moving offices checklist

Moving offices checklist – Step by Step

Communication and transparency

From our experience in office moving, the transparency of the moving process with your employees is crucial for their satisfaction. We recommend you to tell your staff in advance about the reasons and the meaning of the company’s relocation to make everybody know what office they are moving to (in terms of office size, floor, whether it has a window or not, etc…). The more transparent the moving process is, the more efficient the cooperation with employees will be and eventually the more satisfied they are going to be.

The project checklist and a POC

Office relocation is a complicated project as such, it requires proper preparation and assessment to ensure the transition goes smoothly. We highly recommend you to make a checklist that details all your moving-related tasks (more information in the next paragraphs).

In addition, it is vital to appoint one of the employees responsible for the project, supervision and monitoring of the move progress a couple of weeks before the moving date.  As we approach the relocation date, they will also be a POC (point of contact) between the administration, staff and us (a moving service company).

Consider moving on a Thursday or Friday

Unlike apartment moving, consider moving your office on a Thursday or Friday. Small businesses may move on Fridays, especially in summer when Shabbat starts later, while with bigger offices you need to take into account that more things have to be arranged, both with packing, disassembling and assembling of furniture at a new location. Hence, sometimes it is better to allow your employees to enjoy a longer weekend or let them work from home on Thursday, that way we can start moving on a Thursday morning or afternoon.

Pre-move purge

A month before the relocation date, ask your staff to get rid of non-essential items. Some employees tend to store up office equipment, binders and folders, etc., which are no longer used, thus, it would be unnecessary to move them to a new location.

Plan the workspace layout in advance

Some staff members in the current office are responsible for the workspace layout. It is crucial to walk through a new office, check up whether the workspace there meets the expectations in terms of socket layout, Internet connection and plan its future design.

Movers can set desks in a new place, assemble cabinets but it is important to tell them what you expect and where each item has to be located. In this scenario, the move will be pleasant and smooth ensuring your return to work is simply a breeze.

Mapping out room layout in advance

One of the most important steps in the office move is room mapping. This is a macro plan for transition, it shows each employee where their current workplace is and where it will be set in a new office (where each part of the old office will be placed in a new location).

Pack up, disassemble and assemble with a professional company

You have two options in terms of an office move. The first one is packing and moving with our professional moving team coming to you on a move date and carefully packing the items, marking the boxes and transferring the office to a new location.

 However, some companies ask their employees to pack the equipment in the boxes supplied in advance. In this case, it is important to make sure that all sides of the boxes are marked and the exact place where they come from (full name of an employee, a current building, floor, room number) and where they go (full name of an employee, a current building, floor, room number) is neatly written on them. Therefore, on a relocation date everything will be clear, delivered to a right place and every employee will swiftly return to a work routine.

Arrange a parking spot and entry permits if needed

An employee responsible for the move also has to arrange a convenient access for movers to let them get to the current office building and to a new one. Likely, the POC will have to reserve a parking space with the building coordinator/ maintenance department.  

Moreover, it is essential to check elevator availability for the moving purposes with the building coordinator. If there is a service elevator in the building, make sure it is available for us. The POC is supposed to handle all the arrangements. Prior arrangement and coordination with the right authorities may save some hours generally required for a move and make the whole process simple and comfortable.

Another thing to remember, basing on our experience, when it comes to large businesses, it is important for a POC to coordinate our arrival with the maintenance /security staff of the building and get entry permits for the parking or to the building. Moreover, the POC would be better waiting for us in the morning of a moving day and keep in touch with us in case any hassle with our entry occurs.

In conclusion, efficient communication with a POC, prior arrangement with the building authorities in the old office location and in the new one, careful room mapping is the key to a smooth and simple move for all parties.

Update Hovalot moving services is glad to be at your service during your move and will ensure it being simple and seamless.