11 Top Tips For Stress-Free Office Removals (That Are Highly Practical)

Are you moving office?

In this article we’re going to look at how you can plan and manage stress-free office removals.

Whether you’re upgrading your premises or moving to a new location, office removals are not like moving home.

Office relocation is a complicated process and can often be a major cause of stress and anxiety for staff members. A well-planned office move will mean minimum disruption to staff and customers.

We’ve compiled a list of 11 highly practical tips to help you (with the assistance of an office removals company) carry out your office move stress-free. Click through the list below to instantly view how to improve your office move.

Plan Effectively

Ideally start planning between 4-6 months in advance.

Draw up floor plans and take stock of all the equipment and furniture you will need to move.

Ask yourself:

• Where is everything going to go?
• Is the current furniture suitable/going to fit into the new office?
• What items/systems need to be prioritised (think phone and IT equipment)?

Depending on whether you’re upscaling or downsizing, you might need to throw certain items away. Furniture at the end of its useful life can often be recycled. Click here to find your local recycling unit.

Remember that layout and design can also impact on employee performance. Closed cubicles or stuffy working environments isolate employees and decrease morale.

Whereas, studies have shown break-away areas and bright colours can improve productivity and promote wellbeing.

Create an Office Removals Checklist

A great way to keep stock of everything you need to do is to draw up an office removals checklist.

Create a list of tasks, the date they need to be completed by, and by who. Be sure to tick off each item as you go, such as testing phone lines and labelling and packing boxes.

Your office removals checklist should also account for other important logistical aspects, such as ensuring access for office removals companies.

Download our free Moving House Checklist Infographic here.

Identify Specialist IT Equipment

One of the most challenging aspects of office removals is migrating your existing IT equipment.

Most office removal companies will offer IT relocation solutions as part of their office relocation package, but it is worth checking what is included.

These services should include the safe decommissioning and packing of all IT equipment in protective crates with padded bubble wraps and labelled cable bags. Some office removal companies specialising in commercial removals are also equipped to carry out server relocations.

Before your office move you should carry out an audit check with your internal IT team and external suppliers. From this devise configuration and disaster recovery plans to ensure the continuity of existing operations at your new office.

Make sure you create an inventory of all your IT equipment, including:

• PC’s
• printers
• servers
• copy & fax machines, and
• phones

Arrange a Convenient Date

Try to get an office relocation date in the diary as soon as possible. This avoids unnecessary delays and last-minute panics.

Set a date that is convenient to your operations. That is, a time of the year when you expect to be less busy, or where moving is unlikely to cause significant disruption to your business.

Schedule client meetings and deadlines accordingly to give yourself plenty of wiggle room either side of the move to meet your existing commitments.

Let Customers Know You’re Moving

Ensure all your customers are aware that you are moving and where you are moving to.

It seems fairly straightforward but time and time again it is overlooked by relocating businesses.

Update your website, business cards, social media and anything else which contains your contact number and address. There’s nothing worse than trying to contact a business only to find the number doesn’t work or are no longer based where they say they are.

Get in touch with Google to ensure contact listings are up to date. Allow plenty of time for this as the search engines often require proof of address through photos or other confirmation materials.

Another good idea is to update your suppliers. This way you can ensure any future deliveries or mail goes to the correct address.

Get Staff Involved

When carrying out office removals it is essential to involve your staff and keep them regularly informed on progress.

As mentioned above, moving office can represent a big change and can be a cause for anxiety for some. Keeping staff well informed means they are likely to be more motivated to help with the move and make it a success.

Allocating tasks to staff members can also help save costs. Have staff members pack and label their belongings and put them in a designated location according to your move plan.

Ask staff to remove personal items close to the time of moving so that you can take stock of what’s left to do.

Put Together an Office Removals Team

Following on from the point above it’s a good idea to have an office relocation team.

Designate a team or project leader and ensure they have enough time to allocate to these tasks and that they are good organisers of people and possessions.

Hold regular planning meetings with the team to ensure they know what their responsibilities are and what they need to do. If you’re a large organisation you might want to have a representative from each main department and delegate tasks accordingly.

Declutter

There’s little point in going through the time and expense of shifting furniture and equipment to your new office which you don’t then use.

Moving office is a fantastic opportunity to rid yourself of broken furniture and obsolete IT equipment that you no longer have a use for.

Consider donating disused furniture or that which simply won’t fit in your new office to charity. You could even make some savings if you write-off items from a tax perspective.

Enjoying this post? Why not read our post on top decluttering tips?

Sort Old Paperwork

Several companies accumulate skyscrapers of paperwork over the years. Rather than having to shift all of this to your new office, use the opportunity to go through documents and check if they still need to be retained, or can be filed digitally.

For unnecessary paperwork or that which is likely to fall foul of new GDPR rules, consider using a shredding service to safely and securely dispose of it, or an archiving unit.

If there is not enough time to go through everything you should aim, at the very minimum, to identify and label folders and documents ahead of the office move.

Back-up Electronic Files & Data

Mechanical damages to hardware is listed as one of the top causes of data loss. Regular data back-ups are therefore needed to allay fears.

We mentioned at #3 the need to draw up a disaster recovery plan. This plan should account for all the companies’ data and that which it holds on clients.

Before you move, ensure you have up-to-date backups of all data and that this is filed safely and securely, either in hard drives or cloud-based software.

Hire a Professionals Specialising in Office Moves

When you’re moving office it’s important to enlist the services of a professional office removals company.

On top of organising and managing office-specific aspects of the relocation such as the migration of IT equipment, a good office removal company will strive to get things re-set up for you quickly. This ensures there is minimum disruption to your business.

It’s a good idea to hire your office removals company early. Even if you don’t have a fixed date for the move yet, allowing plenty of time puts both parties in a better position to plan out the best course of action.

Consider the key factors you will need to account for and your budget:

Bonus Tip: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Most companies have never moved premises before or do so very rarely.

As such, the office removals process can be daunting for even the most adept business owners.

Choosing a professional office removals company like GoodMove will give you that piece of mind that you’re dealing with the experts.

How can GoodMove Assist?

We can advise on packing and will supply a range of purpose-made materials to assist.

Depending on your available time and budget, you may choose for us to pack only your most delicate and breakable items or for assured for peace of mind, allow us to manage your move entirely with our complete packing and moving service.

Our staff will make a detailed record of the contents of each packing case to ensure all boxes are placed in the correct places on arrival at your new premises.

What’s more, a move manager will be assigned to you to ensure you have a consistent point of contact throughout the process. And in the unlikely event something goes amiss you will have someone to immediately turn to.

If you’re downsizing or need more time to manage the transition between offices, we also have purpose-built Business storage facilities to help you manage the move.

Contacting GoodMove

To find out more about any of our commercial removals services, or to find out more about how we can move your office stress-free, don’t hesitate to get in touch today. Simply call us on the number listed above or fill out a quick call back form.

What do you think are the best ways to carry out office removals? If you’ve got any thoughts on any of the above, or think we’ve left something out, feel free to leave us a comment below.