More and more offices are transitioning from a traditional office environment to a co-working space. While co-working spaces used to be associated with start-ups, this is no longer the case. Rather, co-working spaces are welcomed by more established businesses because of the many benefits these spaces offer, such as introducing more creative work methods and networking opportunities.
Office relocation, however, takes a lot of planning and communication. After all, you do not want to disrupt the day-to-day operations and cause more stress for your employees. Here is a checklist on how you can move from one office to the next with minimal disturbance.
Create a Moving Team
When it comes to moving, you never want too many people involved. And this is especially the case when it comes to moving an office with employees. Of course, you may want to enlist the help of some trusted employees who are considered higher management but to keep business operations running as smoothly as possible, you may want to hire moving professionals and a moving company over the help of friends and employees.
Once you have selected your team of movers, you will want to disclose as much information as possible such as:
- The date and time of the move
- What is being moved on the day
- What is being left behind and moved at a later date
- Whether furniture is being stored at secondary location
- Which employees are able to continue working on the day of the move
Make Arrangements in Advance
Be transparent when it comes to relaying the moving arrangements you have made. Employees will want to know what to expect and whether any measures are being put in place for that specific day. For instance, you may ask your employees to work from home on a work laptop rather than come to the office if it makes the move much easier.
During the leadup, make sure you speak to the existing landlord and/or property manager to ensure everything that needs to be done is completed. You do not want any surprises when you hand over the keys. Furthermore, you will want to find a trusted storage facility and potentially store furniture you are unsure of or do not desperately need while you and your employees are settling into the new co-working space.
Safestore, for instance, offers many business storage options that are ideal for offices moving from a traditional office setup to a co-working environment because you may not know what pieces of furniture you can bring. Their garages to rent offer short-term contracts that can last as little as one week, meaning you have enough time to sort out the logistics of office furniture without the stress.
Have a Plan of Action
Your plan should be incredibly detailed. You will want to list the time everyone meets at the office, when movers are arriving and roughly estimate how long it will take to drive to and from both locations. You will also want to factor in short breaks as well as a lunch hour so that everyone can stay on schedule.
Of course, things are not always going to go to plan. Therefore, you will want to add leeway for such occurrences. This may mean factoring in potential traffic or the moving van not arriving dead-on the time the movers gave you.
Once arrangements have been made and keys have been picked up, all there is left to do is execute the plan of action. However, moving from one office to the next can cause strain on the day-to-day operations of a business, so be sure to offer extra support for your workers during this time.
