We’ve been helping small businesses relocate their offices for years but moving our own company into a new home last month was a giant reminder that moving is seriously a full-time job.
If an office relocation is in your future, designating the responsibility to someone on your team who can dedicate 100 percent of their time to managing the details should be a top priority. If there isn’t anyone on your team with the time and skillset, outsourcing your move is your best bet.
Moving Allora into new offices filled our days and nights with endless decision-making and countless details, from ensuring adequate storage to purchasing the right filtered water system. There were highs and lows along the way. For instance, we didn’t get the cabinets we wanted due to supply chain issues, but we did create the warm and welcoming environment we set out to.
Moving your business is an investment of time, money, and energy to manage every step of the process so that it doesn’t create more stress or add new deadlines to your plate.
With relocation fresh on our minds, here are a few guidelines to help you make all the right moves.
- Acknowledge why it’s time to move. Is your business growing? Do you need more space for people, equipment, or client meetings? Answering this question will help you determine the size and style of the space you need.
- Designate an owner of the move. Others may play a role, but one individual should oversee planning and execution.
- Set a budget to avoid overspending and a timeline to ensure everyone on your team has adequate time to prepare.
- Sign all official paperwork and permits and transfer your insurance.
- Get quotes from moving companies and IT firms if you don’t have a designated IT department.
- Notify clients, partners, and suppliers about the upcoming move and create a master list of people you need to send a change of address to.
- Create an inventory of items that will make the move and a list of new things to be purchased.
- Arrange for storage facilities, cleaning services, security, and internet.
- Coordinate packing and assign each employee and office space a number.
- Assign a team to plan an office warming party.
Though this list barely scratches the surface, it does outline some of the most critical steps in the process. If you’d like to learn more about our moving services or other operations outsourcing solutions to help optimize your business, email kat@allorasg.com or ashleigh@allorasg.com.
We’re just a move away,
