Tips For A Successful Office Move

Office moves are notoriously stressful, especially if you can’t shut down the entire operation while you move, but with the right planning and the right attitude your business will make the move from one office to another with minimal disruptions for your employees and your customers and clients. According some industry experts in order to make your office move as hassle-free as possible you should:

Tell Employees ASAP

When you have signed the lease for a new office space send out a memo or hold a meeting to let your employees know that the office will be moving. Even if the new space is close to your existing office some employees might need time to figure out alternative transportation if they rely on the train or the bus to get to work. Moving just a few miles away can mean that an employee who regularly bikes to work now needs to get a car or find another way to get there. So give them as much notice as possible.

Make An Appointment For The Electronics Early

As soon as you have a firm moving date call your phone company, your Internet provider, and your IT department to make appointments with both. You will need the phones and the computers up and running as quickly as possible once you are moved. Do not have phone service shut off at your previous office until you’re certain the phone system is working the way that it should at your new office.

Station People At Both Offices

During the move you should have one manager stationed at both of the office spaces. One manager can keep an eye on things at your original office and coordinate the loading of boxes while making sure that business is still getting done the way it should. The employee at the new space can supervise the unloading and unpacking of boxes and equipment, make sure that things are set up in the right spaces, and make sure that everyone who needs it has access to the freight elevator and other secured spaces. The move will go much smoother with someone on either end of the move to keep an eye on things.

Run A Skeleton Crew

The last thing you need during a move is a lot of people underfoot getting in the way. If you can’t close the business entirely on moving day run the business with a minimal crew and give the others the day off. You should have one person to answer the phones and take care of customers as well as the supervisor on site but you shouldn’t need many more people than that. The employees can unpack their desks and set up their workspaces the next day once the actual moving is done.

Purge As Much As You Can

Moving your business operations is a great excuse to get rid of all those old computers, phones that don’t work, and other odds and ends that have been collecting over the years. Make sure that any electronics are recycled properly.