How to plan a successful office relocation
Relocating a business can be a
significant investment, both in monetary and practical terms. Don't
underestimate the time and resources an office move can demand. To
make sure your relocation goes smoothly, Paul Middlemas, office
relocation expert at Crown Relocations, offers these tips to help
your move go smoothly.
1. Planning
Once you have decided to relocate, it is crucial to start
planning as soon as possible. It's important to contemplate
the implications of the move with regards to the costs involved,
the extent of its impact on the day-to-day running of the business
and how employees will be affected. If this stage is carried out
thoroughly, you will be able to identify any potential cost savings
and ensure that the move runs as efficiently as possible.
2. Create a relocation timeline
All moves will cause disruption to a company but, by developing
a relocation timeline, you will be able to plan for minimising
disruption to the business and keep down time to a minimum.
If possible, plan your move around a quiet time in your business
activity and ensure that it won't conflict with promises you've
made to your customers as this could jeopardise your
relationship. In your timeline, include any fit out of the
new office, furniture installation, building works, IT and telecoms
installations and the main relocation itself.
3. Appoint a project co-ordinator
A project co-ordinator can be an existing employee, or someone
you hire from out of house. Who ever you decide to appoint to the
role, it will be their responsibility to ensure that the project
runs on time; they will therefore need to know every aspect of the
move.
Crucially, they will be the main point of contact between the
company and any contractors, as well as your employees. By having
an individual dedicated to the relocation, you can be assured that
any delays or potential hiccups will be identified as early as
possible, allowing you the opportunity to act accordingly.
4. Keep employees updated
Employees will be the end users of the new premises and, if they
are kept informed about what is happening, it will help to make the
transition easier for everyone. Larger organisations should
consider appointing a 'move champion' from each area or department
to regularly meet with the project team. This will provide you with
a good opportunity to address the concerns of your staff.
5. Understand responsibilities
To avoid ambiguity or any costly misunderstandings, make sure
you fully appreciate the scope of work that the relocation company
will provide and therefore who is responsible for each aspect of
the move. This will help you to effectively communicate to staff
exactly what they need to do, such as packing the bulk filing.
For instance, if employees believe the relocation company is
packing something but they have stated it is to be completed by
staff, this can cause delays and is likely to incur extra costs as
it will be a variation to the initial contract. It is essential
that this kind of information is communicated between the project
team and the staff.
6. Allow time for packing and
cleaning
Remember to allow sufficient time for items to be packed and
transferred and for any waste to be cleared. It is important to
make sure you have enough time to do the packing between the
arrival of your packing crates and the actual move.
If necessary, request an early delivery of some of the boxes in
order for people who will be on leave or working off site to pack
their items. Without an adequate timeframe, packing will inevitably
be rushed which means items are likely to be missed. This will
delay the relocation and in some instances cause increases to the
cost.
7. Have a good clear out
A move can be a good time to clear out waste and have documents
sent for archiving; this should be started as soon as possible and
preferably completed before the relocation crew arrive to avoid
confusion.
8. Minimise staffing levels
During the move, it is advisable to keep the level of staff on
site to a minimum. Only having key people involved will increase
the speed of the move. If there are lots of people on site then
this will cause a health and safety problem to both your staff and
the relocation crew. The team will be moving a large volume of
bulky items so it is important that they have as few obstacles as
possible.
9. Provide technical support
If you are moving IT and telecoms, have an engineer either on
site or on call to provide technical support. In addition to this,
if you are moving to a large multi-floor building and intend to use
the passenger/goods lift to deliver items, establish what the call
out time is for a lift engineer. If necessary, request an on site
presence in case of a breakdown as this can cause a lengthy delay
to the relocation and increase costs.
10. Consider post-move assistance
Moving an office can provide the perfect opportunity to discard
unnecessary furniture and even disused filing systems. To establish
your needs, it is worth spending some time thinking about post-move
aftercare.
For further information about Crown Relocations' services,
please visit www.crownrelo.com
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