Moving is a stressful experience, but when it comes to moving an office, it just becomes twice as stressful. No matter where you are planning to move, a poorly managed move can make the event the settling portion of your move terrible.
In the case of an office move, you have a lot of moving parts. You are knee-deep in boxes and bubble wrap on one end along with the best movers NYC, and on the other, you have clients and customers knocking on your door. To make the whole situation worse, you also have the fantastic Google local search listings, that if not updated, can become a nightmare for your business.
The escalation that takes place in case an address isn’t updated can lead to a loss in business. You don’t want that. So, please start by updating that address.
Now beyond this, what can you do to ease the relocation process?
Start Early
No matter when you plan on moving, try and give yourself at least three months to compile a plan that is viable with the least possible kinks.
Evaluate what needs to go out and what stays. Everything in the business needs to be sorted into a keep, throw(Recycle) and donate piles.
You need to do this primarily because you can’t expect last-minute pickups or drop-offs at various locations across the city.
The other reason for undertaking this ordeal is the secure disposal of electronics. Offices over a period of time manage to become a graveyard for wires and other electronics that are no longer in use.
If you plan everything out in advance, you will be doing yourself a huge favor as you can sort out the logistics and workflow to facilitate a smooth transition.
Clean Out The Electronics
Like I mentioned above, a workplace is a graveyard for all kinds of electronic junk. Considering hoarding is easy if you don’t consider it your responsibility.
Let’s be honest; it is challenging to imagine a person ever wanting to touch a machine from 2001 ever again. So, let go of all the old employee laptops and phones. Additionally, if you have any relics of the yesteryear propped in some corner of your office, let it go. Sing Let it go while you do it. You will feel better.
E-waste is also not as simple to dispose of as paper. There is a complete process that needs to be followed. Personal data removal isn’t as simple as pressing delete. You need to factory reset every device before trading, donating, or selling it.
Read the official guidelines set by consumer electronics that have a detailed guide on how to erase personal data from devices.
Once you have freed your devices of all data, either get them recycled in an exchange or community program such as Recycled Financial Equipment or search for a buyback option as they are the most aware of how to dispose of electronics.
Don’t Let The Work Stop
If you are a small business, it is not practical for you during a move to shut down. Even if you are shutting down for a day or two, remember to assign an emergency contact so that you have a smooth move.
Move-in Ascending Order Of Importance
Make a list of things that are the least important and then move according to that list. This will ensure that your new office is set up in some capacity and also save you the entire mess of moving and unpacking.
The most important parts of the office should not be touched until the last day.
Optimize The Space Provided
If you’re moving to a smaller space. Move the documents and files that you rarely use to a storage unit equivalent. This will help you in reducing overhead costs. Consideration factors while choosing a storage unit are the type of security being offered, climate control, and of course, the price.
Schedule your Client Meetings and deadlines
Finally, around the time of the move, make sure that you have a buffer time where you haven’t scheduled any crucial meetings or deadlines. It will not be a good look on you if you run around like a headless chicken while trying to find a room to host a meeting in the middle of boxes and bubble wrap.
Moving is a big undertaking, but if done well, you should run into no problems. Just remember to plan in advance and if you can try to hire commercial local movers it would be much better. Expert local movers would make your life much easier by taking logistical planning off your hands.