Office relocation is an exciting move for a company that quickly becomes stressful if not planned carefully. Office relocation is just as involved activity as moving to a new home. You have bulky furniture, hard to pack electronics, office equipment, and not to mention your IT setup. You have things from multiple rooms to pack without disrupting the office operations in between. Regardless of the size your business has, office relocation is a challenge in itself. You need a smooth relocation process to avoid disruptions and loss of productivity. Fortunately, we have some points for you that will make your office relocation easy and smooth.
1. PLAN EARLY
As a business owner or someone designated for the relocation, you need to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible. You have to balance that with your existing office responsibilities. It is hard work, but planning will help you dedicate time for each moving task effectively. You have the date of moving in your mind, so planning before that gives you enough room for research and considerations. If you have professional movers on-board, then early planning helps develop an effective strategy. You can also take this time to communicate with people to tell them about a new location or change addresses on official documents. Office relocation has specific deadlines because of expenses and legalities associated with an old and new office. Early planning will ensure everyone stays on track without disrupting their shifts.
2. GET RID OF USELESS THINGS
Another tip to make office relocation quick and smooth is to de-clutter your space and remove unnecessary items. An office space gathers plenty of one-time usable documents of other things that start to clutter the space. This clutter creates obstacles during packing resulting in time and space wastage. They may be useful for your office in some way, so the best way is to rent a self storage unit and store all such items there. These items may include past utility bills, invoices, old or unusable furniture, and other things. Using a storage unit not only de-clutters your office for easy packing, but it also gives you easy access whenever you need these items.
3. COMMUNICATE WITH EMPLOYEES
Employee communication is an essential part of an office relocation that keeps them updated about the relocation time and day. You can encourage them to create a checklist and pack their desk stuff. It will not only make the packing process easy; it also shifts the responsibility of any personal valuable they have on their cubicle. Employees who pack their stuff feel liable for everything they need when they reach the new location. In this way, there is less wastage of time and effort, while productivity stays on point. You might need to give the team a day off or extra time to balance desk packing with their routines.
4. DRAFT AN IT PLAN
The most complicated matter for any office space is to have their IT setup disconnected and re-established in the new area. Have your IT department draft a moving plan as soon as you have the relocation date to transfer all the equipment. It includes computers, servers, phones, data, internet setup, and everything related to networking. The IT setup movement that you cannot outsource because of its sensitivity, so better has your team plan it early. An added tip here is to move and set up IT at the new location first. In this way, your IT will not remain disconnected, and your team can resume their responsibilities without compromising time and productivity.
5. LABEL YOUR PACKED BOXES
Labeling your packed boxes will help you make smooth unpacking when you reach the new location. You know the box items belong to which area. For instance, you label a box for the finance department that has all the financial documents present. When you reach your new location, you will unpack that box in the financial department’s area. It looks like a bit of work, but putting in little effort during packing will give you a considerable time benefit later.
6. HIRE PROFESSIONAL MOVERS
Hiring professional movers not only makes your packing and transportation easy they also ensure everything remains undamaged during transit. Create a budget for your relocation and search for professional movers that offer services within that budget. They have packing supplies and vehicles that save much of your costs and make your relocation smooth and effective.
FINAL WORD
Office relocation is a daunting process if you do not have a plan to execute correctly. Taking the tips mentioned above and encouraging employees to take part in the activity not only makes your transition smooth. It also offers your team a chance to work together and make the process successful. Motivate your employees to work hand-in-hand during the process to prevent productivity loss in any way.
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