Essential Tips For The Best Office Relocation
Moving to a new office is an exciting change for any business, and it doesn’t have to be a stressful process for those who coordinate it.
A survey by E.ON reveals that relocation is the second most stressful task for small business owners after hiring new staff. Consequently, most companies delay moving and choose to stay in tight and expensive facilities.
Here are seven office relocation tips to help you increase your chances of a quick and efficient move.
1. Plan your office relocation in advance
Commercial relocation requires detailed planning and preparation. When planning the move, decide on the date of the move, the time frame for the relocation process after which you can work out a schedule. Also, have a specific budget assigned to the relocation process. It will be helpful in identifying the costs of hiring moving companies and will help you avoid making uninformed decisions.
2. Communicate with your employees
Communicating with your employees is one of the important office relocation tips to keep in mind.Be sure to keep your staff up-to-date on moving plans and schedules. Notify them of important changes and procedures at the new business headquarters,including:
• The new address or any revised phone and fax numbers
• New construction rules
• Packing arrangement in the new location, among others
You can encourage them to create a moving checklist to make sure all essential areas are covered and nothing is missed. While change can be unsettling for employees, communicating with them can boost their morale.
3. Assign a project manager
Each office change requires a team effort to increase the chances of success. It will also be important to appoint a project manager to facilitate all aspects of the relocation process.
The team leader must have multitasking skills, exceptional organizational skills, effective communication skills, and experience working with budgets. A great set of office management tools can also help make relocation more seamless.
4. Protect your data
You never know what might happen to your files and hardware during the relocation process. You could end up losing important documents on damaged servers or hard drives.Therefore, it is important to back up your data and protect it from loss and breach during the move.
For example, you can use a digital visitor management system to protect your visitor and staff data.The best part is that you can move with it without problems, since it is cloud-based. In this way, you demonstrate compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as you will not lose data about who visited your company in the past.
5. Deep clean your office
Don’t move around with items you don’t need. Remove old files, shred unnecessary papers, dispose of old furniture, and sell or donate equipment that will no longer be needed.However, be sure to check with your accountants, as donated items can be used as amortization.
6. Hire a professional moving company
Hiring a moving company is essential to facilitate hassle-free office relocation. The moving company has the knowledge, experience and resources to make the moving process smooth. A moving company can also identify your business requirements and help you write a suitable moving plan.
Make sure you choose the Moofer moving company that is well established, certified and insured.
7. Update your address everywhere
Inform your suppliers and customers when you are moving, your new business address, and when normal business activities will resume. Make sure to update your business cards,website, letterheads, and social media sites. Also, contact Google to have your address and listing changed online one month before your relocation.
Moving around is not as hectic as it sounds. By following these office relocation tips – from planning the process, communicating with customers, vendors, and employees to backing up your data – you can seamlessly transition to your new workplace.
