The decision to move the location of your office is one that requires a lot of planning and communication. And while this complicated process can’t be boiled down to just a few easy tasks, we’ve compiled five key steps you should take when deciding to venture into a commercial move.
What Is an Office Moving Plan?
An office moving plan is a written, formal plan that encompasses all components of your upcoming move. Since office environments depend on team collaboration, your office moving plan should be collaborative as well.
Early in the decision-making process, you should consult with essential team members to get everyone involved in what’s happening. To accomplish the move, you’re going to have to coordinate with a lot of different departments.
1.) Inform Your Employees as Early as Possible
Moving offices causes stress on employees. Though this fact cannot be avoided, you can make the change easier by informing them what’s happening early on.
In the earliest stages of the move, you can keep the details on a need-to-know basis. However, once your office moving plan is more concrete, you should inform your employees through some announcements.
Share blueprints of the new space and keep employees updated on any changes that may happen leading up to moving day. By communicating early, you can address any concerns employees may have about the change in commute. It gets them excited about the new space and prepared for the adjustment.
2.) Decide Who Will Handle the Move
Who's Handling What?
This seems simple enough, but once you’ve started to figure out the how, what, when, and where of your office moving plan, things will start to get muddy without proper communication.
Consult with members of your team and decide who will handle what when it comes to the move. Who’s going to meet with the landlord of your new property, and who’s going to make sure your new building has utilities set up and ready to go? Things like evacuation plans, kitchen management, and furniture placement can be handled by you, but they can also be delegated to team members.
So, as you draw up your office moving plan, consider who will be handling what when you move. Start with the most important things, and once those are individually addressed, begin delegating the smaller details. If you do this early, you’ll have a firm grasp of what’ll go down on your moving day.
Who’s Going to Actually Move Your Office Furnishings?
Often overlooked and very important is your decision on who’s going to perform the move. Since you’ll most likely be relocating within the same state, look for movers in your area who offer specialized commercial moving services.
What this means is that the moving company has the equipment, materials, and training to handle the particulars your company needs. If you’re only moving computer monitors and couches, this may not be much of a hurdle. However, not all local movers are equipped to offer full-service commercial moves for larger machinery or numerous items.
Narrow down who’ll conduct the move early. Therefore, as your office moving plan develops and potentially changes, your movers can adapt with you.
3.) Determine If You Need Liability Coverage
Like how you need to make sure your movers can transport your office furnishings, you should really consider whether you want to protect those items with liability coverage.
Arguably the most important component to any household move, moving liability insurance is offered separately from the cost of your move. This valuation coverage ensures that, if any of your property is damaged or misplaced during the move, you’re entitled to a certain level of reimbursement.
4.) Review Specialized Furniture or Equipment with Whoever's Doing the Moving
Now you need to take stock of everything you’ll be moving and review whether you’ll move any specialized equipment.
From smartboards to expensive podcasting equipment, it’s essential that you know what the most important office items are and when you’ll need them by.
Here’s an example. If your employees are each issued their own laptops and smart devices, you can instruct them to take them home and bring them to the new office on their first day. That avoids extra packing and moving for the moving company and saves the time of unpacking and redistributing later.
5.) Work Closely with IT When Planning the New Office Infrastructure
Your IT department is going to be entirely responsible for planning and deploying your new IT infrastructure. This is going to be a big ask, and as such, make sure they have enough time and resources to get your new office ready.
Everything from monitors, meeting room audio, Internet, storage, security, and getting your employees’ setups working on day one will be handled by your IT department. Get them in the new space early on and consult with them on how to pack and unpack each employee’s desk. Without clear communication with your dev team, your commercial move will be chaotic and difficult to manage.
It's Hard Work, But It’ll Be Worth It
While you’re in the early stages of planning your office move, the entire process will feel overwhelming and difficult to manage on your own. Just like with your daily work, a commercial move can only be successful if you and your team are working together. Make sure you keep your office moving plan up to date and don’t forget to let your employees know what’s happening and when.
