The commercial real estate market is in more flux than ever, and that may include your own office space. Any office relocation is a major undertaking, even when part of the workforce is still working from home. Nonetheless, you can make the process much less daunting with some proper preparation. Here’s how you can prepare for your office relocation and make sure that business as usual continues.
Coordinate the Move With a Lull in Business
If you have end-of-month or end-of-quarter billing cycles that are turning your hair prematurely grey with stress, the last thing you want to do is worry about moving your office at the same time. While many leases in North America end on June 30th or December 31st, syncing with the end of Q2 and Q4 in most fiscal years, do your best to make sure that the biggest concern on your calendar during move-in week is the move itself.
Color-Code Your Inventory
With your office files and furniture all in transit, it’s easy for items to get lost in the move. Even if you’re just moving from one floor to another or across the parking lot of your office campus, tearing down and starting anew presents the opportunity for valuable property to go missing. You can aid your movers in organizing your material through a conscientious color-coding initiative that brings a sense of logic to the moving process. This way, you can make sure everything ends up exactly where it should—or at least in the vicinity.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff—Lose the Small Stuff
Part of how you can prepare for your office relocation is to resolve to host a leaner office space. As you take inventory and put together your color-coded inventory list, ask yourself: what really needs to make the move? Is there anything we should leave behind? Maybe you’ve been holding on to fax machines in the supply closet for years. Bet on technology moving forward and save the freight costs. Old desktop computers and file cabinets may not be bound for the new destination either.
Contract With Security
Moving is a sensitive operation. As your office materials move from Point A to Point B, you face ample opportunities for breaches in security that could cost you. Hire a private security firm to oversee the relocation and ensure that nothing winds up falling into the wrong hands.
