Printable Office Move Checklist

Moving offices can be an exciting time – a new opportunity for your business to expand. But, it’s also a very stressful and chaotic time. That is why we have prepared an easy to follow office move checklist for you to download, because we know after 30 years that improperly handled commercial relocation can result in unexpected amount of downtime which no business wants. It can certainly be a big task to move successfully with minimal disruption to your employees and customers.

The old adage runs especially true when it comes to moving – ‘if you fail to plan you plan to fail’. Planning and preparation is crucial to a smooth, hassle-free relocation. Using a professional moving company with more than 30 years of experience under their belt like Kyle Bay Removals & Storage can go a long way to removing some of the stress and potential downtime from moving.

Brisbane and Sydney providing state-wide moving services to many Australians. We’ve prepared this office move checklist to help make sure nothing goes awry during your important move.

Before Moving Office:

• Budget for the various costs involved with moving to the new office space and use an office move checklist (like this one). Costs for everything such as hiring professional movers and the cost of downtime should be accounted and planned for. If you’ve budgeted for moving costs and there are unexpected extra costs you’ll be in a far better position to handle them.
• Obtain a floor plan of the new premises you’re moving into and map out where everything should go such as desks, chairs and if necessary whose office will be whose. This will save time as boxes can go straight where they need to go on moving day.
• Discuss with your IT staff the best rollout plan for moving your office hardware to the new site. This may involve getting some of your IT department’s equipment moved and setup in advance so there’s no long period of complete downtime. A similar approach with customer service staff can be a good idea as well so even during the move your customers will have a point of contact.
• Confirm the details of the move including the floor plan with your moving company well in advance. Details such as entrance ways, doorways and stairwells will help the moving company make the move as efficient as possible.
• Give your staff plenty of notice. If they have their own filing cabinets or drawers, have them pack their office supplies and belongings into their cabinet to make the move even faster. Also, it can be a good idea to have a staff member label all computers and devices so employees are quickly reunited with their equipment.
• Inform your clients and customers of the move and where your new location will be. If you provide an ongoing service, be sure to let your customers know of any disruptions the move might cause to that service.
• Check that you have access to the new premises. Move day won’t pan out well if it turns out you need a swipe card that the property manager forgot to tell you about.
• Pick a quiet time to move. Sure, there may not be a technically ‘good’ time to move an office but there are certainly bad ones. For example, moving just before the end of the financial year could wreak complete havoc with your business. Generally, businesses experience a lull in January and this can be a good time to move.

During Your Move:

• Work off site if you allow employees to do work from home. While the removalists handle the relocation, you can have your employees operating from home resulting in virtually no downtime.
• Arrange for one employee to be at both your old and new locations. This way there’s someone from the business to liaise with the movers at both ends and make sure the move is carried out smoothly.
• Ensure the floor plan is ready and available to the movers on the day, including any annotations about what is to go where. This way the movers will know exactly where everything is going.
• Have staff help unpack and arrange smaller office items so they can feel at home as soon as possible.

After Moving Office:

• Update your address, and phone number if necessary, on your website and any advertising materials you use.
• Inform your clients that your doors are back open for business.

At Kyle Bay Removals & Storage we have the experience to ensure that your commercial relocation goes as smoothly as possible. We hope this checklist helps prevent your office moving day from turning into a nightmare. If you need any more information or are interested in having Kyle Bay Removals & Storage relocate your business, call 1300 561 333 today for competitive pricing service with a smile.