employees with internally handling the move, that might not be practical for your business. If your team is focused on packing and getting everything ready for moving day, it’s likely some of their important office tasks will fall through the cracks. That is why we advocate using a moving company.
It’s never a good idea to sign with the first movers you meet with. You should meet with multiple moving companies so you can ensure that you’re getting the most useful services for the cheapest price point.
When talking with the potential movers, it is smart to discuss different insurances and protections. They’ll be moving equipment and items imperative to the success of your business, so it may be worth purchasing extra insurance. If something is accidentally broken or damaged throughout the move, you wouldn’t want to be on the hook financially, and you also wouldn’t want to slow down your team’s success in the new space.
It’s not always necessary to purchase additional moving insurance, but it should certainly be discussed with your movers. If your budget allows for the extra insurance, consider it.
Talk with Your New Landlord
Once you’ve finalized the new location you’ll be moving into, you should meet with your new landlord. This is not only a chance for you to get some face time with someone who will be important to your business’s success in its new location, but it’s also an opportunity for you to learn about all rules, policies, and procedures the building has in place.
Of course, this is information you’ll want to be sharing with all of your employees, so everyone has a firm understanding of what the new location’s policies are. You should also finalize your move date and make sure your entire team has it marked on their calendars.
Establish a Moving Team
Not all offices have the resources and labor pool, but if your team is big enough, you should consider establishing a moving team to handle some of the inner workings of the upcoming move.
While you’re in charge of the move, it’s likely you’re still responsible for regular day to day tasks associated with your position. There are only so many hours in the day, so it might not be feasible for you to not only handle your regular job duties, but the move as well.
Rather than letting it all fall on your shoulders, delegate specific tasks to the moving team. This ensures that everyone is helping and that no one person is overworked and stuck handling the entire process.
Planning
Once you have a schedule in place, it’s time to begin planning the specific logistics of your upcoming move.
Create a Floor plan of Your Current Office
This step is often overlooked, but we find it to always be very beneficial. Before you decide what you’ll be taking with you to your new space, create a detailed floor plan of your current office layout. By having every element of your workspace drawn out and labeled, you can begin visualizing what needs to be relocated to the new space and what can be either left in your current office or disposed of.
Create a Floor Plan of Your New Office Space
Working off your current office’s floor plan, create a floor plan for your new workspace. Input everything you plan to keep from your old office into the new floor plan. This will allow you to confirm that everything being moved is necessary and will have a functional place. It will also give you the chance to clearly see what, if any, additional items you’ll need.
Decide What Office Furniture Will Be Moved and What Will Stay
With both floor plans mapped out, you should plan an internal meeting with your team to discuss everything that will be coming with you and what will be disposed of. This is important not only from a perspective of keeping everybody informed, but it also gives the employees a chance to highlight anything you may have overlooked. Everyone has different priorities and things on their plates, so your employees will likely shine a light on something you hadn’t even considered.
Allowing everyone on the team to input their unique perspectives will only make your business stronger internally, as everyone will feel valued, important, and listened to.
The Packing Process
Packing is probably the most intricate part of any office move. It takes a long time and can easily burn someone out. Because of this, we advocate to start packing a little bit at a time, as not to get overwhelmed.
Stock Up on Packing Materials
Before you begin physically packing anything, you should make sure you’re fully supplied with all the packing materials you’ll need. Nothing slows down momentum like having to stop to run to the hardware store. Make sure you have an abundance of different sized moving boxes, packing tape, and labeling materials readily available.
Begin the Packing Process with Plenty of Time to Spare
If you’ve waited until a week before your move to begin packing up your current office, you’ve set yourself, and your entire team, up for a difficult road. You should begin packing far ahead of your moving date.
Of course, there are some elements that require regular daily use within the office that cannot be boxed away weeks in advance, but everything that will not be explicitly needed until your team is settled into their new space can be backed away ahead of time.
By doing this, your team will not need to run around manically at the last minute, making sure everything gets packed away. Prepping your team and having everyone slowly pack up makes everyone less stressed and ensures it’s all done efficiently. Doing a little each day is infinitely better than leaving everything until the last minute.
Make Sure to Fully Label Everything
You might think you’ll be able to remember what’s in each box you’ve packed, but once they’re all put into and taken out of the moving van, all moving boxes start to look the same. If you want your unpacking process to be as seamless and efficient as possible, make sure to clearly label every box.
Create a Detailed List of Everything That Will Be Coming to the New Location
As you pack, keep an itemized list of everything being put in boxes. This may seem tedious, but it is a huge help when it comes time to unpack.
Knowing what’s packed in which box will make the unpacking process a breeze. Having this list will also help you identify if anything has been misplaced or forgotten. Keeping a list of exactly what is in what box is one of the best ways to stay organized once the moving company starts loading their truck up with your boxes.
Communication is Key
As the leader of any business, you know the importance of constant communication with your team. Communication is always imperative, but especially so when dealing with any internal shakeup like an office move.
Make Sure You Don’t Leave the Team in the Dark as to the Plan
You need to make sure that each and every member of your team understands the upcoming moving process. Whether that’s by holding team meetings or speaking with each employee individually, it’s imperative that everyone is on the same page as to the entire moving process.
Constantly See If Others Need Help Throughout the Moving Process
You’ve got a lot on your plate, but so do your employees. As the leader, you should be checking in with everyone frequently. Sincerely offer any assistance you can. This will help raise internal morale and it will ensure a smooth transition into your new space.
Technology
In the twenty-first century, technology isn’t optional; it’s imperative to any business’s success. You’ll need to make sure that all technology is being transferred to your new place seamlessly to yield a smooth transition.
Ensure Your Space Has Phones and Internet Setup Prior to Moving Day
Nothing will hinder your first day in your new space quite like having no access to the internet. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you’ll need to speak with your current provider and make sure that your new office space can have both internet and phone properly installed and ready to go by the time you move in.
Not all telecommunication companies can service all areas equally so, depending on where your new office is located, you very well may need to switch over to a new service provider.
Whether you’re having your current services switched over to your new location or if you’re switching to a new company, you’ll need to review the fine print to make sure you’re not being double charged.
Update Your Website, Google My Business, and Every Other Place Your Old Business Address Showed Up Online
One of the last things to do prior to your big moving day is to update your online information. Make sure that your business’s website reflects your new address.
You’ll also need to update your Google My Business profile to include your new address, phone number, and business hours. Additionally, if your business uses a service like Yext, that will need to have your new information inputted as well. There’s no sense in driving people to an office space where your business is no longer located!
If you follow this office move checklist, you and your entire team should have a smooth, issue-free, and seamless transition into your new office space!
As you go through the relocation process, you are likely to find yourself with an abundance of items you won’t be bringing with you to your new location. If that’s the case, consider contacting the team at Junk-a-Haulics to handle your office space cleanout. We will handle the entire process, from setup to removal and clean up. If you’re interested in learning more about how the Junk-a-Haulics team can help as you plan your office’s relocation! Book an initial consultation appointment today!