Office Moving: What You Need to Know

You’re in charge of the office move. Now what?

You understand the importance of a smooth transition. Employees and customers are counting on you. Delays or mishaps could cost you.

But chances are that office moving isn’t something you do every day. How do you go about this?

Let’s explore what you need to know.

1) Do a Site Audit

Start with an evaluation of each site. How large is your current space? How large is the space into which you’re moving?

Is the new site ready to go? Or will getting it ready be part of your project?

Next, take inventory. How many workstations, employees, and offices are you moving?

Most office moving takes place when companies grow. Evaluate your plan for expansion. Will you be setting up workstations for future employees or temporary employees?

Finally, in your audit, decide what you’ll keep. If you have 10-year-old printers, do you really want to transport them? Or would it make more sense to invest in new ones?

Is certain furniture broken, very dated or unattractive? It may be time to replace it instead of moving it.

2) Create a Summary

This is typically a one-page document. It should lay out a summary of what needs to be done and what the timeframes are.

Ask yourself questions like:

When does the whole move need to be completed?

Which department or team moves on which day?

How many servers or other heavy equipment items are you moving?

What office moving services in Calgary will you need to get the job done effectively and efficiently?

2) Establish Budget and Permissions

With your summary and audit in hand, you can now begin establishing your budget. Gather any stakeholders who you need to involve in the decision-making process.

Determine what services you will need and the expected costs for those services.

Be clear on what authority you have to make final decisions on vendors, suppliers, budget allocation, etc. What does a board, partner, owner or other party need to approve? This will help you avoid misunderstandings down the road.

4) Create a Responsibility Chart

If you’re managing a large move, then you’re likely responsible for coordinating multiple people.

The key to effectively managing a team during office moving is creating a responsibility document. This way everyone knows what their job is. And they know the jobs of others for coordination purposes.

This single document will be available to everyone and include:

Who’s responsible
What they’re responsible for
When they need to have it done

5) Coordinate with Vendors & Movers

You may need utilities turned off in one location and on in another on a certain day. Your employees will need Internet. You’ll want to make sure your packing supplies arrive in time for packing.

This requires coordination.

Work with your team to establish that all vendors are in place and regularly meet with your team to stay informed about any delays or challenges.

Sit down with your office moving company to explain what you need done and get a quote.

6) Label Everything

Create a map for your existing office space and a well thought out floor plan for the new office. Every workstation should be labeled with a number. It will have a corresponding number in the new building.

If you’re moving multiple departments give each department a letter as well.

This way movers know exactly which department goes where. And once they start setting up workstations, they know exactly where to set the workstation up.

In addition to your map, put physical labels on the monitor, keyboard, phone, printer, furniture in each workstation.

This way, when your employee shows up to work after the move, everything’s hooked up and ready to go in their new space.

7) Inform Employees

Make employees aware of the moving schedule. Get them excited about the new move and solicit their help in making the office move successful.

To avoid mishaps, set clear expectations for employees.

The average employee keeps a lot of “junk” in their workstation. This “junk” is often small, unnecessary to the job role and it may even be fragile like:

Picture frames
Figurines
Plants

Moving to a new office is the ideal time for employees to “clean house”.

Employees should be instructed to take all personal items home to give them a fresh start in their new space.

Ideally, smaller items like pens, staplers, books, binders, etc. will be packed up by each employee in a box labeled with their workstation number. Employees can leave these on their desks for office movers in Calgary to move to their new workstations.

8) Inform Customers and Vendors About the Office Moving

You don’t want people to show up to find a sign that you’ve relocated. Ideally, you will have already well publicized the office moving to a new building.

Put it on social media. Run commercials. Have someone call important vendors and clients. Put the move information prominently on the website.

You may even want to do a bulk mailing to either existing customers or the community. Make it double as a promotion. Offer people a discount on a purchase when they check out your new location.

9) Don’t Forget the Amenities

Do you have a first aid closet or room for nursing employees? Do you have huge printers, file cabinets, work tables or sofas where employees lounge on their breaks?

Have a place for everything, and everything in its place during your office move. This is how office moving goes most smoothly.

It may be tempting to tell yourself that you’ll figure it out when you get there. But this can lead to lost items and confusion.

Establish where everything goes on the map. If the item requires networking or electricity, make sure they’re accessible in its new location.