The 10 Best Ways to Prepare for Any Office Relocation

Planning and coordinating an office relocation is no simple task. It can be stressful, time consuming, and tedious. The following ten tips can be applied to any size office relocation to help make the process go as smooth as possible:

1. Plan Ahead: Start collecting bids from moving companies as early as possible and ensure the estimate is provided in person to reduce the risk of unforeseen moving expenses.

2. Keep Employees Informed: By keeping fellow employees in the loop about an impending office relocation, individuals will not be taken off guard when certain tasks must be delegated or when moving crews show up ready to pack.

3. Verify All Movers: Before allowing any moving company to take possession of property, ensure they are legally authorized to do so. Check with state regulatory agencies to ensure the moving company is legitimate, bonded, and insured.

4. Clear Clutter Before the Move: Office knickknacks and personal novelty items might spruce up the office, but they can add unnecessary time to moving day and rob valuable storage space from more important items. A few days before the scheduled move, invite employees to clear their desks of office clutter by storing knickknacks in trunks of cars or simply taking them home until the move is complete.

5. Keep Customers/Clients Informed: Be sure to let regular clients and customers know about the upcoming move so that they are aware that services may be interrupted.

6. Use the Move as an Excuse to Upgrade: If the office has been waiting for upgrades to current office technology, an office relocation is the perfect excuse to acquire some new equipment. Incorporating an upgrade into an office relocation will save the business from having to install old equipment at a new location only to uninstall it a short time later when new equipment arrives.

7. Stick to a Timeline: Early in the planning phase a timeline should be drafted that clearly displays intended deadlines for the different phases of the office move. Businesses should make every effort to remain on schedule or ahead of schedule, which can be done by following the timeline through every step of the move to keep deviations to a minimum.

8. Back Up Sensitive Material: Never allow computers or servers that contain sensitive material out of an office without first ensuring that the sensitive information was backed up and made secure.

9. Conduct an In Person Walk Through of the New Location Ahead of Time: Businesses should ensure that the new property can accommodate regular business activities comfortably and as planned prior to the move in date. This allows any last minute problems that may arise, like plumbing or electrical problems, to be addressed before employees occupy the space.

10. Label Everything: Take a few moments to clearly label the outside of every moving box with its contents and intended destination (floor number, room number, etc.) as soon as it is packed. Not only will this make it easier for moving crews to know where each box goes, but it will make it easy to find specific items if they unexpectedly become necessary before unpacking is complete.

Nobody can guarantee a flawless office relocation, but remembering these few basic tips can help keep a move of any size financially and logistically more manageable.