4 questions to consider when moving your company

You’ve looked around your increasingly tight squeeze of an office, reviewed your company’s forecast and realised the time has finally come. Your old office has served you well, but things are really taking off and you know it’s high time to relocate base.

But this isn’t something you can just do off the cuff—there are various things you need to take into consideration before making the move. In this piece, we’ll look at the main questions to consider when relocating your company.

What do you need for your new office?

Before you begin the process of leaving your old office, you should figure out exactly what you need from your new space. Firstly, you need to ensure your new office is the right size for your company, and not just for the number of employees you have today. If your business has lofty ambitions, you should think about how many more staff you want to employ in the future, and whether prospective offices will allow for this.

When you have an idea of how much office space you require, you’ll then have to ask yourself what type of office you’d like. Do you want to foster a collaborative and social environment with an open plan workplace, or are cubicles more appropriate for your business? Would you prefer a serviced office with a flexible lease? A serviced office may be more cost-effective by coming with equipment, furniture, and maintenance services, however, you should consider whether you truly need all of these. It could turn out the furniture doesn’t fit in with your brand image and you already own all or most of the equipment provided.

How will you actually relocate?

Once you’ve found your dream office, attention will turn to how you will relocate there. You have two options when it comes to this—either move your office possessions yourself or hire someone else to do so on your behalf. If you are only a small company with few office possessions, it may make more sense to organise the move yourself. However, if you have plenty to relocate it’s wise to hire a professional to do so for you. Man and van services are growing in popularity due to their keen prices and quality of workmanship https://www.themanwithvannetwork.com

Organising the move yourself could be costly—more items means both more trips and more chance of damaging your items, something experienced removal companies can prevent from happening. They also take the stress of physically moving out of your hands, something that additionally serves to reduce business downtime.

You have a few different options when it comes to hiring an outsider. You could look towards either a generic man in a van or an office removals company, both are good options that should help your move go smoothly. However, a dedicated office removal company is probably the best idea. Their experience in moving offices means they’ll know how to go about the operation in the best way, and remove risks specific to office moves. Some office move specialists even offer dedicated project managers as part of their service. This can ease the stress of the move by putting the organisation in the hands of someone who does this for a living.

How will this affect your clients? 

So, the moving date is now set in stone and looming on the horizon. It is absolutely imperative that you let your clients know about the move if you feel it could disrupt your business. It’s not just the moving day itself that can potentially wreak havoc on your operations, but the days around it where you’re packing up the old office and settling in to the new one.

As such, it might not be the best idea to call in clients to your office during this period, so you should either try and find a neutral location to meet, or postpone client meetings altogether. You’ll also need to update your clients with your new address and number, and remember to update your email signatures and footers, your website contact details, and Google listings.

How will this affect your staff?

Another consideration of moving office is ensuring your employees can continue working during this period, so it’s a good idea to schedule a few work from home days around the time. To smooth the transition to the new office, you should also make sure you have your new office’s internet services and phone lines sorted in advance. These can often take longer than expected to set up, so organising beforehand will help ensure your new office is up-and-running as quickly as possible, minimising disruption to your business.

Having a contingency plan for emergency scenarios, such as no heating or air conditioning (depending on the season) is also advisable. Think about buying or hiring portable heaters and fans so that your employees can still come to work.

Ask yourself the above questions when moving office to help the process go as smoothly as possible. Good luck—you’ll be settled in and looking forward to your future in a shiny new headquarters in no time.