Office relocation is pretty daunting. It is not as flexible as a residential move. At the time of moving your office, you are bound to have less choice in a lot of maters. You can think of relocating your office move over the weekend. This way your business will not be disturbed. Most of you wish to hire a corporate relocation company that will unpack everything. A genuine office relocation company takes a good deal of responsibility.
You must ask a series of questions before you hire your office movers. The common ones include:
- How much experience the moving company has?
- Do you specialize in office relocations?
- How many commercial moves have you performed in the last few months?
- Does your quoted rate include the cost of packing materials?
- Do you own your own removal equipment?
- Do you offer insurance?
- Can you fax a certificate of insurance to both buildings?
- Do you offer IT and phone set up services?
- Are you registered with the BBB?
Here are the top 5 easy steps to move office technology:
Focus on preparing well
Planning is the most vital part of an office move. You need to keep in mind that once you arrive at your new place, you will want to have everything back to normal. For this, a good deal of planning and preparation is required. Do it all in advance. This way you will have a better chance of achieving this goal.
When you have less time to organize your new office, you need to come up with a real concrete plan. If you wish to save time, make sure to familiarize with your new location and offices. You can ask the new building management company for time to come in with your team. Try to measure the new space with full caution. All of your furniture and equipment need to fit into the new office space. In case some of the equipment does not fit, try to make plans not to move these pieces to your new office. You can buy new furniture and equipment that suit your new place. You can make a proper floor plan or the new seating arrangements and the new equipment hubs.
All of your employees must have a copy of the plan. They must know where they are going to sit in the new space. Moving your offices is a complex task. Do not take it lightly. Also, keep in mind that you cannot do everything yourself. You can actually delegate duties and chores among your team members. Your employees can take the responsibility of moving their equipment. They can also set it up in your new location.
When it comes to management roles, they must be ready to perform their duties right after the move is complete. You can appoint an internal person to be in charge of the move and the communication with the mover, building management, etc.
In order to make sure you don’t lose track, create and follow a comprehensive checklist. One must plan ahead for technical requirements. Here are some of the necessary points to consider at the time of planning your move. These include:
- How many phone lines are required?
- How many power outlets are needed?
Take a proper inventory
Once you have mapped the requirements, you can take an inventory of your present technology. In case you have outdated equipment or certain equipment that needs replacing, do it now! Do not wait for the last minute. Get into the business of ordering new stock. You must have these items delivered to your new office location.
Safeguard your data
You must protect your data. This is important to ensure a safe office move. You must have multiple backup copies. These should include firewalls and server information. You must make sure that a full recovery of data is possible. This information needs to be kept separate from the equipment for moving.
Focus on the ‘Offline’ Interim
Prior to switching off computers and unplugging the telephone lines, you must focus on the interim period of your move. Try to ask yourself how long you expect to be offline. This is an important step to do.
You can do it in a few ways. You can update your central business hotline with a tailored answering message. You must make it clear as to when you expect to be open for business-as-usual along with the new address and contact information. Alternatively, you can choose to forward all calls to an assigned a team. This is required to handle the phone lines during the move.
Try to add a note to employee email signatures a few weeks or months beforehand. You must inform people of both the moving date and the new address or contact information. Try to update other social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram business accounts at the same time.
Pack mindfully
You need to focus on certain computer hardware. These include monitors, servers, and printers. These should be clearly labeled and carefully handled. You can request that each employee must be responsible for ensuring that their desk area as well as their technology equipment. Above all, these should be adequately secure.
In order to guarantee items are placed in the correct location in the new office, make sure to color code department and number. You can also name equipment to each person. Further, try to label each chord with a folded post-it note. Such notes clearly indicate their purpose and numbers.You can secure it in a bag.
You can place these items in a specialized box. Then, fill gaps with soft cushioning.
You must try to enjoy your office move, above all. Turn it into a grand event. For this, you sure have to get the technology-element of your office move determined. This leads to a happy and smooth transition for both the business and your customers. You just cannot afford to get it wrong in any manner!
In order to avoid stress, make sure to hire an office moving company.
