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Smooth Relocation A Relocation Checklist Flipbook PDF
Smooth Relocation A Relocation Checklist
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Smooth Relocation: A Relocation Checklist Manda Elamond University of New South Wales Abstract Take the headache out of migration with these checklists and have a smart, stress free move. Checklist You may think the number of things to do before relocating to a new country and home can be long and daunting, but they don’t have to be thanks to these quick and easy checklists. Coming from someone who has experienced the ‘big migration to another country’ journey, I know that between coming to terms with leaving friends and family behind and closing out work properly so you won’t burn any bridges, there’s a very small window of time to deal with the ‘admin’ stuff. You know the type, they’re the ones that involve anything from redirecting your mail to organising a bank account in your new home country.
Introduction Here are some of the more important things to consider before waving goodbye at the airport and hopping on that flight that I learned from my experiences abroad. Hopefully, with their help, they’ll make your journey to your new adventure that much smoother.
1 How to organize an office move Moving into a new office often marks the beginning of a new stage in a business’s evolution. A smooth and trouble-free relocation is, therefore, crucial for the successful start of this new period in the company’s life and its future progress.
Moving offices, however, is a challenging project that requires careful planning and meticulous organization – everything needs to go smoothly and quickly so that the transition period is kept as short as possible and normal business operations are resumed within a few days. To achieve such efficiency, you need to streamline the office moving process, take every little detail into consideration, get expert help, and develop a foolproof business relocation strategy. You can easily accomplish all of this with the help of a comprehensive office move checklist – it will guide you through every stage of the process so that you don’t overlook anything important or forget to take care of an essential moving task and will help you stay organized and keep your business on track during the chaotic relocation period. Here is how to plan an office move and ensure the successful transition of your business: Three to six months before office move Determine the time frame and schedule of your office move project – Decide on the date when you want all your staff and equipment to be out of your current office space and create a detailed moving calendar
with all the relocation tasks that need to be taken care of prior to that date (together with appropriate deadlines for their completion); Find a suitable new business location – consider the area where you want your new office to be located, the type of building that will be most appropriate for your needs, the necessary square footage, etc.; Distribute tasks and responsibilities – Discuss the upcoming relocation with your employees and assign individual tasks and responsibilities to every member of your team. Make sure everyone knows what is expected from them and how to perform their duties in a timely and efficient manner. It is a good idea to establish move coordinators within each department and organize weekly relocation coordination meetings to keep track of your progress and discuss potential problems; Make a detailed inventory of your existing office furniture and equipment and decide which items to take to your new place and which ones to sell or decommission; Establish a preliminary relocation budget – consider your office moving costs and make an initial financial plan for your forthcoming relocation; Make a list of all the people, businesses, institutions, organizations, etc. that need to be informed of your new address.
Two months before moving day Create a detailed floor plan of your new office space, order any needed new office furniture, equipment, and signage, and schedule wiring; Plan for networking and telecommunications – contact your network and telephone providers (select new ones, if necessary), coordinate moving of servers, ensure Internet access at your new office location, get new phone numbers or move existing ones, etc.; Change your business address with the USPS and inform the IRS, Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Department, your bank, insurance providers, vendors, subscriptions, of your new place of business;
Review your existing lease for requirements and conditions for returning the current space to the landlord and take according measures; Find out if any of your office equipment requires specialized movers or approved vendors to move it; Hire reliable and experienced office movers – Research office moving companies in your area (ask for recommendations from other business that have recently moved, read moving reviews, visit different movers’ websites, verify the companies’ licensing information, check their customer service history, etc.), get office moving cost estimates from three or four reputable companies that seem to best suit your needs, compare the offers, and choose the right office movers for you; Get appropriate moving insurance for your sensitive electronics, delicate artwork, and company valuables; Start having weekly move coordination meetings with your employees to confirm timelines are being met and roles and responsibilities are correctly understood. One month before move date Transfer utilities – Arrange the utilities in your old office to be disconnected on the day after your move (unless you have otherwise agreed with your landlord) and the ones in your new place of business to be turned on by move-in day; Make a moving office announcement – Create a public relations campaign with press releases to inform the public of your new location (if applicable) and send letters to all your business partners and key customers to notify them of your new address. Change your company’s website to reflect the new office location and phone numbers; Create packing guidelines and decide on a labeling system – Hold a meeting to discuss your moving preparations with your employees and ensure that everyone is familiar with the correct packing methods and labeling codes; Inventory and tag all furniture, equipment, and office supplies that will be relocated to your new place of business. Decide what you’re going to
do with the rest of the stuff – which of your old office items you’d like to sell or donate, which ones you need to recycle or throw away, etc.; Gather the necessary office moving supplies (unless you have hired professional packers to prepare your items for moving); Start archiving old files; Order new stationery and business cards; Determine security procedures for the move – be very careful with personal information, company data, important documentation, etc.; Obtain any necessary parking and/or moving permits; Hire professional cleaning services to clean your old office space on the day after your move.
Two weeks before moving day Make sure your new location will be fully ready by move-in day (wiring, cabling, HVAC systems, security systems, etc.). Order keys for all your team members; Start cleaning up and packing common areas. Ask employees to clean up their desks, cabinets, cubicles, etc., get rid of no longer needed items, and prepack everything they won’t use until moving day; Back up important documents and company information – Make paper copies of all essential company documents, scan important paperwork (insurance policies, tax returns, bank statements, legal contracts, etc.), store critical data on portable digital media or in the cloud, etc. Set up passwords on computers and other electronic devices that will be entrusted to the movers; Create a list of important contacts that includes your chosen office moving company, new building management, telecommunications, etc. and provide every team member with a copy; Call your hired office movers and confirm pickup date and time. Office move week Make a thorough inspection of your new office premises, confirm that all your demands are met, and mount floor plans and color tags and labels on the walls; Distribute new keys and access cards to your employees;
Ensure all confidential records are safely stored in plastic crates, sealed with tamper evident security seals (See also: How to protect yourself form identity theft when moving); Disconnect major appliances and electronic devices and prepare them for moving (See also: How to pack a computer for moving); Set aside anything that is not to be loaded on the moving truck. Moving day Designate move coordinators to be on-site throughout the move and do not allow other employees in your old office on moving day to avoid injuries and delays; Meet the moving crew and provide them with all the information they need. Show the movers around, point out special items, give clear instructions, and stay around so that your relocation partners can get to you if they have any questions; Assign a person to make a final walkthrough of the vacated space to check for forgotten items, property damage, etc.; Prepare welcome packets for your employees at the new office. Moving office is a challenge that won’t end on moving day – you will still have to unpack, install your office equipment, arrange the interior décor, and set up the right working atmosphere in your new office. What’s more, you’ll have to find a way to make the new place a foundation for the successful future of your business. Yet, now that you know how to move office, you will have no trouble planning and organizing a smooth business relocation. Just make sure you have your checklist for moving an office at hand all the time, so that you can consult with it whenever necessary and ensure everything is going according to plan. 2 Money and Time-Saving Tips for Moving Your Business Any type of move can be quite stressful, as well as money- and time-consuming. However, when talking about relocating a business, no matter if it’s big or small, the situation becomes even more complicated. Basically, no matter what your line of business is, you are sure to experience some downtime during the move, which can have some serious consequences on your business endeavor later on.
So, in order to avoid wasting both time and money left and right during the moving period, here are some tips that should help you better organize the entire process. Check them out. Declutter
Now is the perfect time to really look at your office equipment, as well as furniture, and try to determine which of those things you really wish to keep. If you’ve been thinking about getting new office furniture, but you just never got around to actually do it, there’s no better time than the present. The idea behind this is that you’ll A) clear out your future office from the things you don’t actually need and make room for the ones you do, and B) you won’t have to waste resources on relocating those items. So, find a registered charity and donate all of the items you no longer need. This way, you might even get a tax break. Determine the Best Course of Action Next, decide whether you want to take care of the move yourself, or you want to hire a moving company. Both of these have their perks and flaws, so you will have to see what works best for your particular case. If you decide to take care
of the move yourself, it will probably last longer, because you personally will have to pack everything up, hire a moving truck and drive items to the new location. However, if you ask your employees to help you out and turn the entire endeavor into a fun, team-building activity, and the entire process will take significantly less time. On the other hand, hiring a professional moving company will cost you money, but save you time. So, you should make a choice depending on the size of your operation. Ask for Help
Now, there are certain aspects of relocating a business that are not particularly complicated, but they do tend to take time. For example, moving your utility, gas, electricity and Wi-Fi connections is not difficult, but you’ll have to run from provider to provider and notify them individually about the move. However, did know that there are companies who specialize in moving all of the utilities for you? Try to find similar experts in your area and rest assured that your utilities, internet and efficient electricity connection will be ready and waiting for you. The best part is that these experts can even find you providers that offer better deals than your current ones, so that’s another way you can save money in the long run. Get the Right Insurance
No matter if you hire a moving company, or you decide to take care of the move on your own, you definitely should get some insurance coverage. Do know that a car or rental car insurance sometimes won’t cover the moving truck (because it’s sometimes considered equipment) in case of an accident, so make sure you clearly state what you need the insurance for. Additionally, some moving companies offer their own insurance, so inspect the policy and see if it covers everything such as accidents, theft, damage, injuries and so on. Finally, if you’re hiring day laborers, make sure all of them are also covered by some sort of insurance, because you may be held partially liable in case of any injuries if you fail to do so. Have a Backup Plan Lastly, no matter how good your organizational skills are, and no matter how carefully you’ve orchestrated the entire move, chances are that some things will still go wrong. So, to avoid any unpleasant situations and unnecessary downtime, make sure you have a good backup plan up your sleeve. Think about all the things that can potentially go wrong in advance and come up with a strategy to remedy the situation if it happens to come true.
To recap, the best way to save both money and time during a move is to identify which things you can take care of on your own and which would be best to leave to professionals.
3 Tips to Reduce Office Moving Stress Moving to a new office space? Whether your business is headed down the block or across town, a poorly managed office relocation can quickly spiral into a huge headache for employees and clients alike. Worse, when you’re knee-deep in boxes and bubble wrap, it’s easy to overlook important details, like updating your business’s address online. NAP inconsistencies in Google local search can create a search nightmare and send would-be customers and clients to the wrong address. From the physical move to the digital move, these six tips will help your business avoid the most common moving pitfalls: Leave Your Office Relocation Stress Behind Start the Planning Process Early Moving in September? Then start planning now! Give yourself at least three months of time to put together a clear plan. Evaluate what needs to be moved and decide what should be donated or securely eliminated. While many charities do accept old office furniture, you can’t assume the charity will be able to coordinate a last-minute pick up to coincide with your move. The same goes for the secure disposal of electronic equipment. Advanced planning will help streamline these logistics and eliminate unnecessary hiccups. Finally, don’t keep employees in the dark about moving plans! Keep employees in the loop as your plans unfold so they can manage workflow appropriately and support a smooth transition process. Purge Old Data and Recycle Electronics Still have old employee laptops or phones lying around? (Let’s face it, no one is going to fire up that BlackBerry from 2010 again!) From old office phones to computers, it’s essential to dispose safely of these products both to protect your company’s security and prevent harmful environmental damage for ewaste. Removing personal data from devices isn’t as simple as just deleting your old files. Do not trade, sell, donate or recycle old electronics until you’ve
wiped them clean. Consumer Electronics offers a detailed guide for erasing personal data from computers, tablets and even old BlackBerry phones. Once the data is fully purged, disposal options include community recycling programs and donation programs (like Dell Reconnect and World Computer Exchange). Some electronic companies like Best Buy and Amazon also offer disposal and buy-back programs. Plan for Coverage During the Move For most small businesses, it’s simply not practical to completely shut down for an extended move. At the most, you may be able to close your doors for one business day and one weekend. If you primarily service clients remotely, let customers know that you may be a bit slower returning emails or answering phones during the moving period. If your employees are helping out during the transition period with moving-related duties, consider designating one employee as the emergency client contact. This ensures uninterrupted client support without moving distractions. Move the Non-essentials First Conduct a thorough analysis of all parts of your office and divide items between “essentials” and “non-essentials”. Reduce downtime by moving non-essential items first to your new office space. Carefully label all boxes and bins to minimize unpacking hassles. Equipment that’s necessary for day-to-day operations should stay in place until moving day. Reduce Square Footage by Optimizing Storage Is your company downsizing to a smaller space? Opting to put rarely used documents and files in storage — rather than taking up space in your office — will minimize your real estate footprint and help cut down on overhead costs. When selecting a storage unit, remember that price is just one consideration. Additional consideration factors include whether the unit is climate controlled, the type of security offered and whether there is a password protected entry. Change Your Digital Address In addition to updating vendors and clients about your new address, don’t forget to change your NAP information with Google. Simply updating address information in your Google My Business listing won’t be sufficient. Google pulls
information from a nearly infinite number of sources, including Yelp, Yellow Pages, City Search, Local.com and Acxiom. In addition to fixing your data with Google, you’ll need to fix your data on sites that supply directories with this data. Moz recommends visiting Infogroup, Localeze and Acxiom to check for out-of-date information as well as creating accounts on all major search engines to update your old listings. You can also use Google Map Maker to directly edit Google’s maps. Once your edit is approved, the new information will show up on all Google map searches.
4 Things To Consider When Moving Offices At the beginning of the year, after being in our temporary office for all of 2007, we had the pleasure of moving to a beautiful brand new office. I’ve had the pleasure of moving apartments several times while I was in college, but moving an office is an entirely different experience. There are many things that you have to plan ahead for to make sure that your day to day operations are not affected by the big move. Here are seven things to help you prepare if you’re ever looking to move offices in the near future. Line up the movers. Having five completely furnished offices and not having any type of large moving truck to get going, we knew that we were in for a treat trying to get everything moved over in one piece. We were lucky enough to strike a deal with the business that we order most of our office supplies through and secured two movers and a box truck to get going. The rate was very very affordable and better yet, these guys were professionals, so they were able to move all of our stuff in a timely fashion without any scrapes or major catastrophes for any of the furniture. Call the phone company ASAP. Since our business is pretty imperative to have an open line of communication with our clients, and we knew that once we moved, we wanted to make sure that it was a seamless process where we could pick up right where we left off without missing a beat. By calling the phone company two months in advance, we were able to set up the exact dates that the move was going to happen. This is very imperative, especially if you have a business that is very customer
oriented. You don’t want to miss that potential phone call that could end up going to the competitor down the street. Don’t forget about the DSL. In our case, our phone service was a different provider than our Internet service. Just like our phone service, our DSL is very very imperative to our day to day operations. We were able to call the Internet service provider two months prior as well to make sure that everything would be a seamless transfer. You’ve got mail. Whenever moving offices, you can’t forget about having your mail redirected to the new address. One thing that we were told by the post office is that if we had changed our address then the mail will be redirected to the regional office which would be in St. Louis. This then would have our mail delayed anywhere from three to four business days. We knew that if the mail was redirected up the regional office that it would cause a delay in our day to day operations. We instead opted to keep the mail going to our old location since our location was a temporary office building that would still have a receptionist to receive our mail. We then just had all our records and updated to the new address and continued to pick up our mail at the old location for the first month. This was to ensure that we would keep all our mail coming and not miss out on anything.
Plan for additional needs. Moving into an office there is always the little things that you don’t think of that you need until you actually move in. At our old office we didn’t have to have furniture for a waiting room, conference room, bathroom, etc since it was a shared office space. With the new office we had to furnish these on our own. We knew it was imperative to set aside money to take care of any unexpected expenses that we would incur with the new office. Don’t forget to tell your customers.
Similar to the “Save the Date” reminder cards that many soon to be newlyweds will send out prior to actually sending out their wedding invitations, we sent out two letters letting our clients know of the move. The first was just giving the heads up that the move was getting ready to happen and the second letter was letting them know that the move was official and we were now in our new building. We wanted to make sure that we gave enough of a heads up so that they were not in the dark by our new move. Make the announcement. When it comes to your business you want to make sure that customers know how to find you . Once you are in your new office and things are settled in, it is time to let people know where you are at. Send a letter out to prospects. Do press releases in your local newspaper and inform all your networking channels and media outlets about your new location. That way business will continue on as planned and you will be able to enjoy your new office. At the time we were based in the Washington DC area, where my husband and I had founded our company, The Orchid Boutique. We thought it would be nice to live by the ocean, enjoy year-round warm weather, and be surrounded by palm trees. Since our swimwear retail business was entirely online, we thought we could operate from anywhere in the US. Most important, we believed our business could benefit from proximity to the bulk of our niche clientele. We ended making the move in 2010, but we seriously underestimated the consequences of relocating, even for a startup as small as we were. Here are the hard truths you should consider before moving your company: You will probably need to replace some of your best employees When we moved, we had to part ways with some of our most valued team members. At the time, we were in no position to offer massive relocation bonuses, and for employees like Stephanie, our beloved operations manager, setting up camp in Miami would make her regular visits to her native Rochester undoable. We had no idea what it would take to find and train a group of qualified and skillful employees from scratch, all at the same time. And boy, were we in for a ride. You will need to keep both locations running while you transition
Plan to keep both locations open simultaneously for at least 30 days. It sounds like common sense in hindsight, but we had no idea of the logistical nightmare that relocating a growing business would become. One small example: Fedex does not have a forwarding address service. As a result, customers requesting expedited exchange orders, manufacturers that did not update our corporate address promptly, and even Fedex supplies deliveries got routed to our old location, causing a lot of headaches for our new and existing staff. The price tag will almost certainly be higher than you think The costs of moving both home and office (complete with merchandise, equipment, and furnishings) can skyrocket in the blink of an eye. No moving company would commit to delivering our stuff 1,000 miles away in a brief period of time.The only way to guarantee delivery in two business days was for us to drive the 24-foot truck ourselves. You also need to let your clients know that your business might be down for a few days, and that they might call and get your company’s voicemail. We decided we would send an email to our mailing list, publish it on our blog, and also note it on our Facebook page. Some clients were still irritated. Operating costs in your new state will surprise you Find out what tax advantages or disadvantages you will have in your desired location. Unlike Virgina (where our business was technically founded), Florida has no state income tax. However, you do have to pay state taxes of 7% on commercial leases, which increases your monthly rent costs considerably. Sales taxes for consumers are also a bit higher in Florida than in Virginia. Worse, since our offices were now based in the same state as most of our customers, those customers--previously exempt from taxes on out-of-state online purchases--now had to add that cost to their Orchid Boutique bill. Your workplace culture will change in ways you never expected We knew we'd miss the intellectual stimulation we were exposed to in the DC area, but we thought the other advantages of South Florida would make up for that loss. However, we didn’t factor in what else we'd face, like the shock of adjusting to a more laissez faire business environment, and the adjustments we'd have to make in our office culture to work with people who talk different, act different and have different motivations from what we were used to.
Overall, moving to Miami allowed us a better quality of life, a more successful ecommerce portal, and an opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar location in South Beach. However, it came with its share of challenges, and it took us nearly two years to bounce back from the move. The problem is, when your company is growing at an accelerated pace, making any drastic change can really affect culture, work hours, and quality control. Make sure you plan ahead --way ahead--before you make your move. Reference Sydney | Wikipedia | Retrieved 30 April 2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney Diane Schmidt, 2018 | How to Plan and Organize an Office or Business Move | thespruce.com | Retrieved 30 April 2019 https://www.thespruce.com/plan-organize-office-or-business-move-2436522 Derek Lotts, Nov 2018 | 5 Money and Time-Saving Tips for Moving Your Business | businessingmag.com | Retrieved 01 May 2019 https://businessingmag.com/7123/strategy/5-money-and-time-saving-tips-for-movingyour-business/ Better Removalists Sydney, 2018 | 7 Important Tips for Moving to a New Office Space | betterremovalistssydney.com.au | Retrieved 02 May 2019 https://www.betterremovalistssydney.com.au/7-important-tips-moving-new-officespace/ Brian Hughes, 2016 | Office Relocation? 6 Tips to Reduce Office Moving Stress | smallbiztrends.com | Retrieved 02 May 2019 https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/07/office-relocation-stress-reduction.html Jeff Rose, 2018 | 7 Things To Consider When Moving Offices | cashmoneylife.com | Retrieved 04 May 2019 https://cashmoneylife.com/7-things-to-consider-when-moving-offices/ Mayra Jimenez , 5 Reasons to Think Twice Before Moving Your Company | inc.com | Retrieved 04 May 2019
https://www.inc.com/maya-jimenez/think-twice-about-moving-your-business.html Ethan Greenfield, May 2018 | How to organize an office move: Office moving checklist | moving.tips | Retrieved 08 May 2019 https://moving.tips/bonus-tips-and-tricks/office-moving-checklist/