If you think moving house is stressful, then organising an office relocation is a whole different ball game. You have to manage the moving of the furniture and equipment, but also the relocation of your staff, systems and processes too.
Whether you’re moving as part of a merger and acquisition or your business has outgrown its current location, moving offices take time and effort to ensure everything runs smoothly.
At Dependable, we have experience in office facilities management services, including grounds maintenance, commercial cleaning, and relocating our clients to new buildings. If you need help moving offices, we can support you through the move and ensure a smooth transition. In this article, we will give you handy tips and tricks about everything that goes into an office relocation. Let’s dive into it!
Planning
The first step in managing an office relocation is the planning process. This is one of the lengthiest parts, as you need to ensure that everything is in place ahead of the move. One of the initial stages is establishing a relocation team. This team will be in charge of the move from start to finish. Ensure the team has representatives from all relevant departments, such as IT, HR and Operations to ensure that every aspect of the move is considered.
Once your team has been assembled, together you’ll need to set a budget. This needs to include realistic cost estimations for the entire relocation process, including moving costs, the cost of setting up the new office, and make sure to budget a bit extra for any unseen circumstances.
Once the budget has been set, your relocation team will need to create a detailed timeline that sets out the individual tasks, projects and milestones leading up to the moving date. It needs to be comprehensive, but also flexible enough to accommodate changes and any potential emergencies/ issues that hinder the plan.
Requirements Assessment
Once you have completed the initial planning process, you will need to conduct a thorough assessment of your current office in comparison to your new office. Is there anything you need in your new office that is additional to your current requirements? How will you go about acquiring this?
Complete an inventory of your current space, equipment and technology to determine what needs to be moved, disposed of, replaced or upgraded. Work with the relocation team to create a layout for the new office that maximises space efficiency and promotes collaboration. Make sure to consider break areas and storage space as well as workstations, desks and meeting rooms.
Updated Staffing for New Facilities
As part of your needs assessment, you may decide that you need to update your facilities and property management staff. When dealing with a new office space that is bigger than your last office or facility, or is located a significant distance away, it might not always be practical to expect your existing office facilities management team to relocate with you. As well as the move itself, you’ll also need to consider careful preparation for personnel transitions, seamless handovers, and other related matters.
This may be considering the option of expanding the team, potentially outsourcing your FM requirements, or temporarily reassigning existing contractors to help during the relocation process. These elements necessitate thorough consideration during the planning stages for the upcoming site transition.
Communication
You’ll also need to keep up good communication. Be sure to keep all of your employees informed about the relocation process from the beginning, and regularly communicate any updates, timelines and changes that may impact them. Answer any questions and address any concerns as quickly and concisely as possible, to avoid potential tension amongst employees.
As well as keeping your employees informed about the move, you also need to keep your customers, vendors and partners up to date with the relocation process too in order to minimise disruptions to business operations.
Logistics
Once you have communicated with your employees and vendors about the move, you need to find a reputable moving company that has experience in office relocations (not just house moves!) and coordinate with vendors to order new furniture, if you need it. It is also important to speak to your IT department to ensure a smooth transition of all technology infrastructure, servers and security systems.
If you need help moving offices, Dependable can support you with the entire process, from start to finish!
Setting Up Your New Office
One of the most important aspects of the entire move is setting up the new office. In order to minimise disruption, you need to ensure that the space is properly wired and the internet and phone lines are connected and working, as well as the security systems, fire alarms and safety measures are functioning effectively.
Arrange your furniture according to your planned layout, and make any necessary adjustments based on the actual space. Be prepared that your office may not be laid out exactly to plan – things could change or not fit as well as hoped.
Supporting Employees
Once you’re in, organise an orientation so that your employees can become familiar with the new layout, facilities and process changes. Address any concerns that your employees may have and make sure you are helping them with the organisation of their workspaces for the relocation.
Once you are unpacked and settled in, make sure you celebrate! Moving offices can be hard work, so organise an event to celebrate the successful relocation and acknowledge everyone’s hard work.
Record Keeping
Ensure that you keep detailed records of all expenses, contracts, communication and any issues that were encountered during the move. These documents will be valuable for future reference.
How Dependable can help
We have over 20 years experience in all things facilities management, including plumbing and gas, electrical services, and commercial cleaning! Whether you need help moving, or you need a new office facilities management team, we are here to help!
Get in touch with us today to discuss your requirements and discover how Dependable can help you.
