Office relocation is often necessary as a business grows. Adding additional office space can accommodate the need for more on-site physical resources to meet the demands of greater business opportunities and expansion. More office space may be necessary for the hiring of new employees, which is a sign of a healthy, growing business. Additional office space may also lend itself to additional office equipment, such as more computers, copy machines, etc. that can increase business productivity.
However, office relocation should be done properly to ensure continuity is maintained. Planning should be done well ahead of time to make this process as seamless as possible. Listed below are some common considerations for office relocation.
Establish a Plan
Once a lease of the new space is signed (or ideally, as you are winding down lease negotiations), an office relocation plan should be created. This plan should include a detailed timetable, person-specific responsibilities and assignments, a list of goals, contact names and numbers and essential employee information, such as parking considerations. This plan should also detail when and how the formal announcement of the move shall be made.
The plan should also designate the moving contact or coordinator. This person oversees the moving process and coordinates all employees assisting in the move.
Office Furniture, Appliances and Equipment
Measurements of the room dimensions of the new office space should be recorded. A floor plan that shows where all of your current office furniture and equipment will be located should be prepared. (Note: this presents an opportunity to get rid of old equipment or furniture, assuming it is within your budget) Make employees responsible for packing and moving small personal items. A moving service will likely need to be hired to move office equipment. Commercial movers often have someone to assist in space planning if that floor plan becomes a bit difficult to put together.
Make sure to prepare office furniture and equipment to be moved. A designee from the business should be on location at the new office space to instruct movers where the furniture, appliances and equipment shall be placed. Marking individual pieces with labels to designate their locations in the new office space may be beneficial.
Information Technology
Vital IT equipment should be moved on a non-business day (if you have any). In preparation for the move, a complete backup should be completed. A mirror of this backup should also be stored off site - in a cloud-storage system, for instance. Prior to the move, all network infrastructure should be laid out and tested at the new office location.
On moving day, IT personnel should physically transfer the main system, such as servers and storage systems if the hardware is not too cumbersome. All office terminals should also be moved at the same time. Once in the new office, all systems should be powered-up and basic function tests run. The network should then be connected and tested. Any IT issues should be addressed before the next business day whenever possible.
Service Providers
All vendor provided services, such as Internet, postal service, telephone, etc. should be notified of the exact move date as soon as possible. If technicians need access to the new office space to install and test service infrastructures, appointments should be scheduled as far in advance as possible. Also, try to ensure technicians will be available on the moving date should problems arise. The goal is a completely successful office relocation, which means that all operations function as they should when you re-open for business.
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