Moving offices can be incredibly stressful when you think about how best to get all of your office equipment from one place to another and how best you can do this without disrupting your business too much. Here are some great ideas to keep the move as stress free as possible.
Planning – make sure that you plan how you are going to move and who is going to be involved in this in advance. You will need to think about whether you are going to move a couple of individuals over to your new building before the others so they can be set up and dealing with customer enquiries whilst everyone else moves. Or you could look to move in the evenings or weekends when your office hours are normally closed.
Staff involvement – getting your staff involved can help make the move go a little smoother. Why not ask them to box up the items from their desk and have it labelled ready for when it is moved to your new location. You can make it a great team bonding experience and bring in pizza and cakes for everyone to enjoy .
Preparation – make sure that you have contacted all the relevant utility companies and had your supply ended or switched over to your new premises and have your Contract Cleaning Cheltenham company like https://biggreencleaning.co.uk/ come in to clean your old premises after you have left and also to clean your new office space before you move in with all your furniture and equipment. This then makes it a nice moving experience for everyone and the contract cleaning company can then move over to your new building for your regular daily or weekly cleans.
Keeping staff and clients informed
An ordinary office move does not always need outside specialists. Staff can take charge of much of the process themselves, provided the planning starts as soon as you know the dates for leaving the old premises and arriving at the new one. Specialised workplaces such as laboratories, with lots of delicate equipment, are different and need far more preparation.
Communication makes the biggest difference. Every member of staff should know when the move is happening and what is expected of them and their department. When everyone understands their part, the day runs more smoothly and disruption to normal work is kept to a minimum.
Customers, clients and suppliers need telling too. Let all your contacts know the moving date well in advance, and send out the new address and any changed telephone numbers early, so post, calls and deliveries reach you without a gap once you are settled in.
Getting staff involved on moving day
An office move can be a chance for teams to bond rather than just a disruption. Once the removal company is booked, plan how staff can help. The day before the move, ask everyone to pack their own desk items into boxes marked with their name, so nothing gets mixed up, and make sure computers are boxed and labelled too.
On moving day, ask employees to meet the removal team at the new office, and bring refreshments and pastries to start the day well. A clearly labelled floor plan of the new space lets people find their named boxes, unpack their computers and set up their desks the way they like. Ordering lunch in is a simple way to thank everyone for their effort.
If the move is meant to help colleagues get to know one another, schedule it during normal working hours. Staff who feel positive about the move and have shaped their own workspace tend to return to work with fresh motivation.
