5 Office Relocation Tips + FREE Office Moving Checklist

 

 

The future of work might look remote for many industries, but that doesn’t mean physical office locations are obsolete. And for whatever reason, there may come a time when moving your office becomes a necessity.

If you find yourself in the position of relocating your office, there can be a lot of factors at play. For instance, how much will office relocation cost? And how do you go about relocating an entire corporate location?

With these questions in mind, we’ve put together this guide to planning a relocation, considerations for a large-scale move, and more.

In this post, discover:

• What is an office relocation?
• What are the considerations for an office relocation?
• 5 tips for relocating your office

 

 

What is an office relocation?

An office relocation is when a building owner, property manager, or corporate tenant finds that the current location is no longer suitable and decides to move the office and its employees to a new location. Most office moves don’t happen spontaneously, and employees are often alerted ahead of upcoming changes.

Common reasons for an office move might include:

• Unsustainable rent prices
• Company growth
• Expiration of current lease
• Facilities no longer meet demand
• Building renovations
• Employee relocation
• Office downsizing
• Better brand fit
• Lack of security

 

What are the considerations for an office relocation?

The decision to relocate your office shouldn’t be taken lightly, and there are a few things to consider:

• Cost. A consideration to keep in mind is office relocation costs. For instance, hiring movers, paying for new office equipment, and potentially increasing rent can all put a dent in your business’s account. Meeting with a financier during every step can help mitigate costs and keep everyone informed about budgetary needs.
• Location. The location of your office move is perhaps the most important consideration because it can have the largest impact on operations and employees. When scouting for a new office location, make sure you look at areas known for safety and that are closer to transportation areas to make it easier for commuters.
• Timing. Is now a good time to consider a large-scale move? Is there a more advantageous time to move your corporate office? Assign a project manager early on who can help solve these questions by going over the data and assembling teams to help with each aspect of the relocation.
• Impact. It’s critical to consider the impact such a move will have on the company, its clients, and its employees. Some moves are likely to have a positive impact on all three, but planning for negative impacts is an important aspect of controlling potential fallout.

 

Discover these five office automation for your new location:

 

5 tips for relocating your office

As mentioned above, there are many reasons why you might want to relocate your office. And, with the right plan, you can do it as minimally disruptive as possible.

Here are five tips to help you smoothly relocate your office and tenants:

1. Inform employees of the move
2. Assign people their roles
3. Prepare the new location
4. Hire someone to move the office
5. Update contact information

 

1. Inform employees of the move

The sooner your employees know about the relocation, the more prepared they’ll feel about the ultimate change. Furthermore, keeping them informed of each step along the way gives them enough time to ask questions and figure out their new commutes.

Keep in mind that your employees will want to know how flexible you’ll be about their new routines, especially for some employees whose homes might now be farther away from their offices. You can support your employees by giving everyone a forum to ask questions, adopting a period of flexible work hours, or offering commute stipends.

 

2. Assign people their roles

Experts have pointed out that clarifying roles and responsibilities when taking on large projects such as office relocation is the best way to succeed.

One way to clarify project management roles is to use the DARCI grid:

• Decider. First, you need to define the ultimate decider. This person will have the final say and approval and should be the person with the most decision-making power.
• Accountable person. When your project is as large-scale as a corporate office relocation, there will likely need to be more than one accountable person. In this case, choosing an accountable person for each task helps divvy up the workload. Each accountable person will head their own team and be responsible for how their team achieves its objectives.
• Responsible person. The responsible person(s) will complete the tasks and report to the accountable team member heading their task.
• Consulted person. The consulted person is the one who will answer questions from teams and provide feedback. They can be the Decider, or they can simply be advisers.
• Informed person. Lastly, the informed person will keep notes and pass on communications. In most cases, this person doesn’t have decision-making authority but does report to the Decider.

 

3. Prepare the new location

Before you can move into your new location, it will need to be fully prepared in order to make sure office space utilization is at its peak.

For instance, here are some things to make sure are complete before officially opening the new office location:

• Make sure that all decor — including paint, flooring, and lighting — is complete before moving employees in. Moreover, limit post-move construction or installations as it could be a distraction for people trying to work in a new place.
• Ensure that security and access control systems are installed and fully functional so that employees and visitors can move freely around the property without being locked out.
• Have all systems, software, and WiFi up and running ahead of time so that all bugs can be fixed before teams set foot in the new office.
• If applicable, have desks, cubicles, and meeting rooms assigned to help alleviate confusion during the first few weeks.

 

4. Hire someone to move the office

Hiring office movers from a relocation company can help make the transition easier. Not only can they move your office furniture, but they may also help organize and facilitate the transfer of all computers and systems.

What’s more, it may benefit your company to hire a data and technology moving specialist. These professionals are skilled at relocating data servers and IT infrastructures with as little disruption as possible.

 

5. Update contact information

Finally, once your office’s relocation is almost complete, you should update all of your contact information with your new address. What’s more, you should begin alerting clients about your move with an office relocation announcement. This email announcement should include your new address and changed phone numbers. Further, reassure clients and customers that your office move won’t impact their ability to work with your business.