Your Office Moving Checklist
So it’s time for you and your team to make a move to the new office. It’s time to get into gear and shift to a new home that will hopefully reflect the forward-looking nature of your business while providing a comfortable base for your staff. A potentially shambolic, stressful process can be turned into a relatively smooth, straightforward experience by following six simple tips.
1. Share Responsibility
There’s nothing worse than being left with shouldering the weight of a move alone – whether you’re the MD or the new intern there should be a role for you in the move. From boxing up the computers to carefully wrapping everyone’s favorite comedy slogan mug there’s a job for everyone when it comes to the big shift. If someone takes control in the first instance and allocates everyone their job (no playing favourites please!) there should be little to no confusion and little to no fuss.
2. Work to a schedule
So the move is in two months. What needs to be done in week one? In week three? And by who? An excel spreadsheet distributed to those involved (that’s EVERYONE remember?) detailing exactly what needs to be done and when will make the moving day itself a painless exercise. As painless as it can be anyway.
3. Throw it out
Who bought that plastic globe? When was the last time anyone used that clapped out printer? How many tons of scrap paper does one person possibly need? You know where the skip is and you know what to do. Carrying the rubbish of the past into a new environment will detract hugely from the new office’s potential to feel like a brand new, truly fresh start for all involved.
4. Pack it properly
If you’ve followed the above advice there’ll be no rushed packing and shoving of valuable items into unsuitable containers or ramming of essentials into a van at the very last minute for you. Should you encounter a moment of weakness when it seems that cramming the celebration champagne glasses into a shoebox is a great idea, imagine how you’ll feel when they turn up in bits the other end – and everyone knows you packed them because of carefully following point number 2!
5. Pick the right office
So maybe this should have been upfront but before you can schedule anything, before a box is filled, a plant pot dropped or a removal van called you’ll need to find a decent space to which to move. Think about the cons of your current office space – lacking natural light? Not spacious enough? A lack of privacy? Make these the key factors when you search for a new spot – don’t repeat the mistakes of the past – your new office should always be an improvement that gives rise to the best possible outcome from the move – a raise in both staff morale and productivity.
6. Book the right removal people
All the planning and careful packing in the world is irrelevant if you book a careless removal company. Or a massively overpriced one. Or one that turns up late and wants to go home early. You’ll need to take a long look at online reviews, take advice from other companies who have moved recently and tips from reliable friends when it comes to finding the right people for the job. Remember that the cheapest will probably not be the best but the most expensive may not be either. Picking wisely will not only reflect well on you but will serve your company very well indeed. Book a careless removal company
Author: Emma Macmillan
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