Tips For Moving an Office

Moving your home is very stressful, but imagine moving office space. It is even more difficult. From office chairs, desks and office supplies to all the employees you have to think about settling in the new space.

When you are moving office space, there is big and bulky furniture, electronics and many rooms of small things to pack. 

Another important thing is that office moves usually have to be done on a short notice because you can’t just shut down your company for two-three weeks and completely stop working. 

This makes the office move even more complex. Office move is a lot of work and it does not matter how big or small your business is. 

In order to manage your office move, hiring professional office movers is your best move.

 It will take some of the burden off your back and you will have time to focus on your employees and documents needed in order to change locations. In addition to hiring movers, these ideas on how to handle your office move will help you feel a bit better, so read and enjoy!

Start planning on time

There is no procrastinating when it comes to moving an office space. You have to know every single detail – who will do what, how it will be done and when it will be done.

 If you don’t start planning on time, you may end up not knowing where to start and get completely lost along the way. 

Have in mind that if you want to include your employees in the process, no one will want to stay in the office until 3am to pack personal belongings into boxes, or how to transport 30 desks  and chairs without a truck.

Researchers say that in order to plan a good office move, you might need up to three months to plan and get ready and up to a month or two to set everything up and start working.

 Have in mind that you also need to make a plan where things will go in your new office space. Use a blueprint to figure out where the common place will be, and which department will work in which office so once movers arrive, they will know where to put each box. 

The most important thing is your moving budget – you don’t want to go over your price range. 

Take your employees on a tour around the new office space

Not only this will make your employees happier, having in mind that new space and new energy will freshen them up and give them a reason to work better, but this will make you feel much more organized. 

Before the move happens, make sure to visit the new office space to get the physical idea of the space and decide who will sit where and how will the furniture items be sorted. 

When you have this planned out, it will be easier to move the items and put them exactly where they belong rather than doing it once everything is delivered. Everything seems to depend on your perfect planning ahead.

Decide who will be the person making big decisions about the move

Even if this is you, it is very important for everyone involved to know who is the designated person who will be appointed for each step of the move and therefore for everyone’s questions. 

People usually choose an administrative assistant for this task, but you may also choose someone with a previous office move experience. 

Just make sure that it is someone open for good communication.

Another thing that you can do is to go through your current office space and divide all items between ‘’essentials’’ and ‘’non essentials.’’ 

You can reduce the time spent by transporting non essentials first to your new office space. Also, label all boxes to minimize unpacking issues and try labeling them on the side so you can see what is written on each box once they are piled up. 

Essentials will have to stay in the office until the moving day.

Hire your best office movers

When it comes to good office movers, you will have to do a good research and get several quotes in order to avoid spending much more than you had in mind. 

Office moves are much different than residential moves and therefore cost much more. We would advise you to hire movers that will be able to do everything for you – packing, loading, unloading and unpacking at the delivery. 

Check Professional Sacramento Movers website since we have a proven track record of success in handling office moves.

 Also, when moving an office space, it is very important to have an accurate list of items, so check with your moving company if they can do an on-site estimate or a video survey to avoid any surprises. 

Nowadays, with all information being accessible online, it is easier to find the company that you will be satisfied with. 

The other thing you should think about is gathering first hand experiences from anyone that used movers to have an office move. Ask your co-worker or real-estate agent for a recommendation. If they had good experience, maybe you would like to consider using the same movers. 

Delegate

Even if you hired movers to help you move the big items, desks and chairs, it will be good for each employee to pack up their own office space.

Give your staff an idea of the deadline to pack their items and this will not only reduce your own workload, but it will guarantee you an organized move because you will know who is doing what. 

Also, this will make your staff less anxious since they will know when the move will be happening. You can give them a day off before the move in order to make sure their space is packed on time. 

But first, I.T.

The only thing that can make your office move a bit more complex is disconnecting and reconnecting all of your tech.

 Once you have your moving date set, have your I.T. sector make a plan for transferring all of your office technical equipment since this is something you will not be able to delegate to your movers. 

Make sure that the most important things are transferred -computers, servers and phones as well as data and internet plans. Since this is the most important part, delegate it to your team asap. 

Also, if there is anything to donate, make sure to do it on time and research which organizations accept used equipment. There are some organizations that even accept if the equipment is not working. 

Check building rules 

You are good to go if your company owns the building you are moving into, but if this is not the case, you will want to check and get a full breakdown of building rules regarding your office move.

 Some buildings allow moves only during working hours, and some only after working hours. Some buildings do not allow moves during weekends to avoid hassle.

Make sure to check elevator rules because many buildings require an elevator reservation a few weeks before the move. You also might need to provide a certificate of insurance (COI) from your moving company to prove your company’s liability. 

Get the rules from your building management as soon as you can since this can be the most important factor on the moving day. 

Label and make sure the items fit!

Labeling is generally one of the most important things when it comes to moving, but especially in office moves. 

Having in mind that you have to keep the operations running before and after the move, carefully label each box, so you don’t have to look for scissors and staples or toner once you need them. 

For even better efficiency, label each box on the side  and put a number so you can see everything once the boxes are on a pile, and keep a spreadsheet  that lists each box number and the items inside.

 It may sound like a lot of work but it will save you a lot of time once you are at the delivery and unpacking. 

If you have an idea that your wonderful green couch that you bought in a vintage store will fit perfectly in the new office space, the dimensions of your new common room might not allow for it. 

Instead of wasting time, money and energy on transporting the bulliest items and realizing that they do not fit in the new space, make sure to take the dimensions of the largest items in your current office and compare them to the measurements in your new location. 

This can also apply to appliances, conference tables or anything that takes a lot of space. It is great if you can fit most of your furniture from the old office into the new one, but if not – it is better to know it before you deliver items and realize that they just don’t fit. 

Come on party, let’s go party – new new office, yeah!

Since office moves are a lot of stress, especially for your employees, you can throw a small (or big!) office party as a sign of appreciation.

 They will love it and it can just be a way to celebrate your new space and get some new energy in. It does not have to be a full party with a DJ and award ceremony, but it can be a lunch on the slowest day of the week or you can surprise them with food and karaoke in your common room.

Looking for office movers in Sacramento? 

Moving is crazy, and you are probably doing it for a good reason so just try to be as organized as possible and plan ahead as much as you can.

Also, make sure to reserve your movers on time. Professional Sacramento Movers will love to help you out. Check our FAQ to make sure all of your questions are answered and call us today to get your free quote. Knowing that someone reliable is doing your office move will ease the anxiety and keep things going well.