Relocating Your Office – 24 Tips That Help You Prepare For A Move Smoothly
Remember that when you are moving your office, you have a lot on your plate. There are so many things to be done that you might lose track of time. This means that you must begin at least 6 months in advance. We have created a very helpful and practical list of things to do for you that will aid you to prepare your office for moving. Let’s start with it without any ado:
3 To 6 Months Before Your Move
1. Create An In-House Moving Team
The first thing that you will have to do is create an in-house moving team. You will select a representative from each department who will be in charge of packing and moving that division to your new office. Remember to delegate every task on your list evenly throughout your various teams. You must also define the roles each one of your team members will be playing such as packing, unpacking, organizing, taking care of utilities, paying up the office bills, moving, decorating, and the like.
2. Plan Your Budget
You will also have to plan a budget for the entire move. Remember that you have a lot of things to move to your new office. You can save more money during a move if you plan out your processes in advance. Consider all the packing and moving expenses that you will have to bear. Get in touch with an office mover in the city if you are not aware of the costs involved. Get an estimate of packing and moving supplies beforehand.
3. Understand Moving Coverage
Moving insurance is also very important. It is entirely up to you as to what degree of coverage you want for your office equipment. You will come across a lot of furniture pieces, fixtures, and equipment that you would want to replace after you have moved into your new workplace. Some of them cannot be replaced because they are your long-term investments. You may seek the right and most adequate amount of coverage from commercial movers for these critical pieces of equipment.
4. Research Moving Companies
When it comes to moving your office, you have to take the assistance of professional office movers and packers, especially if you are not experienced in it yourself. If this is your first time, you must start researching moving companies quite early on. Get in touch with their representative and invite at least 4 or 5 quotes so that you can have a full-fledged comparison of what you get in different packages from different professionals.
5. Announce The Move
The next step is to announce the move. Make sure that no team member, associate, employee, worker, or partner is left out.
6. Create Office Inventory
The next step will be to create office inventory, and this is where things get interesting. You do not have to do everything on your own. You can assign different divisions, floors, and departments to different team members and leaders who are willing to take up this responsibility. Coordinate with them to understand what needs to be discarded and what can be taken to your new office premises.
1 To 3 Months Before Your Move
7. Lock In The Moving Date
Decide upon a moving date that is comfortable for most of your departments, team heads, partners, and associates. Convey the same to all your employees and workers. Get their consent and move on to the next thing.
8. Notify Your Landlord
Now that you have picked on a moving date, it is time to inform your landlord about the same. Have a discussion with him regarding all the bills and outstanding expenses and payments as well.
9. Notify Everyone Outside The Company
After settling down all those little details with your landlord, it is time to inform all your external partners, vendors, and everyone in your logistics team about the moving day. Update them about your new address as well.
10. Invest In Specialized Equipment
If you are planning to move your critical equipment all by yourself or perhaps assist the packing and moving company, it is better to rent a few specialized pieces of equipment. These can be moving trollies, racks, straps, ramps, and the like
11. Choose The Right Office Movers And Packers
This is one of the biggest and most critical steps. Choose the right and most highly skilled and experienced professional movers and packers and the city. Do not hesitate in going through their reviews and testimonials. Ask as many questions as you want. You should be convinced that they are the right people to help you relocate to your new office seamlessly.
12. Gather Your Moving Supplies
Now, it is the right time to gather your moving supplies. You can either give this responsibility entirely to the moving company or pool in your share. If you decide to move a few pieces by yourself, you are better off with moving boxes, lightweight wooden containers, moving and packing tape, padding material such as styrofoam balls and wrapping paper, packing tape, permanent markers, disposable garbage bags, etc.
13. Downsize
It is time to downsize your office belongings. Just like you put up a garage sale when you are moving your house, you can put some of your office-use equipment for sale as well. You can also donate a few items that you do not need and think that somebody else can benefit from them more than you can. This is going to help you reduce your burden significantly and will also shorten your move time.
1 Week Before Your Move
- Make sure to keep tagging all your critical furniture pieces, office supplies, and important equipment
- Remember to finalize the moving plan with your in-house moving team
- Surrender all your keys, access cards, permits, and other modes of entry and exit
- Back up all your computer data, critical documents, hard copies, and digital copies of the same
- Ask each one of your employees to pack their own desk on time and move their stuff responsibly
On The Day Of The Move
- Update your address on time
- Review the moving schedule keeping all the departments in the loop
- Send out a reminder for every department to finish their packing on time
- Collect all your employee cards, access keys, and other permits and digital modes of entry and exit
- Co-ordinate with the office movers so that they pick up your belongings as per the predetermined time slot
- Do a final walk-through of your old office and make sure that nothing is left behind
What Are You Waiting For?
You have finally packed all your office stuff efficiently. It is time to give professional movers and packers in Dubai a heads-up. You are ready to move into your new office.
