Moving your whole business to a new office space can be exciting: perhaps you’re expanding and hiring more employees, or it’s time to settle into more permanent, bespoke digs. Regardless of the size of your operation, moving a business is a big job: it’s important to get organized right from the start, and stay organized throughout the entire process.
Here’s our step-by-step guide for successfully, and painlessly, relocating your business.
Step One: Plan the Move
The Spruce says that the first step to a successful business relocation is creating a timeline. Plan everything out based on the move-in date you intend to keep: remember that certain tasks may take longer than anticipated, so build in some extra time.
It’s best to plan for about 6 months ahead of the move. During this time, plan the new office layout; consider things like storage and bookshelves, and order new furniture if you plan to outfit the new space in updated cubicles.
It’s a good idea to create a brief weekly meeting with your contractor or office manager, so that you and your team can stay up to date on the progress of the new space build out, and the move.
At this time, you should also get in touch with your moving company to schedule the date and time, and talk price.
Step Two: De-Clutter
Once you’re in planning mode, go through the entire office, and get rid of stuff you won’t need in the new space. Whether this is paperwork, pantry items, or old products, this should be a consorted effort: rent a few recycling bins, and ask your employees to go through their desks to get rid of anything they may not need at the new space. Remind them that documents with sensitive business information need to be shredded.
Ask everyone to bring home items that aren’t essential: after many years in an office, employees tend to have a lot of personal effects at their desk. If your employees have breakable items, they may want to bring them to the new location themselves.
Step Three: Supplies
Now, it’s time to estimate how many boxes you’ll need to order. If you’re planning on working with a moving company, like Highland, ask about boxes and packing materials. It’s a safe assumption that you’ll need more boxes than you think, so try not to be stingy when you order.
Step Four: Employee Pack
Each employee should be responsible for packing up his or her desk. Ask them how many boxes they will need, and designate a naming convention for the boxes so that things can be delivered to the right place when they arrive at the new office.
Remind employees that breakable items need to be carefully bubble wrapped, and the box should be marked as “fragile.”
Step Five: Assign Tasks
Once you get your employees moving on their individual boxes, assign teams to pack up the remaining common areas of the office. If you have a product shelf in your conference room, for example, assign that space to the marketing team. If there’s a fully stocked kitchen pantry, ask the sales team to pack it up. Remember to assign strict deadlines for these boxes to be packed, taped, and ready to go.
Step Six: Electronics
Your office probably has a lot of TVs, cables, computer screens, and other technology throughout it. In order to protect these items as best as possible during the move, ask your moving company about their packing services. They will be able to provide safe and secure packing for all of your expensive electronics.
Step Seven: The Big Day
The last thing you’ll need to do is take a deep breath! Your moving company will take care of the heavy lifting—literally—for you, so all you need to do is be in the office on the day of the move to help coordinate the logistics. The movers will take their time and carefully and securely pack up all of your items, and bring them over to the new space. That’s when the real fun begins! You and your employees get to start over in a brand-new office.
Highland Moving and Storage Vancouver is here for all of your business or commercial moving needs; whether you’re moving locally in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia area, or moving across the country, we can help. Call us today at 604-581-2300 to get started!
