Your office move needn’t be stressful. If you’re considering moving into pastures new, it should be an exciting and enjoyable experience, not a difficult or overwhelming one. We aim to provide you with all the expertise we can muster, to deliver high quality and bespoke commercial removal services that are perfectly tailored to your business.
Here, we run through some of the most effective tips, tricks and strategies for organising the perfect commercial move.
Hire The Best
The first step in planning your commercial removal is to hire a Move Manager. It’s important to strike a personal and professional relationship with them, as they’re your single point of contact throughout the process and responsible for producing a detailed moving plan that fits your specifications. Through communication, they’ll offer excellent advice, and provide flexibility to achieve the results you’re looking for. Having a dedicated move manager from the earliest stages of your relocation will ease the burden as an employer, eradicating the difficulty of handling a large team during a complicated removal process.
It’s never a bad idea to do your research, so be sure to check online reviews and testimonials for your chosen removal companies, as this will give you an overall idea of who’s best to work with. Look for services that have excellent reviews and have strong success rates, even when handling fragile or breakable items. One or two bad reviews mixed into the good reviews is fairly normal, but if they outnumber the good ones, that’s a sign to be wary.
The Costs
Costs can vary depending on the removal company of your choice, but as a general rule of thumb, you can expect to pay around £0.75-£1.00 per cubic foot of your current property. Again, this is entirely dependent on a couple of key factors; if you’re looking for removals in London or any other major city, for example, you are more likely to pay a higher premium. Having said this, most companies consider the distance travelled as their defining factor. In simple terms, the further you plan to move, the more it will cost you.
To offer some perspective, the average cost of packing for a 3-bedroom house removal in the local area will cost somewhere in the region of £250. This would include the price of packing boxes, as well as the cost of labour for the removal service provided. Most removal companies offer a part or full packing service to help you with the move. The service will include visiting your property before the move and professionally packing your belongings, loading onto the van and unloading. The cost of your move will be determined by the size of the job and distance you intend to travel, so consider the size of your team, what needs moving, what can be left behind and go from there.
Timings
Once you have determined when you will be vacating your existing office, you can then begin to work backwards to establish what important tasks need to be done by when. It’s essential to stay ahead of yourself as much as possible so excellent organisation is a pivotal requirement to ensure your relocation moves without a hitch. Try drawing up a timetable of essential elements to complete by specific set dates as this will help you stay on top of everything, so nothing is left behind.
It’s a good idea to visit the new workplace before moving day to make sure you know how every access point works. For example, do you need a code to open the main gate or door? Are there additional entry points that could be useful for bringing in large items? Giving everything a once over means you won’t experience any delays.
Packing and Labelling
Now you’ve secured your new building, drawn up your timetable, planned your move and got yourself organised, it’s time to start the most laborious stage of the process… packing and labelling.
Unfortunately, most commercial spaces require intense organisation and prep work well in advance of moving. This is why it’s so important to plan and get your timings right. One of the best ways to stay organised and on schedule is to label everything comprehensively (and correctly!). Labelling boxes will save you an unthinkable amount of time, especially when unpacking, as it will ensure you keep track of whose boxes are whose, relieving the stress of unpacking once your move is finally complete.
If everything is packed correctly, with accurate labels and a high degree of organisation, your office will be able to resume work as normal much faster. In the long run, it’s a no brainer. With Essex removals, we can even offer you a strict inventory sheet for all of your belongings, guaranteeing you lose nothing in transit.
We strongly advise you to make the job easier by assigning employees the job of packing their desks and labelling what’s theirs. It is a huge help having your employees pack their desks. Just try to encourage them not to pack everything right at the last minute.
Prepare Early
It’s not always easy preparing for an office move. It can be a struggle to keep everyone focused and attentive, especially on their work, when everything is seemingly changing all around you. It’s important to keep spirits high during the process, to make your move appealing in the eyes of your employees so they’re happy to pack up their desks in good time.
Start by packing the non-essentials first to give yourself a decent headstart. Then, devise a detailed moving plan, with a floor plan of your new property so you can prepare for your move efficiently. Knowing ahead of time where everything is going to go will greatly reduce the stress of unpacking later on. As a general rule, office moves tend to happen over a weekend or out of hours so your staff won’t be there to help. Ask them to do their bit by sorting, organising and tidying their areas such as desks so everything can be neatly packed away. Rubbish and personal items should be sorted so that unwanted belongings are not taking up space in the van and unloading everything will be much quicker.
If you’re fretting about getting everything done, try writing up a crucial checklist of all the essentials you want to be completed. This will help you stay productive during the removal process, as well as keeping you on your toes over any tasks that need to be finalised either ahead of the move, during or after.
Thanks to the expertise and size of our team, at Essex Removals we’re available to complete office removals whenever required. You can count on us to arrive on time, work efficiently and unload all your items at your new location safely, so give us a call the next time you need a removal service you can trust. We can pack your items safely using the highest quality packing materials on the market, transport your belongings from A to B, and handle the unloading on your behalf. If required, we can even keep your items safe and secure at our storage facility until you’re ready to have them unloaded. Contact us today to discuss your office removal in Essex and beyond.
