Moving to a new business location can be tricky. How do you keep your business operating smoothly and organize a move at the same time?
It’s estimated that 40 million Americans move each year, and a significant number are due to businesses in the process of relocating.
So how should you plan and organize an office move?
Decide If You Will Use a Moving Company
First of all, we recommend using a professional moving company to help you out. They will pack everything with care and ensure everything makes it to your new office location without any damages occurring.
Professional office movers are also fully insured and come with plenty of experience. It’s much better than trying to do everything in-house.
The moving industry in the US alone is expected to grow 6% by 2026, and for good reason.
Plan for Your New Location BEFORE You Move
When moving to a new house, you can pack all the essentials in a single box and work out everything when you arrive. There’s no rush.
With an office move, the longer the disruption the more damage it’s going to cause to your business. That’s why you should have a floor plan of your new location.
That way you can begin unpacking and getting back up and running the moment you arrive.
Create a Skeleton Team
If you can help it, try to avoid moving during busy sales periods. For example, during the holiday season the retail business alone was set to grow by $1.1 trillion. Depending on the industry you’re in, part of the year will be your holiday season period. Avoid a move during this time.
Once you’ve made the decision to move, you should always have a skeleton team in place. This means you’ll have a small number of workers who continue to manage your customers and keep the business running.
If possible, this could involve them working from home. The last thing you want is a complete shutdown, assuming you can help it.
Organization by Room
Now that you have your business managed and a floor plan of your new location, you need to segregate everything by room.
This way you can simply open up the required boxes and immediately put everything in its place. Remember, this is not like moving to a new house. Segregate by room not by category. Make sure you use clear and concise labeling.
Unpack with the Necessities First
The way you unpack is just as important as anything else on this list. Look at unpacking the essentials first.
For example, hooking up the computers to the Internet and reinstalling lines of communication should be your first step.
Unpack based on what’s necessary to keep your business running. Is the water cooler really that important now?
Last Word – Moving Differently
Anyone who’s participating in an office move should be clear about the fact that this is not like moving to a new home. You need to be swift and minimize disruption to your business.
Consider hiring a professional office moving company to make this process even easier.
Are you preparing for an upcoming business relocation?
