Relocating a Business Effectively, Part I: Preparing to Move an Office
The following is part of a three part series detailing many of the most important aspects of moving a business to a different office location. The first part details the amount of planning that may be necessary before successfully executing a move, while the second part focuses on the actual moving process, including hiring a moving company, and the final entry will discuss unpacking and setting up the new office.
Moving the office of a small or medium-sized business has distinct advantages for all involved if planned accordingly. Improper planning, such as neglecting to start well in advance of move dates, is the biggest problem most companies have when relocating. Professionals frequently recommend beginning to plan a small business relocation three months in advance, and doubling that amount of time for larger business – some of whom may take years to fully relocate to a new office building. However, the rigors of moving a corporation are, indeed, outside the scope of this series, requiring whole teams of people and numerous third parties to execute successfully. Therefore, this series will provide instructions and recommendations on moving a small to mid-sized business. Keep in mind, rarely does one size fit all in terms of moving services, so it's important to consider all of your specific needs during the planning phase.
Deciding on the Type of Move that Fits Your Business
Of course, the first step in moving a business is identifying the rationale for leaving the current location. Sometimes, this is as simple as avoiding an increase in the cost of rent, or as complex as desiring a more posh location to entice highly skilled, in demand employees, investors, and improve public perception of the business's worth. Unless the business's management has unlimited funds to draw upon, a local move to a new building without need is unnecessarily expensive, and so is moving to a building that does not fit the company's needs. Therefore, assigning a person to head and coordinate the company relocation is imperative, keeping company objectives clear and establishing a hierarchy of command responsible for adhering to the moving schedule. The moving coordinator should have a detailed checklist provided by upper management to reference when viewing potential properties.
Are you downsizing the office due to a reduction in staff, generated income, or a desire to increase company profits by decreasing location costs? You might even decide to downsize to a smaller, but more luxurious, office for nearly the same cost as your current lease. In this case, you'll need to carefully pay attention to office layouts that maximize their limited space, and allow you to continue to carry on vital work functions. Do you really need two meeting rooms? If not, consider a smaller location with a single large meeting room that can also be used for training programs. Consider newer or recently upgraded locations, as modern energy efficient windows and appliances can really cut down on utility bills.
If you're upgrading the size of the office thanks to increased profits, a need for a larger staff size, or a desire for more storage and functioning work space, know that not every building needs to be more expensive than the last. You can easily save money by relocating to a more rural area, away from expensive city centers and upscale suburbs. On the other hand, you'll probably want to be more selective in getting those upgraded features that you really need over your previous location. Regardless, the office manager, moving coordinator, and company owners should all carefully view new prospective properties before placing an offer or signing a lease. Moving is a major commitment of time and money that works best when done rarely.
Planning, Finances and Purchasing Moving Supplies
A moving timetable must be constructed to keep all employees working on the move on the same page. This timetable will need to account for factors like the size of the move, including the amount of furniture and electronics that must be relocated, company financials, holidays and major profit seasons. For instance, never plan a move during a company's busy season, as those highly profitable months may account for a large percentage of the company's annual profits and makes delays due to moving intolerable. Even the weather may delay a successful move, as harsh winters rarely allow for an expedient moving date. Ideally, the timetable will minimize lost productivity due to the move, but also create contingencies in case of delays, which are, unfortunately, all too common when moving.
Along with the moving timetable, a moving budget is necessary to reign in costs and provide estimates of the total price of moving. Accounting for lost productivity, technical setbacks when installing electronics in a new building, damaged or destroyed assets during the move, and even employees lost due to conflicts with traveling to a new location is necessary before considering the cost of professional moving companies. Analyze the commercial space market too before buying – if the local market is priced too high or depreciating rapidly, it's wise to stay where you are, lease or consider a move to a different market. On the other hand, if commercial prices are stagnant or slowly rising, it's a good time to buy before the market takes an upswing. Obviously, this is a simplification of the complexity of buying or leasing commercial properties, but understanding these basic principles can greatly help the moving process.
Along with a moving budget, purchasing moving supplies is highly advisable prior to hiring a relocation company. You might be able to negotiate a discount or complimentary moving supplies for larger relocation packages, but, most of the time, purchasing moving boxes from home improvement stores is much cheaper. Additional supplies you will need include packaging tape, furniture wrap, bubble wrap, tissue paper, scissors, dollies, labels, markers and probably more. If you have a small office of only a handful of people, you might be able to find extra cardboard boxes from grocery and wholesale stores for free, but remember that these boxes won't be as sturdy as a new box. Think carefully about moving electronic equipment, particularly televisions and industrial machinery. The former will need specialized boxes to protect the glass and internal components. Industrial machinery may require the use of specialized cranes or dollies to lift, a matter that should be discussed with your moving representative.
Once a company has examined all these details in preparation of moving an office, they can begin searching for the right moving company for the job, placing items into storage, and working on relocating their technological infrastructure – all of which you can read about in the second part of this series.
