Jerry has compiled these 16 office moving tips in the hopes that you will avoid common moving pitfalls and keep your business running profitably as you transition from one location to another.
If you need assistance with any of these office moving tips, do not hesitate to ask. Be sure also to request our free space planning services and building walk-throughs.
Office Moving Tip 1- Call Cubiture now to start planning the move as early as three to six months in advance.
There are a lot of details to take into consideration when planning your move. Even if the move itself can be dealt with quickly, the planning will be lengthy, so a head start is necessary. Maintaining a special three-ring binder that includes a detailed checklist of the moving process and other related paperwork can help to manage all aspects of your move. On the average, most companies need no less than 3 months and no more than six months to complete this process.
Office Moving Tip 2 – Inform key personnel as soon as possible and keep them informed at all times.
Giving your team and your movers enough time to schedule and complete tasks is integral to a successful office move. This will minimize stress and maintain smooth business operations.
Please be aware that employees are not the only ones who should be involved in constant correspondence. Many building managers will only allow a move to take place on weekends or evenings. These and other restrictions will impact your relocation logistics.
Let Cubiture handle this for you. We can find the answers to questions that you may not think to ask until move day comes.
• Will the air-conditioning be operating, making it easier for employees and movers to stay on task?
• Will the elevators be available?
• How long are you permitted to park at the loading dock?
• Will there be new furnishings or other conditions that determine what your employees can bring to the new office space?
We will get you the answers to these and other questions so that all parties remained informed- and in sync – from start to finish.
Office Moving Tip 3 – Determine what items will and won’t make it to your new office.
Don’t wait until the last minute to try to do it all at once. You don’t want to waste your money, time, and energy moving furniture and equipment that you later decide you didn’t want. Luckily, many items can be dealt with before the move, but first, you must decide what stays and what goes.
Office Moving Tip 4 – Schedule your move date with our team as soon as possible.
The sooner our moving specialists can put your official move date on the calendar, the better. Often, building managers require proof of insurance from your moving company. We provide this information immediately to both your current building manager and your new building manager.
Office Moving Tip 5 – Make the new office layout available to employees and movers as soon as you have it.
Providing a to-scale floor plan of the new office will make it easier to determine what items should be kept and where they will go in the new location. All items taking up floor space should be accounted for in the plan.
While many office moving tips websites recommend using a color- or number-based identification system to link items to the new floor plan, we recommend that you simply get a complimentary office layout drawing from one of our designers.
Office Moving Tip 6 – Non-essential items should be moved into the new office first.
Any items that you want to take with you but are not necessary for the daily operations of your business, can be moved into the new office space first. If you can manage to do this before moving day, you’ll help yourself in lightening your burden on moving day.
Office Moving Tip 7 – Appropriately dispose of unwanted items before moving day.
Anything that you’ve decided should be liquidated can be disposed of in multiple ways. Determine if there are any papers and files that may be discarded and have them shredded or dumped in the trashcan. Check with the city and your building’s manager to see about how to obtain a dumpster for larger items like furniture and office equipment and under what conditions it can be used. Determine if there is anything you don’t want that can be recycled for later use by others. That goes for small office items like paperclips and pens as well as for larger equipment, electronics, and furniture. Whatever items that you donate to a registered charity can be used as a tax write-off. Whether bound for a landfill or a charity, you want to make sure that any electronics such as phones and computers are fully wiped of any personal data.
If you are concerned about how to properly dispose of certain items, documents, and supplies, do not sacrifice the time you need to run your business. Cubiture will help you liquidate unwanted supplies and furniture in a manner compliant with all recycling and waste management codes.
Office Moving Tip 8 – Take valuable personal items home.
Anything you own that might have value can possibly be misplaced, thrown away, or damaged in the move to a new office. While Cubiture carries an exceptional level of insurance, we would prefer that you take personal valuables home before your move date and bring them back to the new office after you have settled in.
Office Moving Tip 9 – Update address information wherever featured.
Naturally, the bank and any creditors will need your new contact information, and you will need to make arrangements with USPS for any mail to be forwarded to your address-to-be. Update your address everywhere that it is featured in print or digitally, including professional websites, other web listings, business cards, advertisements, letterheads, etc.
To make sure all web pages that feature your address have new contact information, conduct an online search of your business on your own. You may need to inform some people sooner than others, depending on what their process for a change of address entails.
Creating a list of all contacts will help organize the task and ensure you don’t leave someone out.
Office Moving Tip 10 – Schedule important dates around moving day.
Schedule any important activities before or after your move. This could include any major project deadlines, presentations, reports, office meetings, or client meetings—anything that might not run smoothly during actual relocation.
Office Moving Tip 11 – Conduct a walk-through of the new office before moving day.
We recommend that you call Cubiture us to conduct your walk-through ahead of time. You want to know that your new office is ready for move-in and for full operation by the day of your move. We will tour the space with the building manager with sufficient time to identify and address any broken lightbulbs, leaks, or other damage that requires repair.
Office Moving Tip 12 – Use a labeling system for all items.
Cubiture can mark all equipment, furniture, and boxes in such a way that they are easy to identify for yourself, your employees, and the movers. Whether it’s information about who it belongs to, where it goes in the new office, or what its contents are, organized labeling will make moving into the new office less of a hassle. Labeling moving boxes on both their tops and their sides will make identification of hidden contents easier from any vantage point.
Office Moving Tip 13 – Properly secure moving parts to reduce damage.
To avoid costly damage during the physical move, make sure doors and drawers to desks and cabinets are emptied of all their contents and locked or secured. In the case of electronics, most devices require special handling, so call your vendor and consult any product-specific literature for proper handling during a move.
If you do not have technical specialists who can handle your copiers, peripherals, and electronics, we can recommend some companies we trust who have proven themselves to our clients in the past.
Office Moving Tip 14 – Take exceptional care in handling filing cabinet contents.
Like desks and other furniture, filing cabinets should be transported with their contents removed. Using boxes made specifically to hold files and nothing wider will keep your files neat and in order as they’re being moved. Labeling the file boxes will minimize the amount of time you reassemble your filing system
Jerry is one of the nation’s leading experts in filing and storage systems. He will be happy to personally oversee the packaging, labeling, and transport of your documents.
Office Moving Tip 15 – Handle computer equipment properly.
Wrapping a blanket or bubble wrap around the monitor and securing it with tape should offer adequate protection from impact. Do not stack other things on top of your computer, and do not stack your computer on top of other things. It may be necessary to “park” the hard drive of your computer during a move, as a possible measure to preserve your data. Before a move, it’s wise to back up all computer data using a hard drive or cloud storage. Any cables associated with computers should be removed and put into plastic sealable bags that are labeled in a way to identify the specific computer they belong to.
Office Moving Tip 16 – Offload your IT department first.
The sooner they can be offloaded, the sooner they can get to work setting up the network, connecting phones, and computers. Giving your IT team sufficient notice—at least three months—allows them to plan how all IT equipment and connections will be moved and set up. Before IT comes in, it is also imperative to ensure all installed data lines are tested and ready for network setup.
Whether downsizing or expanding your operations, moving across the city or across the street, an office move can be a high-stress event that takes lots of planning and stamina. As is the case with your business or any business, time is money and any lull in daily business operations no matter how small can lead to a potentially significant loss of both. Practicing proper workflow management and maintaining open communication with everyone involved in an office move may truly be a project, but they are necessary ingredients to avoid costly downtime when there’s work to be done.
Call Jerry now to get started on planning, logistics, and scheduling.
Office Moving Tips – FREE Quote 713-412-0900