The boxes may be the most visible part of an office move. They should be one of the last things you worry about.
Before anyone packs a desk, there are dates to coordinate, building requirements to review and decisions to make about what belongs in your new space. Giving those decisions enough time can make the difference between an organized relocation and a scramble.
For a business considering a move, six months is a useful planning starting point. Your lease, the condition of the new office and the complexity of your operations may require an earlier start.
Read the lease before setting the date
Your preferred moving date is only part of the equation. Review your current lease for notice requirements, end-of-lease responsibilities and any conditions that could affect your departure. Confirm when the new space will actually be available, too.
Finding a new office does not automatically mean it will be ready for your business to occupy.
Put someone in charge
Create an internal moving team and designate one person to coordinate with the mover. Include the people responsible for technology, facilities and the departments affected by the relocation.
Give each person specific responsibilities and deadlines. A shared checklist helps prevent important tasks from becoming things everyone assumed someone else would handle.
Bring the mover into the planning
An early conversation with a commercial mover helps identify requirements that might otherwise surface too late: equipment that needs custom crating, furniture that needs disassembly or an item that will not fit in the freight elevator.
It also gives you time to compare estimates and clarify what each includes, from packing and transportation to workstation installation and storage.
Coordinate both buildings
Before treating a moving date as final, confirm availability with the mover and the new location. Ask management at both buildings about loading docks, elevator reservations, access hours and required documentation.
Your move involves more than your own calendar.
An office relocation starts with a series of decisions. Make those decisions early, and the packing becomes easier to manage.
Planning an office move? Contact BTI to discuss your space, schedule and moving requirements.