How To Plan For An Office Relocation
Relocating your office is something that requires planning so that it runs as smoothly as possible and causes minimal disruption to the day-to-day running of your business. Creating a realistic office relocation project plan will help you to make sure you’ve thought of pretty much everything and that everyone in your team knows what is happening and when. This blog shares tips and advice to help with the moving process if you are planning a move to a new office.
Why Is It Important To Plan Before Relocation Office Space?
If your business has an office space, regardless of its size, moving to a new office address needs to be done in a way that minimises the disruption to your staff and customers. Throwing everything into boxes and hoping they end up in the right place at the other end will almost certainly end up in chaos and a lot of stress.
So, creating an office relocation project plan that covers each stage of the process from getting quotes and hiring a removal team to when and how it will happen will help to reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm, and make sure your business can be up and running at the new location as quickly as possible.
What To Consider When Planning An Office Move
Once you’ve identified your new premises you can start to create an office relocation project plan that takes you from designing the new space right through to moving your staff in. You’ll need to include dates and costings for any renovation and design work to your new space, what furniture needs to be moved, and what needs to be sold or recycled.
If you are currently renting office space, what are the terms of your existing lease agreement? Can you stay put until your new premises are complete? Look at how much notice you need to give if you’re moving before the end of your lease. Consider whether it’s feasible for it to be business as usual, or whether there needs to be a period of time when your business has to close so that everything can be moved across to the new office location. How much do you need to move? Think about all the office furniture and office equipment being moved. Do you need a moving team? Do you have an office move timeline that considers moving all of this? Once you have established all the fine details of an office move, then you can start to identify dates and book all the people you need for your office relocation.
Use An Office Move Planning Checklist
Creating an office relocation checklist that covers all of the stages of the move is a great way to make sure that nothing has been missed and can help it be a successful office move. You can either create a list of your own or use an office removal specialist to help with this.. Once you’ve created it, share the list with your teams and ask for their input. A fresh pair of eyes may pick up on something you’ve overlooked.
Once you’ve got a comprehensive checklist ensure it is regularly updated and shared with all relevant team members so that everyone can see what has been done, what is still to do, and the timescales for everything.
Know The Key Dates Of The Move
Once you’ve agreed the key dates such as when the new premises are available, when fit-out, cleaning and furniture installation works will take place, and when you have to leave your old premises, make sure they are added to the office move planning checklist. This will help to make sure everyone knows the moving date as well as other key dates and work towards them.
Set A Full Budget For Relocation Costs
As part of your office relocation project plan, you’ll need to identify how much it is going to cost to physically move your business into the new space. Even if you are getting new furniture and fittings for the new office, the old furniture will have to be removed so that you don’t attract a penalty from your landlord. Make sure your budget covers everything from furniture removal to technology connection at the new site so that there are no surprise costs.
What Resources and Logistics Do You Need For This Move?
Make sure you’ve identified all of the resources you need to make the move happen. Do you need staff to come in over a weekend to pack and move their personal belongings? Do you need to use freelancers to cover the work while your team is moving, or can staff work from home for a short period? If you need freelancers, allocate a budget for this and book them. How will all of your equipment be dismantled and moved to the new office? Who needs to be on-site to oversee that this is done correctly? Adding all of these details to your checklist and plan will help to make sure that there’s minimal disruption to the running of your business during the move.
What Company Changes Do You Need To Make Following This Move?
It’s no good having a state-of-the-art new office space that gives you and your team everything they need if you don’t tell anyone that you’ve moved. Your business won’t grow as a result of the move if everyone is trying to contact you at your old office.
Make sure you identify who needs to be told about the move and when, and add that to your office relocation project plan at the start. Once you’ve got a definite date for the move, create a standard email or letter that can be sent to everyone advising them of the move date, your new address and contact details, and how the move will impact the running of your business.
Do You Need Help With Relocating To A New Office Space?
Office Options are the experts when it comes to office relocations. From helping you to identify new premises to formulating your office relocation project plan, refurbishing your new office space, and dilapidation works to put the old one back to the way it was when you got the keys. Get in touch with our experienced team to find out how we can make your office relocation experience as hassle-free and efficient as possible, creating minimal disruption to your business.