If you’re the owner of a business with a physical office space or commercial space, there’s a good chance you’ll move your office once or twice in the span of your career. With your business still running, it’s difficult to manage a move on your own, especially if you have a considerable amount of furniture and a small window of time to get the move complete. If you’re considering an office move or a small commercial move, here are some tips to make it a success:
1. Give Your Move a Time Frame
If you’ve found a new space for your office and have the go-ahead to move in, you need to plan out your moving time frame. As the owner of your business, you need to have a time frame for packing including what the last day in your current office/commercial space will be, the day your new location will be in use and the necessary time for packing in between.
With a schedule for moving in mind, you can effectively designate the tasks that need to be done for the move, and you can plan out whatever may be necessary, such as purchasing boxes, gathering important documents or hiring a moving company.
2. Tell Your Employees About the Move
It’s best not to leave your employees in the dark when it comes to drastic changes, like moving locations.
As much as a move affects your business day-to-day operations, it also affects your employees. If you are moving long-distance, it can mean a longer drive for some of your employees, and it can affect the day of those with children. Give your employees time to plan out how their days will look once the office moves.
It will also give your employees time to sort through their personal work items and prepare them for packing.
3. Say Goodbye To What You Don’t Need
When moving to a new space, take it as an opportunity to clear out what you no longer require. If there’s a broken chair that you just haven’t got around to putting in the garbage, now is the perfect time. If there are files that haven’t been shredded, put the shredder to use and get rid of them!
The less you have to take to your new space means less time spent settling in and more clear space for new items and upcoming work files.
4. Make Sure Your Files and Equipment Are Taken Care Of
Speaking of work files, you’ll want to ensure that your files and office equipment are accounted for during the moving period. If most of your work is done digitally and backups are made in-office, or if any of your work requires machinery, it’s important that your equipment is taken out last and doesn’t affect any operations.
Choosing a final day for operating equipment is another great way to ensure that no work is lost or damaged during the move. When this day is done, then the equipment can be safely packed away, awaiting its use in your new office.
It’s also important that any physical files are itemized and ready to be packed in an organized manner. Files that pertain to your daily operations should be easily found when unpacking.
5. Keep Your Important Documents In One Spot, Away from the Move
Business licenses, contracts and other important documents that aren’t easily replaceable should be kept away from the move to ensure they are not damaged or lost, especially if your employees are helping with moving. Have these documents in a box or container at home so that you can bring them in once the move is complete.
6. Maintain A List of Contacts That Are Involved In the Move
By creating a list of contacts that are involved in your move, you’ll have a quick reference to those who you may need to call with questions. For example, if you need the keys to your new office or location the day before the move, you’ll have the contact information for the right person to talk to for them.
7. Know The Floor Plan in Your New Office Space/ Commercial Space and Plan Accordingly
With any new office space or commercial space, you’ll have to reconfigure your set up. If you know that your new floor plan won’t accommodate for the desks you currently own, take the opportunity to purchase new desks that will fit into the new space, and get it delivered to the new location. By eliminating unnecessary furniture out of the move to your new location, you’ll cut down on packing and moving stress. It also means you won’t have excessive amounts of furniture in your new space.
8. Get Your Business Billing Address Changed
Nothing is more annoying than missing a piece of mail or mail that never gets to you! Before your moving day, be sure to pop into a Canada Post Office to change your company’s billing address that takes effect on the day you officially move into your new space. This is also important to do on any company credit cards or systems that are billed to your old address. By proactively changing your billing address details, you won’t miss any important pieces of mail.
9. Be Present On Moving Days
As the owner of your business, you should be present when moving out of your current location and into your new one. There are some circumstances that pop up during a move that you may need to remedy, especially if your employees helping in the move. Questions may arise about where furniture needs to go or what files should be placed where. Your guidance and support to the team involved in the move will help resolve problems and make the new office space comfortable.
10. Hire A Professional Moving and Packing Company
Save yourself the worry of packing and moving your commercial or office space belongings by hiring a Professional Moving company like Deluxe Moving.
When you choose a professional moving company like ours, we will be able to safely pack away your belongings so they get to your new location in perfect condition. Furniture, equipment, and files will be safely packed with professional precision and moved without hassle. This saves you and your employees from worrying about how items will get from point A to point B and lets you focus on your business while the move is in progress.
With scheduled packing, moving and unpacking days you’ll know exactly when to expect Deluxe Moving to arrive at your current location, and when to expect your items to be unpacked at your new location. With all the moving logistics taken care of, all you’ll need to focus on is your business during the transition.
For more information on Deluxe Moving’s Commercial Moving and Office Moving Services, please contact us directly.