Moving your office space, or your entire business is no simple task. It’s a big change for any company, but it doesn’t need to be something you’re dreading! Whether you’re downsizing your building or upgrading to a larger space, with the right planning in place, your commercial move can be made nice and simple.
We’ve outlined some of the key steps to consider when it comes to commercial moves, and how you can minimise your stress! To find out which steps you need to take to start preparing for your office relocation, keep on reading our how-to guide!
Pre-Move Planning
Planning is one of the most important steps when it comes to moving a company. While you may want to rush ahead to the other, heavy duty stuff, taking careful consideration and planning your move properly will make a huge difference in the long run!
- Start Early – Don’t leave things to the last minute, especially with an important change like a move. While it may seem daunting to take on your move, procrastination will make you more stressed as time goes on. If you can, starting about 6 months before your moving date will give you plenty of time to organise your team and execute the move seamlessly!
- Budget – Outlining a budget nice and early is one of the best things you can do. Do your research and consider all the relevant parts of your move, so that you can create a serious budget. Once you’ve outlined your budget, this will give you guidance, and a spending limit during the move. Any renovations, moving services, new products, desks, furniture…etc. that you will need in your new place can be factored into your initial budget, keeping you within your spending limit throughout the moving process.
- Inventory Assessment – Another good thing to start early on is an inventory assessment. As an initial part of your move, make a clear inventory list, with all your items clearly noted down. This will make packing, and unpacking much easier when you get to your new space. You can easily keep track of everything you have, pack things in an organised way and unpack with ease when everything is accounted for.
Choose The Right Office Moving Company
When it comes to office relocation, choosing the right team is essential, so that you can have a seamless, stress free move. With tons of moving services around, how can you find the right one?
- Do Your Research – Doing your research will help you out when it comes to finding the perfect moving company for your office. Have a look at the office moving companies around you and read the company’s reviews. Reviews can tell you a lot about a company, including their customer service and values. Don’t be afraid to call up office relocation companies and ask for quotes, so that you can compare prices and make the most informed decision going forward.
- Word Of Mouth – If you receive a recommendation for good commercial movers, definitely check them out. Hearing a recommendation for a company can be a good way to find a legitimate company.
- Be Clear About What You Need – When talking to office relocation companies about your move, be clear about the services you need, and your requirements for the move. These companies will be able to discuss your needs, and work out the best steps going forward. In order to have the most successful move, it’s important to be honest with your office moving company, so that you don’t run into any problems or hidden costs later down the line! You may be looking for packing supplies or temporary storage, so be sure to outline these needs with your movers ahead of time.
- Review Your Contract – When it comes to settling your contract, make sure you read through it thoroughly, to ensure that you are happy with the services and arrangements provided. Once your contract is all sorted, your office moving service will be there to help you with packing materials, temporary storage and moving day!
Prepare Your Team
Preparing your team is also a huge part of the moving process, and there are a range of ways you can include your team to help you with various parts of your move.
- Keep Everyone In The Loop – First and foremost, telling your team in a reasonable amount of time is crucial. People may need to make new commuting arrangements, or want to move closer to the new location. In order to make arrangements in enough time, your team needs to be made aware of the office relocation as soon as possible. As soon as you’ve found your new office space, and things are starting to move forward, it’s a good idea to let your team know.
- Delegating Tasks – Taking on a move all by yourself can be pretty stressful, but with the support of your team, things can be done more quickly and with less stress. You can delegate smaller tasks out to your team, not only to help move things along, but to keep them in the loop too. You might want to leave packing up desks and personal items to your team, as well as backing up files and other tasks.
- Training & Briefing – If your new space is completely different to your old one, you may want to give your team a run down of the differences they should expect. As well as a run down of safety protocols and any new information that should be known about the new building.
Packing & Organising
Packing up can be a bit of an emotional time, especially if you’ve been in your building for a while. Or, you might be itching to get out and start anew in your new space, either way, packing and organising are key parts of your move to be alert to!
- Packing & Inventory – In the beginning of our blog we talked about an inventory list, which can help you keep track of everything you’re bringing with you to the new office. When you’re packing, be sure to stay organised. Make inventory lists for each box, and keep track of everything systematically, so that when you start unpacking, things don’t get lost!
- Practical Packing – You also want to pack systematically, which means colour coding, having a numbers system, or whatever kind of system works for you, so that you can pack and unpack efficiently when you get to your new office. Prioritise the things you need to sort first, and leave other boxes for later.
- IT Equipment – Be sure to pack IT equipment safely and securely, so that none of your items are damaged during the move. If you’re already working to a set budget, broken, expensive items may end up costing you more than you set out to spend. SO be sure to take extra care with your equipment.
Moving Day!
If you stick to your plan, when moving day rolls around, you should be just fine! Now that all of the stressful parts are done, you can focus on the move, unpacking your items and setting up your new office!
- Final Checklist – With most of your tasks already sorted, you can create a final checklist of things you need to do on moving day! be sure to list out all the important parts of your move, those boxes you may have forgotten about or the last minute things you need to do! Whatever it may be, get it down on your final checklist, so that you can have peace of mind as you move to your new space!
Essex Removals: Professional Commercial Movers & More
We understand how stressful and important getting your commercial move right is, which is why we offer a range of services to ease your mind! Our commercial movers are efficient and professional, helping you with your move as much as possible, and ensuring a seamless transition.
With our storage solutions, packing supplies and office relocation team, moving your commercial space has never been easier. To find out more about our services, or how we can help you, contact us today! Our team here at Essex Removals will be happy to help you find exactly what you’re looking for, and get you on the way to your new office space!
