Moving your business doesn’t need to be a long and costly process, during which your company business is standing still. If planned well, relocation can be over in less than one day, with minimal expense and much less stress than you think.
Is Relocation Necessary?
Before starting the relocation process, assess your needs and current business situation to determine whether relocation would be profitable and would support further business growth. Some of the main reasons for relocations are lease breaks or expiry, and business expansion. You also need to do some more thinking if you are running a business that is in any way connected to your local community. In this case, office relocation might lead to losing your customer base.
Making a Moving Project Team
Depending on the deal you have with the moving company, you might need to create a moving project team, operated by company employees. Moving companies offer a wide variety of services that include packing, moving management, uninstalling computers and telephones, and installing them at the new office location. Entrepreneurs who wish to save money might hire a moving company just for moving their office furniture. In this case, they would need to organize a moving project team that will coordinate the rest of the process. This team should cover every aspect of office moving and it should be consisted of employees who are good decision makers and have highly developed communication skills. Financially, this might mean that team members will not be able to do company work during the office relocation process, which means the business will suffer. It also advisable to provide team members with financial bonuses for these extra activities, since they are not part of their regular work duties.
Packing
If you have your staff pack their own office furniture and other material, you will need to buy packing supplies. These can be bought in complete moving or packing kits or each supply can be purchased separately. Online stores sometimes offer great bargains on these packs. The amount and type of packing supplies mainly depend on your company’s business and office size, but these should definitely include:
- Large, small and medium moving boxes;
- Heavy-duty boxes;
- Wardrobe boxes (if needed);
- Electronics boxes;
- Duck and sealing tape;
- Lots of bubble wrap;
- Lots of plain paper on newsprint;
- Permanent box markers, etc.
With moving companies now offering a wide arrange of services, it is usually much more affordable and reliable to hire their workers for packing office furniture, electronics, and materials.
Moving Company Hire
Even with taking the least expensive package, moving company services are still one of the biggest expenses connected with office relocation. When searching for the right moving company, entrepreneurs need to “shop around,” and evaluate as many companies as possible. Evaluation can be done online, by reading reviews and asking previous clients for recommendations. Before hiring a moving company, you should ask for recommendations and for names of the moving company’s previous clients. Negotiation is another important step, and it can significantly reduce the overall moving price.
Putting Everything Back in Order
Unpacking needs to be fast and accurate. Every cable needs to be connected to the right socket in order for computers to work properly. The same goes for company records and all other office material. Office relocations are the most common cause for losing files, and this can be prevented by good quality packing and organization.
Effective relocation planning saves money and helps your business stand on its feet faster. If you decide to move, it is important to end the relocation as quickly as possible, so your company does not lose its regular customer base.
Author: Derek Lotts is a writer with an utterly curious mind and is always on the lookout for fresh and trendy topics. He wrote this article by consulting Business Movers for advice on the financial aspects of office relocation.
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