Businesses move offices for various reasons. While the need for better and bigger spaces used to be the primary cause for office relocation, companies now want offices that promote flexible working options. A traditional office setup may not support modern working methods, including collaborative, agile, and hybrid ones, necessitating a move. Adopting remote and hybrid working methods may result in companies wanting to downsize.
Organizations may also relocate to boost employee experience, for growth and expansion, or to execute new office layouts. While office relocations can be challenging, some errors can make them more stressful. This article outlines six mistakes to avoid when moving offices.
Poor planning
Failure to adequately plan your office relocation can negatively impact business operations and the overall shifting process. When moving offices, your aim should be planning a relocation that causes less disruption to your business, including daily work, maintaining the team’s morale, and customer service throughout the process. You should start planning your office relocation in advance by considering every office aspect you need to move. Inform your staff, vendors, and customers about the relocation.
If your move involves new furniture from Freedman’s Office Furniture or any other store, make a plan to donate or sell the old items. Find a project manager with office moves experience and let them take charge of the moving process. You should also be ready with insurance for the new office. An office moving checklist can help you plan.
Not working with a moving company
An office move is challenging, and trying to do everything by yourself is among the greatest mistakes you can make when moving. Equipment can get damaged, the business may be affected, and the relocation may take a lot of time if your employees handle it. Hiring a complete relocation service can be a time saver. It takes care of shifting everything, including packing, allowing your staff to focus more on work. Since an office moving company takes less time to complete everything, meaning less working time lost, saving money. Relocating with the help of a moving company is also less stressful for you and your staff.
Not planning IT relocation
Failure to plan IT relocation may result in phone lines in the wrong positions and insufficient and incompatible cabling infrastructure. This may lead to reduced productivity. Disconnecting then reconnecting the office technology, including computers, servers, security systems, and telephones, is one significant complication you face when moving your office.
Your moving service won’t take responsibility for setting up technology at the new office. Consider involving your IT department during the planning stage to develop a strategy to shift your IT equipment safely. Since transferring all the equipment at once might not be possible, find safe storage units because they’re hard to move and are expensive to replace.
Working with an unrealistic budget
An office relocation budget is vital when relocating because it helps cater to expenses, including unexpected ones. Cost control is a significant challenge most relocation managers face. However, setting a realistic office relocation budget can help you control and manage your spending and money during the whole process. With a template, making a budget becomes easier, so download or create one. This will keep all your expenses in one place for easy access.
Look for quotes from at least three moving services and include the highest in your budget. If there are any extra services you want from the professional movers, add them to your budget. Any special transportation needs you might have, including temperature-controlled trucks for moving sensitive items, should be budgeted for. If the current office requires repairs, you must take care of and confirm from the lease who’s responsible for the expenses. Add the repair estimates to your budget if they’re your responsibility.
Your budget should also contain the new office’s costs, including rent, legal fees, security deposit, building insurance, new furniture, IT infrastructure, new phone systems, and more. If your employees put in additional time to assist with the relocation, add that overtime to your budget. Factor in any other costs you might incur during the office move.
Relocating items you don’t require
Office moves allow your company to evaluate its inventory to decide if they need to discard anything. While this step is optional, ignoring it can complicate the moving process and make you spend unnecessarily. Additionally, moving with obsolete items implies spending more money and time on things that don’t bring sufficient revenue. Before moving your office, audit your inventory and remove what you don’t need. This means you’ll have fewer things to move, translating to faster moving times and reduced costs.
Not updating the new office address.
Updating your new office address is essential but easy to forget. Failure to update your new address on your website and forms may confuse prospects to go to the old office. Your company may also miss deliveries. Once you confirm your new office location, inform your business partners and regularly send emails to them, third parties, and clients throughout the moving process as a reminder. Update the company’s social media pages and websites to inform future customers.
Endnote
Office relocation can be stressful and challenging. However, avoiding these mistakes when moving offices can help smoothen the process.
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