Six Months Out: What to Do When You Are Moving the Office
Moving your office is a big deal. There are lots of reasons why you may be moving. Maybe the business has outgrown the current space, or your lease is up or it could be that it’s just time to move on. No matter the reason, moving an office is a monumental responsibility.
There’s nothing easy about spearheading change. Beyond the new location jitters, there’s the complicated logistics involved in moving your team, all of your office equipment, electronics and furniture.
Planning is key to success and that’s why starting early isn’t just a good idea, it’s critical to making your move smooth and the transition to a new location as seamless as possible.
Here are four big-picture tasks you’ll want to check off your list at least six months before the move.
1. Announce the Move Internally
Once the decision to move is final, it’s time to break the news internally. Set up a time to announce the big move to all your employees. Start by telling them the reasons why the office is moving. For instance, the current office may be too small to accommodate anticipated growth over the coming year, or maybe the increase in rent is cost-prohibitive. Whatever the reasons, clearly define why the move is necessary.
Take time to highlight the features employees will appreciate. If your new office building has nearby employee parking garage, space for new departments, or enhanced IT services, share these exciting features with employees.
Let employees know the positive impact of the move for business productivity. For example, maybe the office move will make it easier for vendors to make deliveries or for clients to visit your office; if so, it makes it easier for employees to do their jobs, which helps overall productivity.
Share the new address and the estimated move date, and if there is anything employees should do immediately, let them know. Tell employees you’ll keep them in the communications loop. Schedule meetings going forward to touch base with your employees. Keep the momentum and excitement around the move going to ensure their engagement and participation.
2. Nominate an Internal Planning Team
If you’re the business owner, it is likely you will not have time to oversee the planning of all the details that go into moving an office. Delegate a trusted employee or a team of employees to manage the internal logistics including what inventory needs to move, what assets may require storage, what can be thrown out. This project manager or task force will also need to research and identify a budget for the move.
Now is a good time for the planning team to begin online research for third-party vendor services. Starting early gives them plenty of time to look at reviews and make a list of the different types of services you’ll need. The sooner you begin to map out the whole team of partners necessary, the better your chances of a seamless transition.
3. Find a Reputable Moving Company
When your team finalizes the budget, have them initiate the search for a professional moving company. You’ll want a quote from professional movers like Armstrong Commercial Services who have the offerings you’ve determined you’ll need such as, storage of assets, packing assistance or decommissioning your old location. Narrow down your prospects from your team’s list of vendors completed in task 2. Interview your top choices to ask any specifics about the services you’ll need. Choose the service you’re comfortable hiring, and book the move date as early as possible—one less worry for you.
4. Let Your Customers & Vendors Know About the Move
As soon as you’re certain about moving, let your customer base know. You can plan to send out a blanket email to your customer and vendor list letting them know the details, and depending on the size of your base, you may consider personal phone calls to inform key accounts of your impending move.
Let the vendors you rely on for scheduled shipments know about the move, too. Give them the new address and ask them to update your information in their client database.
Full Service May Be the Best Fit
Depending on the size of your business, you may opt to work with a full-service commercial moving partner like Armstrong from the start rather than hiring several third-party vendors. Armstrong’s experienced move coordinators stand ready to help you with the entire process of moving your office. Armstrong‘s team of experts can take the full or partial burden of moving off you and your employees with a customized move plan.
Armstrong has a wide array of commercial moving services. These services include preplanning and budgeting, on-site project management, floor plan design, computer, electronics and equipment moving, files and records moving, furniture installation and reconfiguration, electronic equipment disconnects and reconnect, asset management, valuation coverage and more.
Ready to get moving? Call Armstrong Commercial Services to discuss your plan.
This is the first in a series blogs about important office moving tasks for business owners. Join us for the upcoming blog: What to Do When You Are Moving Your Office Part Two!
