Office Relocation: 10 Things to Do When Moving Offices

From time to time in any business, it might become necessary to move offices.
This can be due to a number of reasons. It might be that you are actually upgrading, or moving to a better spot for the sake of your business.
Or it could be a downsizing move in an effort to save some money. Whatever it is, it’s important that you are approaching your office relocation in the best possible manner. In this post, we’ll discuss what that means, and how you can make sure that you are doing it right each and every time.
Are you an employer thinking to move your office to a new and better location? Are you going to supervise the whole process of shifting your office to the new place yourself? If yes, then you have come to the right place. This article talks about what it takes to move your business from one location to another.
Do you think it is not a big deal? Do you think shifting your office is just about getting everything packed and loaded on to the truck? If yes, then we must tell you that you are mistaken. There are many other factors that you need to keep in mind to make sure your business does not get affected due to the relocation process.
Here are some major things you are likely to overlook or delay while moving your office premises:
Make a Floor Plan
A good early move you can make is to draw up a floor plan of the new office where you are relocating to.
This will help to give you some idea of what you are working with, so you can then start to plan out where you are going to put what.
Doing this early on makes it a lot easier on the other end when you are unpacking, so it’s a great idea to make sure that you look into this as soon as possible. Be sure to be as accurate and as detailed as possible with the floor plan.
Hire Some Help
Most businesses will find that it is necessary to get some help on board when it comes to the actual process of moving everything. You should take a look around and see if there are any commercial removalists in your area that might be able to help.
With the right commercial moving help, you are going to find the whole process significantly simpler and easier, and it really will remove much of the headache from the relocation process in general, so that is something to think about in any office relocation.
Try Not to Change Your Phone Number
Retaining your old telephone number is really important for your business, particularly if you rely on getting new customers through phone calls. A sudden change of phone number may result in you losing many customers to your competitors.
In case you are forced to have a new telephone number because of the change of location, try to keep the old one as well and get things adjusted in such a way that all calls coming on you old number will be forwarded to the new one.
This will make sure that you won’t lose business just because of changing your office location.
Call the Phone and Internet Companies in Advance
Transferring phone lines and getting a new internet connection are processes that take some time.
If your business relies on having an effective and unhindered communication process with your clients, even a few days without a telephone and/or internet connection will cost your business dearly.
To avoid this problem, make sure you talk to the telephone and internet companies in advance and inform them about the date of your relocation.
By doing this, you make sure that don’t miss a beat and the company can set up everything the same day you move into the new office.
Make Sure Your Address Is Changed Everywhere
These days, companies are using various marketing channels to promote their businesses and to attract more customers. These include traditional marketing means, such as business cards, flyers, and posters, as well as digital marketing means, including the use of a website, social media, email marketing, online marketing, and online advertisements to attract clients.
Whatever channels of marketing you are using to promote your business, just make sure you change your office address everywhere. Imagine how bad it will be for you business if your customers are going to the wrong location.
To make sure that the change of location does not affect your business, change your office address on every marketing channel you are using.
Time It Well
It can be very sensitive trying to choose an appropriate day to carry out the move.
You want there to be minimal impact upon the running of the business, so you might want to think about doing the move itself on a weekend, or during a time when the business is generally not quite as busy.
This is likely to help you out a lot, and it will take away much of the stress associated with ensuring your business is still operating as it should. Good timing, as with many other elements in business, can really make or break it here.
Inform Your Legal Advisor
Telling your legal advisor beforehand will make sure you won’t have to face any issues related to taxation and licensing.
The legal advisor will make sure your new address and any other relevant information is updated in the government records so that you won’t have to face any legal problems just because you didn’t inform the relevant authorities about your new address and/or contact details.
Inform the Post Office
Getting your mails re-directed to the new location is also very important to ensure you receive them without any delay. Tell the post office authorities about the change of location and the date you will be shifting so that all your mail are directed to the new office without any delay that could affect your daily operations.
Allow Space
Make sure that you are allowing for plenty of space when you are unpacking in the new office. It can be all too easy to try and use up all the space you have, but that is not actually the best way, as it is nicer to work in an office where you feel like you can breathe. So if you can remember that, it is going to help you out in a big way when it comes to your office relocation, and your people will be a lot happier for it on the whole too.
Be Ready for Some Additional Expenses
Be ready for some unexpected expenses while you are shifting your office premises.
No matter how well you have planned your move, it is likely that some unforeseen expenses may arise. For example, you may need new furniture for some areas if your new office is bigger than the old one.
There is also a chance that some of your furniture gets damaged during the move and needs to be repaired or replaced. Therefore, it is important to keep some money aside for these unexpected expenditures beforehand to avoid any trouble.