Whether you need to downsize your business, you want to move closer to suppliers or customers, or even if you’re scaling things, moving an office can be stressful. But it doesn’t have to be quite as tough as some make it. Here, we’re going to look at ways you can simplify and better manage the move, to reduce stress, costs, and downtime.
Start planning now
The sooner that you start planning, the easier it is to spot and work around any bottlenecks or issues with the move. You might even want to assign a project manager who can dedicate the necessary time to overseeing the move. Otherwise, it’s easy to be stuck between managing your business and trying to get it all worked out yourself. Make sure communications with employees about any moving plans are communicated in advance, too.
Stick to the floor plan
Don’t try to recreate the office that you already have. In most cases, the dimensions simply aren’t going to allow it. Instead, look at the resources and furniture that you have, but keep an eye on the floor plan of the new space. Make sure that you take the time to work out where everything is going to be, based on that floor plan. If you have to sell or buy some furniture to make it fit, it’s a lot easier than trying to bend the floor plan around your furniture.
Work with the pros
You might have the vehicles, the drivers, and enough people to hypothetically do the move yourself. But if you want to keep things smooth, you need to recognize that they are not trained professionals. A commercial moving company is going to be a lot more ready to pack up, move, and unpack as you need while ensuring safety and the security of your goods as best as possible.
Have some storage available
Big moves can often happen in phases. You might want to get all of the essential equipment and furniture in there first and take the time to ensure that they’re organized right. Or you might find that you don’t immediately have space for everything you want to keep. Storage units can offer an excellent way to make sure you can hold onto the assets you’re not ready to move in, just yet. Invest in the quality, high-security storage you need.
Back up all of your data
Fingers crossed, nothing is going to happen to your data as you move all of your tech from one location to the other. But would you really want to take that chance? Use the opportunity to find a Cloud server provider and back up every document and every bit of data that your business is going to need when it’s up and running on the other side. That way, if you need to reformat your drives or even replace them, you can make sure that you’re not left without that crucial data.
The more time you give yourself to plan the office move, the better. If you’re on a tight timeline, that means you should get started by finding the services that you need, right away.