Guide to Moving Your Office

A typical office is busy enough even without factoring in the occasional need for relocation. When it does come time to figure out how to move an office, preparation becomes essential. If you are about to undergo a relocation, look through this office move checklist. Doing so will help you make sure you are fully prepared not only for the move itself, but for the organization efforts that come afterward as well.

Getting Organized

As with any major project in an office, getting organized is the first step to an effective office move. This involves creating an office relocation checklist that includes all the information you need. Early on in this process, you should do your research on potential office furniture movers and reach out to companies that you might want to look for. You should select a moving company that is local to the area, has good customer reviews, and has the proper level of liability insurance. Contact your moving company at least six months in advance of your office move. They can help you complete your checklist for moving office premises and provide both office moving tips and packing materials.

Downsizing the Office

The next step on your planning an office move checklist should be to downsize as much equipment and unnecessary paperwork as possible. Be ruthless when choosing what goes to the new office space and what goes into the trash. This is a good time to plan to replace outdated electronics or reduce the number of paper files you keep on the premises. In terms of paper, consider what you need in terms of originals and what you can keep electronically. Many shredding services offer a scan and shred option that allows you to get rid of filing cabinets full of paper while keeping the information saved on a disk or cloud drive. The more waste you eliminate now, the easier your office move will be going forward.

Assigning Tasks

While one person should be the project lead regarding an office move, you should make sure that everybody has a job to do. This gives everybody a sense of ownership over the project and makes sure that no voice goes unheard during the move. Creating an office move project plan Excel sheet or using project management software can help you keep track of who has what job throughout the process. In general, a person's position and level of expertise should influence the tasks they are assigned. When it comes to making sure that electronics get safely packed away, for example, having your IT person take point on that project will greatly reduce lost components or damaged computers later on.

Determining Licensing

Next on your checklist for moving business premises should be making sure that you have all the appropriate licenses and insurance permits for both the building you are moving out of and the new building. It is important to make sure that you remain in compliance with all government-level and local laws. If your business is well-established and has been in one area for a long time, you need to make sure that nothing has changed over the years. An office furniture moving company can help review the different business licensing requirements in your area and make sure you remain in compliance. This step is one of the reasons why it is important to start the moving process early, as unexpected permit needs can sometimes take weeks to process.

Create a New Floor Plan

In order to make sure that you know where everything needs to go and where everybody in the office will be stationed once you have moved into the new location, you should create a detailed floor plan. This requires you to have precise measurements of office furniture and large equipment and the exact dimensions of your new space. Take a space inventory so you know exactly how much room each person in your office needs for their essential equipment and personal space. Then make sure you can provide that in the new space without cramping. If somebody loses room, let them know well in advance so you can make adjustments as necessary.

Update Address and Contact Information

You might not want to think about stationary while you are in the midst of planning an office move, but you shouldn't put this step off for later, either. You should order new business cards, stationary, and branded items that have your business address on them at least two months prior to your office move. This does mean that you will have some extra boxes of letterhead and envelopes to move, but you can cancel that out by discarding the excess of your old stationary. Anything that customers might receive after the office move should use this new contact information. You should also take this opportunity to update utility companies and contractors regarding your pending move, informing them of what date the move will take place and when they should use your new address.

Use Highly Visible Labeling

When you begin the final packing process, you need to do everything that you can to make sure things get unpacked easily and efficiently. Your packing materials and labels can make a huge impact on this part of the process. Make sure that you use large labels that are easy to see from a distance. If you can color code your boxes based on where they need to be unpacked, that is even better. When loading the moving truck, make sure that the things that need to come off the truck first are the last items loaded into the vehicle. Your movers can provide you with additional instructions and even some basic packing training in the days leading up to your move.

When it comes to moving an office, preparation is the key. It also helps to connect early on with a team of professional, highly skilled movers who can guide you throughout the process. If you have these components in place and some cooperation from your employees, the rest of the process should be very efficient.