Moving office is no easy feat and can instead be complex, daunting and exhausting to all involved. This is why you need to plan and prepare for your move well ahead of time and ensure it goes as smoothly as it can. There are many reasons you might be moving office. It could be that you’ve outgrown the space you had previously and are looking to size up your business. Maybe you want to move to a more desirable location, or perhaps you want a building that has different facilities to the one your current office has. No matter the reason, you want to approach it the same – with care, consideration and a great deal of organisation. Keep on reading to find out our top tips that can help you with your office move and make it go as smoothly as possible.

What are some top tips for an office move?

Have renovations finished before you move in

If you’re moving to a new office, it could be that you want to change the layout round to make it more to your taste and needs. Ensure you get the plans drawn up and renovations sorted before you move in. Trying to get work done efficiently while there is painting, decorating, Steel Box Section installations being fitted and carpet being laid is a logistical nightmare! Ensure you leave enough time for delays as well as the actual renovations as things are very likely to crop up that can make it a nightmare if you don’t have any overlap between your two properties!

Create a detailed plan

You want to plan your office move as far in advance as you can. This means you know what will happen when, what to expect and you can ensure your business doesn’t suffer as a result of the move. One of the first things you need to think about while planning the move is the different responsibilities for the team members, so who will do what and where they will need to be. You should create a detailed timeline for everything from when you get the keys, to when work will start and when you anticipate moving in. By having all the tasks you need completed written down, it means you can be ready for this and get as much done as possible. 

Notify stakeholders of your move

You will undoubtedly have a lot of post and things that are delivered to your address as well as clients and suppliers that come to your office. Make sure you notify them with more than enough time, particularly for items that you have delivered well in advance. The last thing you want is to move and have things not turning up as they are still being delivered to your old premises. This can be costly both in terms of time and finances and a nuisance if it’s something you need right away. You also need your employees to know where you are moving to, particularly if it’s a distance away as this can impact their commute. Ensure you’re clear with your communication right from the off to make it as much of a smooth transition as you can. 

Hire a professional company to help you move

Moving is no easy feat and moving offices involves a lot of hard work and to-ing and fro-ing. Because of this, it’s a good idea to get a professional company to help you move. They will be experienced in office relocations and know the best way to pack up all your items, load them, transport them and unpack them. With such a wealth of experience and knowledge in the area you know your items will be safe and secure and you will be able to find what you’re looking for when it is all unpacked. Be sure to check out some of the local companies – you might even know some through work! Check out their reviews before hiring anyone and you’re sure to get a great company to help you out.

Ensure work can continue while the move takes place

One of the worst things for any business is downtime. Any downtime means loss of money for your company and can have a long-lasting impact depending on how long your operations are down for and if you’re completely un-operational. To avoid this from happening and having unhappy customers, or those that give up and go elsewhere, ensure your work can continue while the move takes place. Try and have an overlap on the lease with your old property and your new one so work can carry on. If this isn’t possible, assign a team of people to work from home or other remote locations so they can carry the fort while the move happens. You could warn certain customers and clients what is going on so they understand if things aren’t as smooth as normal, but it’s best to try and keep up a team to ensure standards don’t slip. 

Plan your employee needs

Consider when your employees are going to need to move to the new office. If they are going to be commuting for a lot longer, you could consider giving them some grace time to get to work in the morning, perhaps allowing them to come in 15 minutes later or leave 15 minutes earlier. You should also provide them with packing materials and moving assistance so they can get their belongings moved easily from one office to another. This shouldn’t be coming out of their pocket and they’ll appreciate the assistance with it.

Have a contingency plan in place

You can plan and plan, but there are bound to be things that go wrong with a move. To stop this from being an issue, ensure you have a contingency plan in place that you can rely on. This should address anything that might go wrong with the move, such as delays in the construction or having your utilities set up and what you will do to stop this from being a problem. By doing so, even if things go wrong, it won’t feel so bad as you know what you need to do to prevent it being an issue and fix it in a timely manner.

Find the best time to move and schedule in some down time

As stated above, downtime can be damaging for your company so you want to limit it as much as you can. Try to plan the actual switch over for a time when it will impact your business operations the least. It’s a good idea to plan it for a weekend, evening or over an annual holiday as people are less likely to be doing work those days anyway. You could offer staff an incentive if they help with the move on what should be their day off. Some might want an input and by offering a reward it can be even more of an incentive!

These are just a few top tips you need to consider when it comes to an office move. There are so many things to think about that it can be overwhelming, particularly if left to the last minute. Avoid this by getting everything done sooner rather than later and having a meticulous plan in place that you can refer to. What are some of your top tips for an office move? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you and help to get inspired!