10 Important Notable Points While Relocating to A New Facility
Tuesday, June 20, 2017, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
No matter how content you may be with your current business facility, there will come a time when you will have to move on.
Sure, you may have grown emotionally attached to your office by then (especially if it’s the first one), but if you find a place that gives you much better conditions for the same or lower lease you will be forced to give moving a second thought.
Furthermore, over the course of the years, your company may outgrow your current premises, leaving you in a situation where you have to choose between moving your company forward (both metaphorically and literally) or keeping it stagnant.
Be as it may, here are 10 notable points you should keep your eye on while relocating to a new facility.
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Tight Timetable
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that every move is a race against time. During the commotion surrounding your move, you might lose some work.
You see, the moving period will be considered a downtime, which means that clients who expect an immediate response to their needs might get disappointed and simply leave.
Sure, your business still needs to work during the moving process, but it definitely won’t be able to perform at its full capacity.
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Measuring Everything
Long before the move (at least six weeks in advance) you need to take some detailed dimensions of your target destination as well as to make a detailed inventory of all the items you have at your disposal.
If there is something you need to buy, now is the time to do so. If there is something you no longer need, now is the time to discard, sell or donate it.
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Look for Local Storage Options
Another thing you should keep in mind is that you might not be able to move all right away. Because of this, it might be a good idea to check out some local storage options.
Furthermore, it is vital that these storage facilities/containers are at a target and not source destination.
For example, if you were to move from Victoria to NSW, it might be best for you to check out cheap storage options in Sydney instead of doing so in Melbourne.
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Send Notice to Persons of Interest
Next thing you should do is make a list of all the people who need to know about your relocation. We are talking about your employees in the first place, but also your partners, supplier, customers and of course your landlord.
This isn’t a difficult step, but it can be surprisingly easy for someone vital to slip your mind, which is why you need to start making a list in due time.
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Update Your Contact Info
Once you are done informing people about your move, you need to think about the best way to update your contact info.
A new office has a new address and a new phone number, which can lead to a lot of confusion. Doing this on your website is quite easy seeing how it only needs a simple edit, but what about all the promotional products circling around?
You need to make an announcement on social networks in order to inform all those who are still oblivious to this fact.
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Focus on Communication
One of the most common mistakes that managers and business owners make is forgetting that a move is a team effort.
Your shareholders may have some concerns regarding this move, some of your staff members (even irreplaceable) may be against it and even leave should you proceed with it.
The only way to somewhat mitigate this problem is by maintaining a live communication between all vital parties.
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Get an Insurance
Amongst the greatest problems surrounding the move is that you will expose some of your most valuable equipment to all sorts of danger.
It can easily get broken, mismanaged or even lost in the transportation, which is definitely something you should try to avoid.
Still, if the worst thing is to happen, it is much better to get all your most valuable gear insured. This way, you can make this move safer for you from a financial standpoint.
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Hire the Right Moving Company
For all the aforementioned reasons, it usually isn’t wise to try and make your move into a DIY project. It is much wiser to leave this to professionals.
You could either ask some of your acquaintances if they can recommend a moving company or even look it up online on your own.
While doing the latter, however, be cautious and try to find some impartial reviews and ratings of the company (if you can).
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Give Your Employees a Day Off
Finally, major equipment pieces are not the only thing that is getting moved. All of your employees have at least some personal belongings at their workstation.
Usually, we are talking about family photos, figurines or stress balls. Be as it may, it would be sensible to give everyone some time to pick up all their personal stuff and say goodbye to their old workstation.
Sure, this can be done in an hour or so, but it is usually better for their morale to give them a whole day off.
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Make a Move-Out Party
This brings us to the very end, seeing how moving into new office marks both a beginning and the end of an era.
This needs to be commemorated and what better way is there than throwing a party. Seeing how we already mentioned that some of your employees may leave you due to the move, this might also seem as a sort of a farewell party, as well.
In Conclusion
Even though a move is always a difficult process, with the right amount of organization it is nothing you won’t be able to pull off. The most important two tips here are to keep your wits about you and to start planning in time.
