Office move checklist

Your Office Relocation Checklist

Relocating your office can be exciting, but you should always prepare properly before relocation. This way, you won't have to deal with unpleasant scenarios and uncertainty. The process of relocating an office can be lengthy and tricky since it involves many moving pieces.

Not only do you have to factor in your workers, but also all of their equipment, as well as all legalese. It's essential to prepare for this to ensure a smooth transition. This article will provide you with a step-by-step office relocation checklist with some important moving tips and ideas for you to follow.

Checklist For Office Relocation

An office relocation is a severe project that requires adequate planning and expertise. Prior to relocating your office to a new site, complete the following process:

Deal with the fundamentals

• Appoint a project manager and a project team for your office relocation.
• Examine your existing lease and determine any early termination fees.
• Establish your criteria and perform any required employee surveys.
• Annalyse your expenditures and establish a budget.
• Set a move office deadline.
• Research the expenses of office relocation firms and office moving insurance.
• Start your search online for office spaces that meet your company's requirements.
• Document your strategy and schedule.
• List, discuss, select your new office, and complete the required papers.
• Reach out to everyone affected by your move.

Communicate with all stakeholders

• Make sure your existing customer records are accurate and up-to-date.
• Do a thorough review of all online and offline information and list things that need to be changed to reflect your new address.
• Inform the post office of your new location.
• Engage with your legal team to update all applicable contracts with your new address.
• Change your address on the internet and on social media sites like Google Business, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Review partner and stakeholder lists to inform them of address changes where necessary.
• Conduct a review of stationery and branding materials to update addresses as required.
• Examine and update all subscriptions for delivery.
• Inform your employees about your plans (including how and if they can participate).
• Give notice to your present landlord or property management.
• Schedule a date for employees to update the address in their email signatures.
• Schedule your preferred office removals company.
• Start figuring out the logistics of moving your office with your IT department so you know what IT tools and devices you'll need.
• Send change-of-address notifications to customers, clients, associates, industry organisations, and media outlets to which you belong or subscribe.
• Tell your internet service provider that you are moving your office and work out a new internet connection with them.
• Tell your phone company that your office is moving, and make any necessary changes to your phone number, phone networks, and cabling.

Coordinate moving logistics

• Take an inventory of your office furniture and decide if you need any new pieces.
• Detail your new workplace layout with a floor plan and specifications.
• Plan your new area with office space and workstation blocks in mind.
• Determine conference rooms and common areas in the new workplace plan.
• When necessary, arrange for external interim storage.
• Plan for the office's stationery and equipment needs.
• Determine any security requirements for the new office.
• Appoint/arrange cleaning and maintenance (for checking out the old office and regular cleaning for the new space).
• On the day of the move, check out and book loading bays or other types of parking.
• Complete all the new contract documentation.
• Check to see if the office and meeting rooms need any new IT equipment and plan for it.
• Check-in with your internet, phone, and other essential service providers to ensure the big day goes well and doesn't have too much downtime.

How To Plan A Successful Office Move

Step One: Identify the purpose of the office relocation

Evaluate the demands of your organisation before committing to a significant relocation. There are several reasons for transferring an office, but understanding those reasons early on can help you develop a more strategic, well-thought-out office relocation plan.

Moving your workplace may enhance employee morale, increase productivity, and provide access to a fresh talent pool. There are copious reasons for relocating an office, but the following are among the most prevalent.

Profitability

Plan for physical expansion as your company grows. Relocating allows you to tailor your office design to your team's needs and your company's ideals. Choosing a new office space that will meet your team's long-term needs is an essential consideration for modern businesses looking to expand.

Attract new customers

Your workplace space is a "shop window" for your business; therefore, it should reflect your values. Having a client-friendly office is vital. Business space may have a lasting impression on employees. Choosing an office in a great spot could give your business a sense of authority and bring in new clients.

Enhance productivity

Consider staff productivity while choosing an office location. Consider work-life balance and health and wellness when choosing a new workplace site to boost productivity and morale. Is there a gym? Are green areas available, and can staff buy lunch or snacks nearby?

Natural light and open floor plans may boost morale and productivity. Relocating a corporate office may increase connections, encourage teams, and boost employee engagement.

Proximity to talent

Your office move might help you recruit a better pool of people to form your company's future leaders. If your office is hard to get to, in an unpleasant region, or in a rural location, exceptional applicants may have trouble seeing themselves working with you. Your office location should be an accessible centre for the next generation of your brilliant employees to help you recruit the appropriate individuals for your future.

Step Two: Develop a plan for your office relocation

A well-organised office move plan is essential for any relocation process. Follow these guidelines while drafting a strategy for workplace relocation:

• Make a timeline for your office move and include deadlines for installing new systems and technology.
• Make sure you know everything there is to know about your new site's IT capabilities, facilities, and utilities.
• Plan your office space and consider what changes might need to be made to workstations, IT infrastructure, and fixtures.
• Consider how your workplace relocation may influence any ongoing initiatives.

Step Three: Adjust costs to fit your budget

Moving offices may be expensive and disruptive in terms of the costs incurred during any downtime. It is essential to determine all potential office relocation costs before establishing a budget. Your office relocation project manager will be able to come up with a reasonable and doable budget.

We've compiled a list of standard moving expenses for you to review to familiarise yourself with potential costs and hidden fees.

• Storage fees
• Insurance
• Service costs
• Refurbishment and interior design fees
• Fees charged by connectivity and communications service providers
• Post redirection
• Rent
• Security deposits and depreciation
• Contract breakage costs
• Administrative expenses
• Security
• Moving companies/relocation providers

Step Four: Develop an office move checklist for the project

A lack of efficiency during an office relocation can result in many problems and substantial damage to your bottom line. It is vital to plan using an office move checklist and consider how the benefits of any new business move might impact your employees, customers, and business bottom line as a whole before putting it into action.

This way, you can avoid any discontent among your employees or negative consequences for your business. Create a detailed project checklist with clear goals and objectives that your project team and employees can easily follow.

Include measurable goals for time frames and cutting down on downtime in your complete and doable work checklist. Plan everything ahead of time and carry out the move with as little downtime and employee disruption as possible.

Step Five: Get your office equipment ready for the move

What do you intend to do with your office's physical equipment when you relocate? If you want to move to cloud computing or currently have a hosted system, you only need to move your desk phones and other endpoints to the new site.

Consider whether it's time for an upgrade or whether it's worth keeping it if you have a comprehensive corporate communication system in place. Think of the following while preparing your office equipment for a move:

• Make a list of the IT and phone equipment you want to move to your new office.
• Find out if all of your assets will work with the IT infrastructure at your new site.
• Consider whether it's time to improve specific components of your communication strategy by moving them to the cloud.
• Think about any upcoming IT/telecom purchases or upgrades and see if they can be done simultaneously as the move.
• Determine what must be done with the voice data in the new system. Will you adopt new technologies and cloud-based solutions?
• Find out how many phone lines you need and tell your phone service provider if you want to keep using their services.
• Decide what you will do with your current phone numbers. If your consumers are already familiar with them, it may be prudent to keep them the same.
• Investigate any potential enhancements that may be available during your relocation. Does increased bandwidth provide new communication options?
• Create backups of any speech or communication data you will be transporting. Cloud storage will guarantee that you can swiftly resume operations after a disruption.

Important Factors When Planning An Office Move

The following items should be included in your workplace moving checklist:

Have a relocation project Manager

Office relocation involves several complex tasks. Your point person must be someone in a position of authority who can get all of your staff on board with the move and ensure that it stays on schedule. Your point person will be responsible for maintaining your office relocation checklist.

They will oversee your move planning team and communicate with them during the relocation. They may also be tasked with distributing duties and tasks to other employees of your organisation and engaging with building management regarding your relocation.

Find out what your workers want

Engage your personnel in the relocation. Ask them about their desires and requirements, and make them know they have been heard. They might have requests about their workstations, how much privacy they will have at their new job, how close they will be to the rest of their co-workers, and other things that might help them adjust.

Design a plan

Your point person must have a comprehensive strategy that the rest of the organisation can follow. This plan or master list should include which tasks are still outstanding, among other moving-related information. Your relocation manager may elect to use a project management tool to simplify the process further.

Things To Avoid When Planning An Office Move

Attempting the move on your own

It may be tempting to save money on an office removals company or manage the project independently, but you must divide the workload. Do not underestimate the magnitude of an office relocation project. Make sure to ask for help and hire a good moving company to do the heavy lifting.

Underestimating your budget

Do not convince yourself that you can save money on the minor details of your office relocation. There is no doubt that it will be expensive. Accept this and leave yourself a little wiggle room so that if things turn out to be more costly, you have a cushion. If they do not, treat your team to something special to help everyone celebrate their new workplace.

Putting everything off until the last minute

Relocation preparations are not something that you should put off. As the saying goes, moving is the most stressful life event we must endure. Moving offices is not without stress, but if you adhere to your time plans and don't jam your logistics at the last minute, your moving day may go more smoothly than you think.

Excluding your employees or clients

Sharing your intentions with your employees and letting them know how they may help can significantly influence their morale. Most of your workforce's support for the office relocation depends on your employees' support. Letting your customers know about your office move early and talking to them about it could help your customer relationships in the long run.

Not paying attention to tiny details

Holding a brainstorming session with the team is the best way to ensure you've thought of everything about the project. Create a list of the general supplies you may need to get, including the following:

• Storage containers of various sizes
• Packaging papers and air cushions
• A packing table or a special packing desk
• Permanent markers and labels
• Air-filled padding

Hire A Reputable Moving Company

Planning and handling your office relocation is an entire project in itself, and you should handle this with tact and a clear strategy to reduce the impact on your business operation. This article has provided detailed information that should guide you in achieving successful office relocations.

However, a job as important as office relocation is best handled by professional removalists with adequate experience and the capacity to deliver on time. It's best to hire a moving company for their efficiency and to keep your business from being interrupted if you want to move your office.