Moving offices can be an exciting and stressful time. When you’re planning an office move from one location to another, you have a lot of tasks and duties to keep up with to make sure that your move goes as smoothly as possible. Staying organized and keeping your eye on necessary tasks are essential to moving on time and without a lot of stress. Here are some things you must know and accomplish when you’re planning an office move.
1 Year to 6 Months in Advance: Planning
The following tasks should be performed between 1 year and 6 months before your office move:
1. Make a Wish List
From square footage and location, you need to know what you want in a new office before looking for a property. It’s a good idea to consider your company’s five and 10-year goals to ensure that you have room for growth.
2. Hire an Agent to Find Your New Office Space
Whether you’re looking to rent or buy new space, you need an agent to help you find your ideal space. Don’t be afraid to ask other business owners for a referral or to interview possible agents. You want to partner with your agent to find the perfect office space.
3. Set a Moving Budget
It can cost a lot to move an office. From new equipment to the moving company, there are expenses that you might not think about. There are also places where you can save money. You can enlist employees to do the packing instead of a professional company or repair some of the small damages in your current office.
4. Make an Appointment With Your Attorney
Once you’ve found your new office space, you want your attorney to review the lease before you sign it. It’s also a good idea to have your attorney review the lease for your current property to ensure that you’re in good standing when you move.
5. Tell Employees
Close to the six-month point, notify your employees of the upcoming move. Encourage them to offer suggestions and contact you with any concerns. At this point, you might want to create a separate email address for communication about the move.
3 Months To-Go: Organizing
The following tasks should be performed at least 3 months before your office move:
6. Inventory
Take an inventory of everything in the office. You want to know how many desks you have and how many pens you have. You need to make note of damaged items and items that need replacement. It’s also a good idea to determine who has keys and key cards to the office, so you know who to collect them from during the move to return to your current landlord.
7. Find a Moving Company
It’s a good idea to get quotes from several moving companies. It’s beneficial to locate moving companies that specialize in moving offices. At this point, you need to decide if you want the moving company to pack the office, or if you’re going to get the employees to do it.
8. Find a Cleaning Company
Your new office space should be clean when you arrive, but to keep as much of your deposit on your current space as possible, you want a cleaning company to clean the space after you’ve left. This is different from your weekly cleaning because it’s a wide-open space, some of which hasn’t seen a vacuum cleaner or mop in years.
1 Month: Pack and Purge
The following tasks should be performed at least 1 month before your office move:
9. Assign Space
Use the plans you have for the new space to outline where each department and employee will be located in the new office space. You can post this in a common area. This can help build excitement.
10. Hold a Warehouse Sale
If you’re moving your warehouse too, you want your inventory levels as low as possible. A warehouse sale can be a great way to lower the inventory levels and get an infusion of cash to cover moving costs.
11. Purge
There is no reason to take a broken keyboard or coffee maker last used when Disco was popular to your new space. Organize a team to go through closets and rooms of inventory to purge unused, broken, and obsolete items. Place each department manager in charge of purging their space.
12. Announce the Move
You want everyone to be able to find you in a month and a day. It’s a good idea to create an email or even snail mail letter to send to everyone who needs to know that you’ve moved, including:
- Customers
- Vendors
- Suppliers
- Utility companies
- Business license office
- Internal Revenue Service
You also need to make the announcement on all your social media accounts and website.
13. Arrange Utilities and Internet
Contact all your utility companies and the internet provider to ensure that you have electricity and water on move-in day. You also need to arrange to have the utilities cut off at your current location after the move.
Day Before and Day of Move
The following tasks should be performed on the day before or the day of your move:
14. Confirm Everything
From the moving company to internet start-up, you want to call each company and confirm your requests.
15. Pack
If you’re relying on your employees to pack, they need to start with their personal space and then move into central areas to help with the packing. It’s a good idea for each employee to label their desks, chairs, computers, and keyboards, so they’re easy to locate in the new space.
16. Walk Through the New Space
The day before the move, you need to visit your new office space with your broker to ensure everything is ready to go. Do this early so your broker can work with the owner to affect any changes that haven’t been completed before you arrive with your packed office and warehouse.
17. Assign a Coordinator
You want to assign someone who has been very close to moving preparations to act as coordinator on the day of the move. This person will direct movers where to put the furniture in new spaces and answer questions as they come up. Make sure all your employees know who the coordinator is so they know who to go to with questions.
Consult a Commercial Real Estate Broker
At The Genau Group, we take pride in partnering with our clients to find them the best possible office and warehouse spaces. We can provide guidance at all stages of your move and with all aspects. Contact us today to learn more when you’re planning an office move.