Are you planning to relocate your business to another area? It is a large undertaking with many formalities to take care of. A good practice is to create a moving checklist for business so that you don’t miss anything important and the transition is smooth.
Hiring a professional moving company is a great investment as they give you the true value for your money and save a lot of time and hassle.
Here is the complete checklist for every detail of your move from initial planning to getting settled in a new location.
1. Develop an In-Depth Moving Plan
You must have a comprehensive schedule for each step in the moving process and spread it over weekly tasks. For small to medium size businesses, it is worth beginning the planning process up to six months in advance.
Consider recruiting a project manager who will oversee everything and communicate with the members to ensure all aspects are handled within deadlines.
Mark the moving date, the timeline for each phase of shifting, and a budget. Also, there should be an inventory inspection to decide which items are to be sold, moved, or discarded.
2. Create a Moving Team And Assign Responsibilities
Consider delegating tasks to workers within the business or organisation, with people from each department, such as IT, operations, and HR, to handle the respective responsibilities. The IT team should handle the disassembling, packing, and reassembling of equipment, such as computers and servers.
The HR team should communicate with staff and the operations team should be responsible for handling the inventories and operations. All the teams must follow a moving checklist for business so that they don’t miss anything important.
You are going to need a strong team of labourers to move your furniture, set your utilities, and prepare your new office for operation. You may need to hire a specific team for these tasks, or use an office removals company such as The Van Man Co.
3. Notify Stakeholders and Update Business Listings
Notify clients, suppliers, and partners about your new address with expected moving dates. Also, make sure to update business listings and online directories such as Google My Business with the correct new location.
You also might need to inform local authorities and other regulatory agencies about the change in location.
4. Get Your New Location Ready Well Before
Make sure that the newly allocated office space is ready for use. This includes setting utilities, internet, and other services activated upon arrival. Plan the office layout, desk placement, common areas, and storage spaces.
You might have to go through major maintenance tasks including painting, cleaning, and installing all necessary fixtures and furniture. Make sure you don’t miss anything from the moving checklist for business.
5. Organise and Label All Office Items
Clear labelling of boxes can save a long time during unpacking at the new location. Clear out all outdated or unnecessary equipment first, then mark the boxes with a system based on the department, function, or area of the new office.
It is best to use a colour coding system to make it easier for each department to unpack more efficiently.
Ensure that you have sufficient stock of packing material and skilled people to do the packing so that you can avoid any damage during transportation. By hiring a professional moving company, you can reduce the stress and likelihood of damage during the move.
6. Protect Sensitive Data and Equipment
Data protection is especially highly important in a move since sensitive information and equipment are more prone to loss or even damage. You must have a secure backup of all sensitive information. If you are moving your in-house data centre, use an IT consultant to handle the process of changing servers. It should be a priority on your moving checklist for business.
7. Hire a Professional Mover
To move your business efficiently, hire a professional moving company that has experience with commercial relocations. Van Man Co. is a good option for office moves in Bristol and surrounding areas.
Make sure that the removals company is licensed and insured and can handle office equipment, furniture, and even sensitive items such as computers and servers.
A professional mover will provide you with materials for packaging and ensure that the entire task is completed with minimal damage.
8. Maintain a Moving Checklist for Business and Prepare for the Moving Day
Provide your employees with a moving day checklist, having details on individual responsibilities and expectations. Ask employees to pack personal belongings and clearly label their items.
9. Inspection and Occupation of the New Location
Once you move into the new office space, conduct a final inspection to verify that all systems are working. Check for all utilities to work, ensure that all equipment has arrived without any damage, and confirm that the office layout follows the plan. You should verify that all IT-related systems are working.
All the phones, internet connections, and servers must be working perfectly fine. Make sure to tick off all points of your moving checklist for business.
10. Update Business Details
Once you have settled, update your business address and contact details everywhere online as well as the printed materials.
The update should reflect on all your websites, social media accounts, and business cards with your email signatures.
Make a relocation announcement email or through social media to inform your clients and partners where you are now.
Conclusion
By following the above moving checklist for business, you can carry out shifting in a smooth manner. However, it needs a lot of careful planning and attention to detail.
You can definitely reduce the downtime by keeping your team and clients informed and updated for a more coordinated move.
It is best to take services from a reputable moving company so that you can have hassle-free shifting. They can take care of packing, labelling, transportation, utilities, labour and everything else that you might see as a challenge.