Moving office? There are so many things to consider that are probably weighing on your mind. You have to think about what needs to be moved, how you will move it, and where everything will go when it gets there. Not to mention the actual physical act of packing and unpacking all your belongings—talk about heavy lifting!
But don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. We’ve compiled a list of 9 key steps to follow when moving your office. Leverage these pro tips, and you’ll be organized and ready for a seamless move-in day in no time.
Make a List
The first step in your checklist, ironically, should be a list. Any move requires a detailed list of everything that needs to be done before the actual move begins. This will help you track your progress and ensure that nothing gets forgotten or overlooked by checking tasks off one by one.
Whether you’re making a list of companies that offer reliable office moving services to choose from or all the items in your office that need to be packed up and ready to go, to-do lists are key when organizing an office move.
Many people start the moving process without this first and most crucial step and end up lost in the havoc of moving office or forgetting something very important down the road. So, no matter how annoying it may seem, make sure to start your move on the right foot by creating that list!
Create a Budget
After you have your list of to-dos, it’s time to start planning how you will finance your office move. Moving an office can be costly, so you need to know what budget you’re working with. Some things you may need to consider when creating your budget are the cost of hiring professional movers, the cost of renting a moving truck or storage unit, and the cost of purchasing packing supplies.
If you’re moving to a small office, you may be able to get away with doing most of the work yourself and just hiring a few helpers for the heavy lifting portion of the move. But if you have a larger office, hiring a professional office moving company to take care of everything for you is your best bet for having peace of mind.
Start Packing Early
Since you probably have a lot to pack up, starting as early as possible is key to excellent organization and a headache-free office move. Begin by packing up non-essential items and things that you won’t need until after the move first. This will lighten your load and make the actual packing process much more manageable.
As you get closer to the moving date, start packing up all the essential items and things you use daily. It’s vital to leave out some essentials, though, that you will need up until the very last minute, like important company documents, for example.
You don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute, so pack as much as you can in advance without leaving yourself in a bind.
Label Everything
Once you start packing, be sure to label all the boxes with their contents and the room they belong in your new office. This will make unpacking much easier and quicker.
You can use a marker to mark the boxes or get creative and label them with coloured tape or stickers. Whatever system you decide to use, stay consistent throughout the box-labelling process, so you don’t get anything mixed up or end up scratching your head later on.
If you have a large company, you can also label boxes with different offices or departments. This will make it a lot easier for the movers to put things in their right place and save you time unpacking later.
Declutter Your Office Space
Decluttering before packing will, first and foremost, make packing and unpacking much easier since you’ll have less stuff to deal with. And second, it will also help you save money on your move. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you’ll have to pack, store, transport and unpack, meaning you’ll need a smaller storage unit, moving truck and less movers on hand. It’s a win-win!
To declutter your office space, start by removing any old furniture or equipment you don’t use anymore. You can donate these items to charity or even sell them to make some extra money for your move. Then, go through all your documentation and files and shred or recycle anything that you don’t need. And finally, have a garage sale or company-wide yard sale to eliminate any other unwanted items.
Make sure to include some of your colleagues in the process since you don’t want to risk getting rid of items that are valuable for other people in the company.
Notify Your Customers and Clients
Moving your office is probably your top priority but if you have current customers or clients, it’s important to notify them of your upcoming move. You don’t want there to be any service disruptions or negative customer experiences, so give them plenty of notice— at least a month in advance, if possible.
You can notify your customers or clients of the upcoming move in many ways – you can send them an email, put up a sign in your office, or include a notice on your website. However you choose to do it, be sure to include all the important details like your company’s new phone number and address to avoid any misunderstandings down the line or losing clients due to unintentionally “ghosting” them.
Set Up Your New Office Space
Once you arrive at your new office, it’s time to start setting things up. If you’ve hired a professional moving company, they would likely do most of the legwork for you. If you’re moving on your own, then you’ll need to DIY the “getting cosy” bit.
Start by setting up large furniture items, like desks, chairs, and cabinets first. Then, you can fill these with your smaller items and start unpacking all the boxes. As you’re unpacking, be sure to put things in their designated place, so you don’t end up with a lot of mess and clutter to deal with on top of unpacking.
Finally, once everything is unpacked, you can add some personal touches to your new office space to make it feel like home. After all, that’s where you’ll be spending most of your time from now on!
Set Up Your Utilities
Before you can start working in your new office, you need to set up your utilities. This includes things like electricity, water, gas, Internet, and phone service. If you’re moving to a new city or state, this process can be a little more complicated. But it should be fairly simple if you’re only moving locally.
Start by researching which utility companies service your new office space and then give them a call to set everything up. Be sure to do this a few weeks in advance so you have everything up and running by the time you move in, so it doesn’t hinder your work.
Hire Cleaning Services
If you want to start working in your new office space as soon as possible, you should hire professional cleaning services to do the nitty-gritty for you and add the finishing touch to your new, freshly unpacked and adorned office. This way, you don’t have to worry about cleaning the space before moving in and getting down to work.
A professional cleaning service will deep clean your entire office so it’s ready for you to use. They will dust, vacuum, and mop all the floors, clean the windows, and even the inside of your fridge (if you have one). It’s worth the investment, especially if you’re on a short deadline. But, if you want to save money, you can always round up your colleagues and do some team building while cleaning together!
Move Your Office like a Pro
Moving your office can be a lot of work but trust us when we say following these nine steps will lift a lot of weight off your shoulders. Use this opportunity to organize your new office space according to your needs and improve whatever was lacking before. Good luck and enjoy the process!
Image Credits: Tima Miroshnichenko, Karolina Grabowska, Yan Krukov, Anete Lusina
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