How to Move Your Office Without Losing Your Mind

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of flickr

If you are a business owner like me, then you know from time to time you need to consider moving to a new location.  Whether this is due to expansion of your business, or taking advantage of increased foot traffic, sooner or later most businesses evolve to the point where relocation is a must.  That being said, uprooting a functioning, profitable business doesn’t come without a few warts.  Especially if your business interfaces with customers on a daily basis, moving your business has to be planned carefully if it isn’t going to affect the bottom line.

While that shiny new office or strip mall might be the siren song that calls to your growing firm, getting from here to there can prove to be problematic.  That’s because no matter how smoothly you transition from one location to another, there is going to be some disruption of service.  Since time is money, any disruption is going to cost you.  The question is how much?  More importantly, you need to consider all the variables involved in making the move if you are going to minimize the disruption to your business and your wallet. 

When most homeowners think about a move, they want to get the job over and done with in one fell swoop.  With most homes, this is not a problem, provided everything is ready to go when the truck arrives.  When it comes to moving a business, this isn’t always the best way to go.  That’s because if you are going to move everything in one go, it’s going to shut down your business for several days, unless you have a very small business. 

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

Don’t just think about the furniture you have in your existing office.  Think about the number of files and office machines you have.  Is your Internet service and IT network going to be turned on and ready to go the day after your move?  Is your buildout complete, or are there going to be painters and other contractors still involved in completing your office space?  Being a business owner myself, I can tell you with authority that you can expect delays and glitches to occur any time you make a move.  I can also tell you there is a better way to go about making a move without losing your mind.

How Low Can You Go?

If at all possible, moving your office in stages is the best way to go.  What I mean by that is if you want to minimize wear and tear on your employees and customers, the best way to get around Murphy’s Law is to move your staff in stages.  This way you can continue to do business at your existing location until the last minute, while having some of your staff set up and test drive the systems you need to operate your business in your new location.  Of course, this concept is predicated on the fact that you have a staff of more than one.  The question you need to ask yourself is how low can your staff go to be able to make the transition to your new office less of a hassle?  If you can shift even a couple of staffers from your current location to the new one it will eliminate a myriad of potential problems that could hamstring your business.  Using a vanguard to set up, test and troubleshoot your phones, filing and computer network before you move in will mean smoothly making the transition as opposed to spending your first week putting out fires.  It also means less stress on everyone concerned when it comes to making the final push to relocating your business.

Breaking Camp

Just as I advise all homeowners who are looking to make their move more efficient, when it comes to moving your office, success or failure mostly comes down to planning.  Face it, the last thing your customers want to see is your business in pieces.  Since eye appeal is buy appeal, if you want to instill customer confidence, you need to keep the moving mayhem down to a minimum.  The best way to do this is to begin the packing process after hours and on weekends.  Sure, this means putting in a little overtime.  But the added expense is nothing compared to what it costs to disrupt your business while you move or lose customers because of it.

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Before you begin, it’s a good idea to create a timetable that designates what needs to stay put in order for the existing business to function and what can be packed and/or moved.  This usually boils down to moving files that aren’t needed on a day to day basis, along with business machines that are not mission critical to the everyday operation of the business.  (Moving these machines in advance lets you test your systems in the new location to make sure you don’t have any gremlins when you open for business the following Monday.)

Since putting back together everything before you open for business the following week can be mission critical, the best time to break down the remainder of your equipment and furniture should be on Friday, after your close the business.  If you hope to open after the weekend is over, you need to commit to moving the bulk of your furnishings bright and early on Saturday.  This will give you, your movers and your staff the opportunity to put everything back together by Sunday night.

If you are a retailer, you should begin by moving excess inventory along with some of the accoutrements of your business that aren’t kept on the sales floor. 

Another thing to consider is the morale of your staff during the move.  Aside from any financial consideration, you need to keep your staff’s spirits up during the transition.  This means having plenty of snacks and cold beverages on hand during the move.  It also wouldn’t hurt to take them out for dinner after the job is complete, and/or to hold a grand opening party to showcase your new space.

Some Assembly Required

Speaking of assembly, bear in mind that for a fee, your movers will be more than happy to disassemble and reassemble your furnishings.  If not, you will be on your own, which can eat up a lot of valuable time.  Another thing you need to know is that it’s preferable that your contractors be offsite when you make the final move.  The last thing you and your staff needs is to have to work around painters or workmen laying carpet while they are trying to reassemble your business before the week begins.

Provided you plan the move well in advance and martial your forces to make the transition as efficiently as possible, you too can your office without losing your mind.

With over 5,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.