How to avoid downtime when moving to a new office space
Moving to a new office is never much fun, no matter how exciting it might be that your business has grown enough to actually need new premises.
It’s stressful, time-consuming and it can interrupt your business to a huge degree if you let it, but does it have to be like that? Not necessarily. As you will see below, there are lots of simple things you can do to minimize the amount of downtime your company experiences during your next office move.
1) Plan like you’re invading a small country
Firstly, plan your move to the nth degree, and as soon as you think you’v e planned it enough, go over everything again. It’s important to have a tight timeline of the office move down, so your blueprint should include everything from the date and time of the move, to who is doing what task, what the deadlines are for them and what to do if things go wrong too, of course.
2) Start packing early (and avoid a last minute panic)
Start early. And by early, we mean the moment you even think about moving. Last-minute rushes are for college essays, not for moving an entire office. This way, you can tackle one task at a time without turning into a caffeine-dependent life form.
3) Pack smart – don’t just throw stuff in boxes
Packing supplies, like the ones from Evo Supplies, are your best friends. Invest in quality boxes, bubble wrap, and labeling tools. Proper packing ensures your stuff gets to the new office in one piece, so you don’t end up opening a box of ‘miscellaneous’ with a tangle of cables, pens, and someone’s forgotten lunch.
4) Send your tech team on ahead
Your tech equipment is the heartbeat of your operation. Have your IT team (or savvy tech person) map out the setup in the new space. Moving tech equipment is like performing surgery – it needs precision, care, and maybe a little bit of swearing.
5) Use it as a chance to have a purge
Use this move as an excuse to declutter. Go through everything – do you really need those reports from 2005? Remember, every box you don’t move is a few minutes saved in unpacking.
6) Hire pros to get the job done
It’s never a good idea to try and handle your office move on your own, even if you are able to rope in some of your employees to help you out. Why? Because unless you happen to run a removal company, then you and thewy are not experts. Hire professionals who have experience of commercial moves and save yourself the headache.
7) Make sure everyone knows what is happening and when
If you want your office move to run smooth, then you really do need to keep the lines of communication open and let everyone – employees, clients, the mailman – everyone know what is happening and when.
8) Create a moving committee
It’s a smart move (pun intended) to appoint a moving committee or a point person to oversee the process. Having a go-to person will prevent the inevitable chaos and confusion of your average move from occurring.
Make moving office simple and ensure it doesn’t hit your business’ bottom line!
