There are a lot of reasons that a business would find itself in the position of moving offices. A company could be expanding and need more space. It could be moving to a more strategic location. Whatever the reason, relocating to a new space can be a seminal moment in a company’s history.
When moving to Caldwell, the moving process can be daunting. Between the actual move itself and the potential threat to business continuity, there are a lot of ways in which moving to a new office can go wrong for a business.
It’s not just about moving desks and chairs and other equipment. It’s also about making a successful transition to a new location.
Employee Involvement and Communication
First things first, and that’s your employees. Moving to a new location is going to affect the way employees work. Some of them may face a longer commute in the morning, which’ll be especially jarring for employees who take public transportation and must figure out new routes. A big move may create tension within the rank and file.
You need to communicate why the relocation is necessary and listen to whatever concerns employees may have about moving to the office. Listening to their concerns and communicating effectively with employees will help minimize disruptions in their workflow.
Find professionals to help you perform an office move with minimal disruption!
You want your business operations to continue as normally as possible and minimize disruption to your business continuity. That means that your move must be as quick and efficient as possible. So, hire a moving company. You want to find a moving company that’s made office moves in the past. Find a moving company in Caldwell and let the professionals do the heavy lifting.
Make a plan.
A smooth transition to a new office with minimal disruption to your business operations will come down to how you’re planning. To make an office relocation as smooth as possible, come up with a plan. Ideally, it’ll be a step-by-step plan where you can tick off important things as you go along.
Coordinate IT and Technology Setup
One of the most important steps in an office relocation is making sure your IT department is sorted out. You should do it to coordinate with your IT department about the move. Even if you store information on a cloud-based server, you probably have physical servers on which you store information. So, you’ll have to coordinate with your IT department when it comes to moving those servers because you do not want to lose whatever sensitive information that’s on them.
You’ll also want to make sure that the new location has the infrastructure that you need to support your online needs. You’ll be making a lot of necessary changes when making a transition to a new office, but your or your employees are missing important emails because of how slow your internet isn’t one of them. That could translate to lost business.
Inform your partners and customers about the change for your business continuity.
You’ll also want to make sure that your clients and business partners are aware of your move and that they know where you’re going and how to reach you in the interim. Your clients may have concerns that your office move may affect your productivity, so it’s on you to assure them that there will be minimal disruption to your business while you undergo your office relocation.
Prioritize Essential Departments
When setting up the new office, it’s important to make sure that the most essential departments are given priority. Not all positions are essential, so make sure that the key members of your staff without whom your business would suffer are the first ones who are able to work in the new location. Your employees work, but some of their work is more vital to business continuity than others.
Figure out how much the financial impact of a move is.
An office move will cost you money. Not only will you have to put down a security deposit at the new location, but you’ll also have to hire a moving helper. And, as much as you want to maintain your operations, you may lose some revenue from your business.
So, calculate an estimate of how much it’s going to cost you and how much you could potentially lose and start planning for it.
Recognize the importance of a contingency plan.
It’s often said that no plan survives first contact with the enemy and it’s often true. No matter how thoroughly you plan something, things can still go wrong. So, you’ll want to have a contingency plan in place in case something slows down your move to a new office.
A lot of things can happen to disrupt the timeline of your transition. The new office may not be ready in time. Packing up at the old office may take longer than you anticipated. Something could happen during the actual move itself. There are several things that can happen to slow you down, so you need to have a plan in place when things go wrong. And even if nothing goes wrong, planning for the worst is still a great thought exercise.
Temporary Space or Remote Working
Remote work can present a lot of upsides for both the employees and the company itself. For employees, remote work means not having to make a commute and having greater work/life balance. For companies, it can mean lower overhead costs since they won’t need as much space.
Remote work can also be an effective contingency during an office relocation should something go wrong. Employees that can work remotely during the transition means that they won’t be in anyone’s way when all the equipment is packed up and installed in the new office and they’ll be able to continue their jobs while the new office is being set up.
For positions that require face-to-face interaction, consider getting a temporary space in which to house those positions. Coworking spaces have risen in popularity recently and they can be a stopgap during your move to a new office.
How a Post-move Evaluation Can Minimize Downtime in Future Moves
Now, just because you’re done, and you and your employees have settled into the new location doesn’t mean that you’re fully done with the move itself. What you want to do is to evaluate the process from planning the move to the move day itself to figure out what could have been done better. You may not move offices again for a while, but evaluating the move can make the next one a lot easier.
Conclusion
Moving to a new office isn’t just about going to a new physical space. It’s also an opportunity to create a new work environment for you and your team. It’s almost like a fresh start for your business. Getting to that fresh start can be stressful, but with the right planning and preparation, it’s a challenge that can be met.