Business Connections for Spring 2018

SPRING 2018 3 // Business Connections 1. Plan, plan, plan. Most moving disasters are the result of insufficient planning. A small office may need at least three months to prepare and a medium to large office may need six to eight months. Get blueprints or a floor layout so you can identify key components such as electrical outlets and determine the new office layout. Leave nothing to chance. You may also want to schedule the actual move for a weekend to minimize the impact on customers. 2. Make it a team effort. Involve your entire staff in the relocation process, from the origi- nal decision to the open house. Employee input opens the door to more creative solutions during the move while increasing morale and productivity. 3. Toss obsolete materials. A change in office location is the ideal time to purge unnecessary paperwork and archive old records to off-site storage. An added benefit is the more you throw away or send to remote storage, the more you end up saving on moving costs. 4. Pay attention to packing. Instead of simply tossing a few boxes into each person’s office, offer some instructions on efficient packing. Provide assistance if possible for packing special equipment like computers and phones. If you’re moving complex equipment with numerous interconnecting cables, for example, leave cables attached wherever possible. Tape cords and cables to the machines they serve, rather than boxing them, to avoid searching and frustration when it’s time for reassembly. 5. Meet with key vendors. Schedule planning meetings with the companies that provide your Internet connection, phone lines, security systems, and related services. Make sure they’re involved in your move and everyone knows how your communications technology will operate at the new location. 6. Divide and conquer. To reduce the stress of an office move, you may want to move employees in small groups or departments, rather than all at once. Another strategy to consider is keeping your old office operational during the move, with employees stationed at both locations. This eliminates the potential lost revenue of a complete shutdown. 7. Notify your contact list. Make sure everyone you do business with—including customers, vendors, and industry colleagues—knows the timing of the move, your new address, and how your business will operate during the move. It’s a good idea to assign this task to one person to oversee. Moving your family into a new home is stressful enough. But moving your business to a new location presents even more numerous and complicated challenges. Here are some tips to help streamline your next office move: 7 Tips for Office Moves How to make the process as painless as possible