11 Critical Tips for a Smooth Office Relocation in 2022
Moving to a new office is an exciting move for any company, and it doesn’t need to be a stressful process for those coordinating it… Of course, with experienced Commercial & Office Movers in Toronto, you can make your Office Relocation stress-free with Sunday Movers
A survey conducted by E.ON reveals that Office Relocation is the second most stressful tasks for small business owners after hiring new staff. Consequently, most companies delay moving, opting to stay in cramped and expensive facilities.
Here are seven critical office relocation tips to help increase the chances of a fast and efficient move.
1. Plan your office relocation early
Commercial relocations need detailed planning and preparation. When planning the move, decide on the moving date, the time-frame for the relocation process after which you can come up with a schedule. Additionally, have a specific budget assigned to the relocation process. It will come in handy when identifying costs for hiring movers and help avoid making uninformed decisions.
2. Communicate with your employees
Communicating with your employees is one of the important office relocation tips you need to consider. Be sure to keep your staff up-to-date with moving plans and time schedules. Notify them of important changes and procedures at the new business premise including:
- The new address or any revised phone and fax numbers
- New building rules
- Packing arrangement at the new location among others
You can encourage them to create a moving checklist to ensure that all essential areas are covered, and nothing gets missed. While change can be unsettling for employees, communicating with them can boost their morale.
3. Assign a project manager
Every office move requires a team effort to increase chances of success. Appointing a project manager to facilitate all the aspects of the relocation process will also be important.
The team leader should have multi-tasking abilities, exceptional organisational skills, effective communication skills and experience working with budgets. A great set of office management tools can also help make the relocation more seamless.
4. Protect your data
You never know what could happen to your files and hardware during the relocation process. You could end up losing important documents to damaged servers or hard drives. Therefore, it is important to back up your data and protect it from loss and breach when moving.
For instance, you can use a digital visitor management system to safeguard your visitor and staff data. The best part is that you can move with it seamlessly as it is cloud-based. This way you demonstrate compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since you won’t lose data about who visited your business in the past.
5. Deep clean your office
Don’t move with items you don’t need. Remove old files, shred unnecessary papers, dispose of old furniture and sell or donate equipment that won’t be needed anymore. However, be sure to consult with your accountants since donated items can be used as a write-off.
6. Hire a professional moving company
Hiring a Professional Movers Toronto, is essential to facilitate a smooth office relocation. Moving companies have the knowledge, expertise, and resources needed to make the moving process seamless. Sunday Movers will provide packing and unpacking services to ensure your business items are transferred safely. A moving company can also identify your business requirements and help draft a suitable moving plan.
Be sure to choose a company that is well-established, certified, and insured.
7. Update your address everywhere
Let your suppliers and customers know when you are relocating, your new company address and when normal business will resume. Be sure to update your business cards, website, letterhead and social media sites. Additionally, contact Google to have your address, and online listing changed a month leading to your relocation.
8. Try to move some non-essentials on your own first
Simplify moving day by transporting the little stuff as you can, provided there’s an overlap of timing with your new lease. You can make the whole moving process easier by taking over items like plants and bulk office supplies on your own, especially if you can get them set up in their new locations before you officially move in.
9. Be diligent about labeling your boxes
Labeling your boxes is important in all moves, but especially when you’re moving to a new office. To keep operations running during and after the move, you’ll want to carefully label every single box so you’re not looking for things like more printer paper or toner only when you really need them. For maximum efficiency, label each box with a location and a number, and keep a corresponding spreadsheet that lists each box number and the items that are inside of it. It’s a bit more work, but it will save you a ton of time when you’re getting settled in your new location and it will be easy for everyone to access.
Moving isn’t quite as hectic as it sounds. If you follow these office relocation tips — from planning the process, communicating with clients, vendors and employees to backing up your data — you will be able to transition smoothly into your new workplace.
10. Celebrate your new digs
An office relocation is stressful on everyone, including your employees. As a “thank you” for everyone’s cooperation in making it happen and as a way to celebrate your new space, budget in a small party for after the move. You don’t have to be completely set up yet, and it doesn’t have to be anything major—even a mid-day celebration luncheon sometime in the first week after moving will show your staff how much you appreciate their help and welcome in exciting things at the new office.
11. Get a handle on building rules
Unless your company owns the building you are moving out of or in to, you will need to get a full breakdown of all building rules around relocating. It may be that you are only allowed to move during non-business hours or that you must put in a special request to use the service elevator. Get these rules from building management as early as you can, since it will dictate the logistics of moving day.
Moving to a new office is a lot of work, but chances are you’re doing it for a good reason. Plan ahead as much as you can so that to-dos don’t slip through the cracks, and appoint your move manager very early on in the process. Knowing that someone has a handle on all the moving parts will help alleviate stress and keep things running on track.
