Relocating: A Checklist for Your Office Move

Whether you’re moving because of an expansion, or to be closer to your respective audience, you ought to be celebrating the moment! You should be excited! An office move is an opportunity to start fresh and lend a new perspective to your business.

Unfortunately, moving is never easy. Does your office move have you feeling stressed already? Trust us, you’re not alone. Organizing all of your belongings, coordinating all the different departments, and making sure each workstation or office is placed properly can be daunting. At Creative Office Furniture, we’ve provided move management services for nearly 30 years, and we want to make sure you avoid some common pitfalls.

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Here are our best tips on making a successful office move:

1.    Plan the Move

The worst thing you can do is to approach your office move in a disorganized or haphazard manner. If you start planning early, you will be giving yourself plenty of time to get the logistics nailed down for you or oversee a third party moving company. You won’t rush into anything, having calculated the budget and timeframe fit for your purpose of relocation. Your employees should begin preparations well ahead of time, but don’t forget to inform your suppliers, customers, and other vendors that you collaborate with. The larger your organization, the more time you need.

2.    Decide the Floor Plan

You want to be in complete control and minimize the risks pertaining to relocating, like damage to equipment or communication and network downtime. It’s imperative that you (and everyone else involved in the physical move) are clear on how your new office is laid out. Prep it in advance by labeling everything on the floor plan. Use color coded drawings or tape off areas if you must in order to keep your office move organized so that every piece of equipment fits in their place.

3.    Get Office Move Assistance

To ensure your office move goes as smoothly as possible, it’s best to hire a professional company for the task rather than do it on your own. Do your due diligence and ask for references to check while getting quotes from multiple companies. It might be time-consuming to put in the research upfront, but can you really afford to risk your business infrastructure by waiting until the last minute? Additionally, stay in touch as your move date looms closer. They might be able to provide suggestions on helping you prepare more efficiently, thereby preventing damage to expensive or delicate items.

4.    Update Vendors, Websites, Business Cards, and Letterheads

You want to do what you can to minimize downtime due to your office move. Communicating with your vendors at least a month before is a smart move. That will allow them time to make adjustments to your billing/shipping address so you won’t have delays in the day-to-day running of your business. You’ll find your clients will be supportive and understanding as well if you’ve kept them in the loop regarding the office move.

 
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About Jaquelyn

As director of sales, Jaquelyn has a keen understanding of project management practices and all stages of the design process from planning to quality control.[/author_info] [/author]