Reducing Downtime: Tips for a Smooth Office Move
Is your team preparing to move to a new space? Moving offices can be daunting. We know leaders are often concerned about impacting the team’s efficiency and disrupting workflow.
Fifty years in the moving business has taught us a lot about office moves, and we’ve seen it all. Here are our top tips to help you set your team up for the most seamless office move possible!
Plan Ahead
Where many people often go wrong is a lack of planning in advance. Depending on the size of your team, it’s important to have answers to questions such as: Who will be on the moving team? Should everyone help with the move? Should you designate a few people to focus on the move while others work remotely to focus on client work? If your team’s workload is at capacity or your office features a lot of heavy furniture, the most strategic move is to hire a moving company.
Communicate with Your Team
Another essential strategy for a smooth move is prioritizing clear communication with your team. With something as complicated as an office move, it’s important for each employee to be fully on board and informed. Keeping your team updated on the moving process, timeline, and expectations will help you manage expectations. It will also help reduce anxiety and allow each employee to plan ahead and manage their workload.
Another important communication tactic is assigning specific tasks to designated individuals to ensure nothing gets forgotten. Putting department heads in charge of certain areas or delegating responsibilities can help streamline this process!
Protect Your Data
Don’t forget to back up all sensitive data before moving day! Take detailed notes of your IT infrastructure. Disconnecting and reconnecting IT systems requires careful planning and expertise. It can help to have a detailed labeling system for all office equipment and a specific team responsible for putting everything back together upon arriving in your new space.
Label, Label, Label!
Speaking of packing, ensure that your office members have adequate packing supplies! If you plan ahead, you can have each employee request how many boxes they’ll need individually and bulk-order your materials. Don’t forget to get a few extra…you’ll likely find that some things weren’t “claimed” by any employee. And keep in mind that shared spaces will need their own packing materials!
Lastly, labeling is key. Choose a different color for each department or space and purchase stickers or tape to label each box according to the corresponding space or person.
Once you’ve arrived…
If you’re taking the all-hands-on-deck approach, try to have each person unpack their space first, then move on to the common spaces. This will ensure that each employee knows exactly where everything is and will feel confident and prepared for their first official day of work in the new office.
Finally, keep morale high by planning a celebratory team outing after the move is completed. Nothing hits quite like a good meal or nice drink after a long day of carrying boxes, cleaning, and organizing!
We hope these tips help you prepare for your office move and get back in the groove of things quickly and easily.
If you are looking for a professional moving company to assist with your move to or from the Charlottesville area, don’t hesitate to call us at (443) 977-2705.
