Planning an Office Move? Here’s What You Need to Know

There are many different reasons why you may feel its time to move your office. It can be a space issue, cost, or even because the old building is no longer fit for purpose. 

In most cases, it is a good thing. But, you need to check your new office thoroughly before settling in and you should plan the details of the move properly.

Testing

Perhaps the most important part of the move happens before you leave your old building. You need to survey the new office to make sure it is structurally sound and isn’t hiding any nasty surprises. There is an array of tests that you can perform but it is worth considering using dye penetrant testing, it will alert you to any structural issues that can cause you problems. In fact, if a problem is found it could save you a significant amount of money.

Layout

The best result is to overlap the office time, allowing you to continue to work from the old building as you start to move. This will allow you to plan the layout of the new office and move in stages. It’s important to consider access and which team members need to sit together.

Infrastructure First

Wherever possible invest in new cabling for your network infrastructure. This makes it easier to install the infrastructure before anyone moves. But, t also means you know that it is all new and will last you for several years.

Get the IT techs to install everything you think you need and a little extra.

Save Documents

Paper documents are essential, even in the modern digital age. You need to pack all of these securely, allowing access to the essential ones as necessary. You’ll need a filing system for them while they are in transit. 

Getting this part right is essential to avoid paperwork loss during the move.

Calculate The Moving Plan

Your employees will be able to help with the office move but you need to assign them all the right jobs to ensure they do what they need to and the move goes smoothly. 

You need to create a plan that itemizes everything that needs to be moved and who will take care of it.

This doesn’t mean that the employee will physically move items. Their role may simply be to ensure that all items are moved by a specialist firm and that nothing is damaged or left behind in the process.

Creating this plan will also highlight what you are not taking and what equipment you will need in the new office. That’s a good way of creating your shopping list and making sure you have everything you need.

Organize Workflow

Just before the actual move, you’ll need to decide whether the workflow is simply stopping or if you are going to be able to keep certain parts of the business trading. Understanding this will help you to organize the moving order.

To finish, make sure all your employees and helpers are aware of the plan and let them ask questions or make suggestions. You can then finalize the plan and hopefully have a smooth moving experience.

Fabrizio VanMarcino
 

Fabrizio Van Marciano is a self-taught web designer, front-end web developer, and content creator. He is the founder of FVM.