Moving office can be a stressful experience, but thinking ahead will help ensure it runs smoothly. By organising your move down to the last detail, you’ll be back in business and meeting those deadlines before the dust has settled on your old HQ.
Set a sensible date
OK, you’ve seen a beautiful, fully-serviced office, there’s plenty of room for your planned expansion and the lease you’ve negotiated is a steal. But before you contact the removals people, be realistic about how long it’s all going to take and pay close attention to the calendar. If your business is cyclical, make sure the move isn’t going to coincide with your busiest season and avoid the annual holidays already booked by your most important staff.
Budget it
Relocation costs can spiral if you’re not careful, and the planned savings you are making by moving to better-equipped premises or a more salubrious location can be eaten up by unexpected bills. Before you accept a removals quote, get the firm to do a walk-through of your office so they can discuss the finer points of shifting that mountainous storage unit you bought on impulse at an auction and make sense of all the cables. Don’t forget the little matter of disconnection and reconnection fees and factor in some contingency money.
Communication is key
Having finalised your moving date, you need to decide on a communications plan for the customers and suppliers who will hopefully continue to be the bedrock of your business even though you have moved to a little-known business park outside Swindon. Be it formal letters, ‘reminder’ postcards or ‘call-to-action’ emails, keep your network informed of your plans or risk them either straying to your nearest competitor or deleting you from their contacts list just when you’re up to your eyes in bubble wrap.
On-boarding
HRs are very hot on making sure that new staff are welcomed into the fold from day one and the same goes for existing staff who may be feeling a little edgy about moving from your cramped-but-convenient corporate cubbyhole to a cheaper barn of a place on the other side of town. Tell them why the move is the best business decision ever, let them come up with ideas for your new business cards/filing system and get them actively involved in the move. Are they expected to pack up their own desk and IT equipment or should they sit back while the professionals get stuck in? Do you want their support on the actual day of the move, or would you prefer them to come in the day after when the workspace is looking tidier?
Service please
You’re not going to get very far in your new swanky office without internet, phone or postal/courier services and your staff may turn a bit chilly if you’ve failed to sort out the heating, lighting and water supply and it’s already close to Christmas. Be sure to contact all your current/new service providers – preferably by phone – well before moving-in day, and take advantage of the best deals available to new customers. When it comes to organising your energy supply, E.ON have a helpful video guide for SMES – top tips for moving premises. And, don’t forget – check, check and check again that your telecoms infrastructure will be up and running on the actual day you move in rather than a week later.
Pack it in
Be it a no-frills A to B service or everything including the packing crates and Sellotape, you need to think about your new floor plan and seating layout long before you pack up your ‘I’m the boss’ office mug or battle-scarred pen holder. Take plenty of time to mock up a desk/storage plan and use lots of colour coding and capital letters to tell the movers exactly where you want the various bits of furniture located. Label all boxes and make sure the IT people know exactly where you want the cables and sockets located in order to avoid yet more downtime and loss of income.
Time for a clear-out
Office clutter is all part of life’s rich pattern, but by purging the redundant stuff well ahead of time, you’ll save removal costs and staff backaches and can look forward to loads of space before the discarded jackets, half-empty boxes and musty gym bags start littering up the place again. Hire an industrial-sized shredder for out-of-date but confidential documents, consolidate the number of printers and copiers in the new location and either sell the old equipment to a second-hand dealer or donate it to a local school or charity.
Parking up the right tree
Moving day dawns and you’ve arranged everything with military precision but somehow, you forgot about parking. Avoid any moving day parking fines by doing a recce of bike/motorbike/car parking arrangements long before you move in, and get all the permits and permissions you need in advance. Make sure there’s enough room for your removals van to both park and unload – talk this through with the firm beforehand – and reassure existing staff that despite all the new hires you’re bringing in, you’re on top of the all-important parking issue.
Launch party
You’re in the new place, the broadband is not only working but is faster. You’ve taken possession of the funky new business cards and now it’s time to party. Remember you need to fly the flag for your successful office move both with the staff and with your clients, and by splashing a bit of cash on some bubbly and balloons you’re sending out the message that your business is well and truly on the up.
Content on this page is produced to a brief agreed with E.ON, sponsor of the Efficiency hub.
