With proper planning and excellent communication, moving offices won’t impact your company’s productivity levels.
Moving to a new space is an exciting and challenging process at the same time. You are surely looking forward to positive changes on one side, while on the other, you don’t want to lose valuable work time or deplete customers while relocating. With a well-thought-out plan in place, you can take much of the stress away and keep your business running as usual when moving office.
The tips listed below will help your company keep its productivity while transitioning to a new base of operations.
Plan the relocation carefully to keep the downtime to the minimum
For your move to run as smoothly as possible, make sure to plan the relocation months. When considering how long transitioning will last, set realistic expectations. According to the experts, three months is the minimum time needed for a small workplace to prepare to move. As for medium to large offices, they should have at least six to eight months at their disposal to conduct this kind of adventure properly.
Take into account that you will have to scout the new location, get moving insurance, conclude a new lease agreement, inform your suppliers and service providers, and finally, create thorough schedules and timetables. All of this requires a lot of time and effort.
Create detailed schedules and timelines
Elaborate to-do-lists and timetables will ensure even the smallest details are covered, and all necessary tasks are done. This will prove invaluable when moving your office. First, draw a floor plan of your new office with a seating chart as this will save time when the actual relocation takes place. Include the placement of major equipment in your plan to keep the shake-up of the office at the minimum. Well-crafted timetables and plans will help that everyone gets situated in the new office space with the least amount of hassle. You can even get moving boxes for free and avoid some of the expenses!
Get your staff involved in the process
Bringing your team into line has nothing to do with saving money and being tight, but rather with making the bonds between your team members stronger. If your employees are actively involved in the packaging and moving, the easier they will navigate through these potentially stressful times. This also means faster relocation.
If you opt to move yourself using a truck rental, with your employees engaged with the moving, you will gain greater control and freedom in creating schedules and timelines. You get to rent the truck on an hourly basis and keep a close eye on packing and unpacking. Truck hire can help you stick to your budget while ensuring the safety and security of your delicate equipment and private files. Clear the clutter before you move.
Before heading to the new location, evaluate what needs to be moved, and make sure to clear out the items you no longer need like old furnishing and equipment. Almost every business stores old desks, chairs, and computer monitors they no longer use. Keep the must have office gadgets, furniture and equipment, and sell the old stuff to a used furniture place, or even get a tax deduction if you donate your old equipment.
Whatever you choose to do, take into account that the more stuff you have, the longer and more expensive your relocation will be. And even more – clean workspaces promote productivity! A mobile shredding truck can help you with the obsolete paper files before the packing process begins.
Carry out your relocation in stages
Making your new location functional as soon as possible helps your business maintain its productivity when moving. Breaking the moving process up across several days and moving teams and departments in stages will eliminate extra days of lost work.
Plan your relocation in stages and start with the least essential materials. Move one department or team at a time. This will help in keeping up with productivity, as will working in neat and nice-looking offices. Also, your employees will feel less overwhelmed with the process and less crowded if they can transition in stages, instead of all moving at once.
Keep your customers posted
Market your new place as soon as you finalize it! A polite, concise message about the effective date of the move and your company’s new address should be sent out to all your clients and partner organizations. To bring your customer base up to date, besides sending the newsletters, make sure to announce the news on your website and social media. Offering sneak peeks of the new home office and generating pre-opening excitement will engage your customers. Also, various incentives can help you keep even those clients who are not too eager to follow you to the new location.
Inform your customers if there will be delays in shipping during the relocation, or customer service issues if you run an e-business. They will appreciate your company for keeping them posted. To reduce the time spent away from your usual business activities, make your new space operational promptly. Ideally, your new location should be up and running before you leave your old office. Together, with the rest of the tips, this will minimize work disruption or slowdowns and get you through relocation quickly and smoothly.
With proper planning and excellent communication, moving offices won’t impact your company’s productivity levels.
Join the conversation!