The 2021 Office Moving Checklist

Moving your office space is no small deal. Dealing with large furniture, sensitive electronics, multiple rooms of items, and an entire staff of people on limited time can lead to undue stressors. In fact, three quarters of all small and medium sized businesses actively delay moving due to the stress it could cause. We’re here to help lessen the stress of moving your office. Check out our helpful moving checklist to make sure your move is as smooth as possible.

Start Your Preparation Early

An office move is something that requires lots of work and preparation, and you need to start planning for it at least a few months early. Check out your leasing agreement, set your budget, and make sure to notify your partners, clients, and affiliates of your future move. You want to make sure you have a detailed plan in place for when you move and when you get to your new location; you can’t ‘wing’ any part of moving an entire office.
You should put together a planning team and choose someone to be your move manager. They should either be an administrative assistant or someone with past experience in commercial moving, as they will be in charge of delegating tasks and making sure everything for the move is progressing smoothly. It may also be a smart idea to talk with a professional when planning your move. Having professional expertise is always helpful when getting any project to run smoothly!

Plan for Your New Space

Make sure to get a copy of the blueprints or a detailed floor plan of your new office so you can start the process of designing how you’d like it to look. The layout of your office is important as it can affect the mood and productivity of your employees, how much space you have access to, and how foot traffic will flow. Be sure to factor in any current furniture and technology you’d like to take with you as well as anything new you’d like to add in or upgrade to.
If you don’t think your interior design skills are up to the challenge, there’s no need to worry! You can also hire a professional to help with all your space planning needs! We’ve partnered with TUERI DESIGN to offer our customers a quality design experience. Most projects have a turn around time of 24 hours with drawing and budgeting, meaning you have one less stressor to worry about.

Clean Out the Office

Bringing unnecessary items when you move your office just creates dead weight that’ll cost you extra money, so it’s important to get rid of anything you don’t actually need. Go ahead and take the time to deep clean your office before you move and make sure to mark things you don’t want to carry with you. Shred any outdated files and clear out your unnecessary papers that are just clogging up your filing cabinets.
Make sure to take a good look at any furniture or equipment that you were planning to throw out. If it’s still in good condition you could donate it and claim that as a write off. Be sure to consult with your accountants before proceeding.

Get Ready to Move

When the day officially comes, you want to be ready to get up and move quickly. Having each of your employees oversee packing up their own desk before they leave the day before can be a huge time saver. Try and make sure that all tech equipment, computers, and phones are packed up and moved first.
To make sure your move goes smoothly, you’ll want to hire a professional moving company like Corporate Office Installations. We’ll be sure to handle coordinating the moving process with reputable local moving companies on any size project. We’ll also handle the packing and unpacking, so you can sit back, relax, and watch as all of your items are delivered safely.

Don’t Forget About I.T.

An unavoidable part of moving is having to disconnect and then reconnect all of your devices. Make sure you’re working closely with your I.T. department during the move, as they’ll have to draft a plan on how to transfer your company’s tech to a new location all on their own.
If you plan to recycle or donate unneeded equipment, make sure you’re doing so at the proper sources. Human-I-T, Computers with Causes, and the National Cristina Foundation are all non-profit organizations that will make sure your used tech is donated to somewhere it can help. If you want to recycle the item instead, be sure that you’re following the EPA’s guidelines.

Celebrate

You’ve successfully moved your office, so it’s time to celebrate! Try to budget in a ‘New Office’ party or lunch into your moving plans. Moving is stressful, so having a time to relax and enjoy your new space can go miles as a way of saying ‘Thank You’ to everyone involved.
Moving into a brand-new office can take a lot of work, but we hope our checklist was able to ease some of your worries. If you need a helping hand at any step of the way, be sure to contact Corporate Office Installations. We’ll make sure your move goes smoothly.