Many reasons might influence your decision to relocate to a new office. Maybe your business has grown, and you need to increase the number of employees, but your current space won’t be big enough for that. Or, perhaps, you want to be closer to your clients, or you want a change of environment. Regardless of the reason, relocating isn’t a walk in the park.
No matter the new location, there are some considerations you need to make for a smooth move. For instance, you need to set a budget for the entire process and plan the move, among other things. Read on for a detailed discussion on all the factors you ought to take into account.
As a result, sticking to the initial budget becomes difficult. All of these concerns become more important when you are moving your office to another state.
1. Budget
The costs can quickly add up when relocating to a new office due to delays, oversight, and other unexpected issues. These factors can negatively affect your relocating budget, especially if you haven’t set aside some fees for hidden issues. For instance, most project managers responsible for managing relocating budgets concentrate on interior design and new stationery costs, forgetting about legal and property fees. As a result, sticking to the initial budget becomes difficult.
Among the costs that most projects managers overlook when setting a relocating budget include:
- The reinstating costs of the new office
- Leased or special equipment that requires special care
- Additional costs following delays
When setting a relocation budget, it’s crucial to figure out how much the process will require before moving. While it can be challenging to know exactly how much money you need for a successful relocation, especially if it’s your first time, an experienced workspace change specialist can be helpful when budgeting for the relocation.
2. Relocation Plan
Whether you’re working with professional movers or a workspace change company, an office relocation plan is a must to avoid much disruption to your business. Working with professional movers ensures that the move is carried out professionally since they’re experienced and have the knowledge required for a smooth move. Professional movers offer support before, during, and after the move—packing, unpacking, dismantling, and reassembling the furniture in your new office, taking a massive load off your shoulders.
Additionally, professional movers are insured, meaning you get paid for anything damaged during the move. Generally, with professional movers, you’re assured that everything will get to the new destination with ease. If you haven’t decided whether to hire movers or not, click to read more about how helpful they can be.
3. Internet Connectivity
Today’s businesses rely on Internet connectivity to thrive. With the challenges experienced due to the global pandemic, virtual meetings requiring fast connections have become a requirement. Therefore, before relocating your office, it’s vital to ensure that the entire building is connected to high-speed Internet. Failure to do so, your business might experience a huge blow if the Internet isn’t fast enough for your daily activities.
4. Security
Do you have any security for your business? If yes, you’ll need to get it in place and working before the employees relocate. For instance, if you use key cards and access codes to access your offices, they must be working before relocating.
While you might concentrate on securing your business’s data and other sensitive information about your business, it’s also essential to protect your workers. If you aren’t sure how you can protect your employees, incorporate an expert to identify and fix any weak point that can be a threat to you, your employees, and the business as a whole.
5. Office Layout
The current office layout is different from the previous one. Even as the world is getting back to normal after the pandemic, some things, such as social distancing, might become the new normal. Most businesses ensure that their employees are working in spacious offices to have enough space for social distancing. With this in mind, you should also consider how you’ll provide your staff with the same.
Figure out whether you require separate offices, how to ensure fresh air is circulating within the offices, and how far apart you’d want your employees to sit. You may also require some areas for clients and staff to take a fresh breath and a space to hold meetings.
6. Office Furniture
When moving to a new office, you have two options regarding the current furniture. You either relocate with the furniture to the new office or replace it with a new version. Nevertheless, you can decide to refurbish the current furniture if you don’t want to get rid of it or buy new furniture.
However, if you want to replace your existing furniture with new ones, you should figure out what to do with the old furniture. You can opt to sell or donate unwanted furniture. This way, you can make extra cash or give someone else an opportunity to have something they wanted. Also, selling or donating unwanted office stuff is an excellent way of decluttering your office. You don’t want to spend money to relocate something you won’t be using.
7. Change Of Address Notices
There are many people you need to notify of your new office, and you don’t want to forget anyone. Ensure the notices are ready for mailing a week before moving. It’ll also help if you follow up with an email as a reminder of your new location.
Submit your new location to the post office, inform the clients and suppliers of the new location and when you’ll be moving. Your employees should also know the new office location and where to park. To make the change of address notice successful, you might require using the following methods:
- Sending out emails or postal campaign
- Distributing flyers or change of address cards
- Placing a notification on your website
- Announcing the relocation through social media posts
- Adding a P.S. message to your emails
- Updating the new address on your Google listing and office stationery
Conclusion
Relocating to a new office can be hectic and time-consuming. You have many things to consider in order to ensure your new office is suitable for the business and the employees. However, with some considerations, like the ones listed here, the move might go as planned. Remember, all the parties involved, including the clients, suppliers, and employees, must be aware of the move and the new location to avoid hurting your business’s activities.
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