Office Moving Tips to Follow for Your Commercial Relocation
Office moving is completely different from a typical residential move. There are more steps you need to take in order to successfully pull one off. On top of continuing your office’s day-to-day routine, planning an office move can be an overwhelming experience.
Get a Plan Together as Early as Possible
Like most moving experiences, the more prepared you are, the easier the moving process will be. Planning your office move at least four months in advance will maximize the process and minimize the problems with relocating a business.
Assign Everyone a Job for the Move
When planning your move, get everyone in the office involved. Not only will this maximize the moving process, but it will also be a great team building opportunity with everyone working together. Something even as simple as assigning everyone to pack their own desks could be beneficial and helpful.
Take Care of Tech
Your IT department should be made aware of the move months in advance of your move date. It takes time moving services and preparing tech equipment for a move. This will also give them time to do their own research on the new building specs or codes they need to follow when setting up the tech side of your office.
Tips to Find a Reliable Company for Moving Your Business
The process of business relocation is a major undertaking and not one that can be planned for in a day. The help you decide to hire has a huge impact on the efficiency, cost and quality of the move and your overall experience.
For commercial moves like that of a business, it is imperative that you find a reliable office moving company able to take on the size and complexity of the job
Ask Around
Recommendations for the best office moving company in town are one of the safest ways to find reliability and trustworthiness in a company. Browse company’s reviews on trusted review websites such as Yelp, BBB, Yellow Pages.
Look for the Locals
Like many service providers, moving companies that are local to the area are usually best equipped to fulfil and exceed your requirements.
Background Check
Once you have identified a potential office moving company for you, it is important to carry out a background check. Unfortunately, there are some bogus moving companies operating in Alberta and those advertising on public forums should be researched before being employed.
Office Moving Checklist
Office moves are daunting—there’s nothing simple about relocating an entire team of employees, much less moving high-value equipment, electronics, or machinery (especially if that machinery is what makes your business money).
Planning and organization are key to having an office move go off without a hitch, so we’re here to help you to coordinate logistics ahead of time to prevent any hiccups from happening along the way.
Review your current lease. Are you on the hook for a deposit or fee if you break your lease early? Are you responsible for property damage (e.g., chipped paint, broken light fixtures, etc.), including anything that happens during the move?
Get quotes from moving companies. See which moving companies fit your budget and can service your area. Check out our picks for the best office movers, and compare rates from at least three companies.
Determine if you need moving coverage. Your business may depend entirely on a single piece of equipment or machinery that, if broken, could halt operations. But even if it doesn’t, you might want to opt for higher coverage on your move than the industry standard of $0.60 per pound. (Yes, that really means that if your 50-pound desk breaks, you’d get a whopping $30 for it.)
Tips for Choosing Office Moving Companies
With hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space available in Phoenix for low rates, many companies decide to make their home here. Whether you are just starting out and need furniture and office equipment moved to your new location, or you are relocating your office from one place to another, you need office moving companies you can trust.
The more offices a locale has, the more office moving companies you will find. If you are the decision-maker for a big office move and you make the wrong decision, you can cost your company tons of money. This is not a misstep you want to make. How do you find the perfect company for your move?
How involved are they in the process?
For a move as important as an office move, you should have a project manager assigned that follows your move through from beginning to end. You should expect a personalized visit from the moving company to go over your move
How do they handle the move?
Do they expect you to pack your items or do they help with this? Do they set up computers after the move is over or leave that to you? What about the walls and hallways of your business? Do they leave these in good condition or is everything left a mess with ding marks and dirt?
Are they a well-recognized business?
Nowadays, if a company does not have an internet presence, you may as well count them out. With all of the online review sites such as Yelp and Google+ Local, you should be able to find a company with good reviews and a transparent presence.
How To Organize And Plan A Smooth Office Move
Moving your office to a new location is a series of tasks and processes that demand thorough planning and preparation. The real challenge is to safely pack, transport, and unpack office equipment: big bulky furniture, IT infrastructure, appliances, etc.
To eliminate or reduce potential chaos during your move, make sure to create a plan and divide your move into small, achievable tasks. You should have enough manpower and experience to make your move successful. The following are some tips that will help you carry out an office relocation project in a more organized and efficient manner
Create a plan
If your objective is to avoid damage and loss, start by creating a simple plan which should distribute the overall workload into various categories. It’s never a good idea to plan at the last minute making your team struggle to pack and load dozens of massive objects
Engage your staff
Office moving should ideally be planned a few months before the move, especially when your existing office is large. It’s a good idea to have a senior manager plan and execute everything. Since office relocation can be a stressful job, make sure to engage motivated employees for this job. Different roles can be assigned to employees depending on their interests or experience
Evaluate your existing inventory
It’s important to determine how much stock you have in your office. Going through your inventory and supplies will help you find and dispose of items that are no longer required in the new office.