Ten Considerations When Relocating A Business

Moving office will always cause upheaval for your business, as you try to juggle all the aspects of the move while trying to retain continuity for your day-to-day operations.

But, there are ways to ease the pain, which also offer the potential to save yourself money. Here are our top ten tips.

Partnering

Find someone who can guide you through the whole process from start to finish. Selecting the right company to work with early will help ensure your move goes smoothly.

Plan In Advance

Plan every stage of your office move. Make a list of everything you need to do and everyone you need to inform. That includes giving the relevant people plenty of notice to minimise delays. IT specialists, solicitors and communications suppliers (BT, Virgin, etc.) often cause significant delays to the project.

Depending on whether you are looking at a new fit-out for your new office, you will need to ensure sufficient time to allow for supplier lead-times. You will also need enough time (and perhaps an overlap of rental periods) to allow time to return the existing building to the landlord as expected in the lease (dilapidations).

Make An inventory

Decide what furniture and equipment you will be taking to the new premises and any new items you need to source and again allow sufficient lead times so that any new office furniture and it infrastructure is in place on day one.

Layout Planning

Create a plan of the layout of your existing office, including where each department and individual is located and an organisational chart showing the current and future numbers by department.

This will help your partner to understand departmental adjacencies. Involve and engage your employees in the discussions where possible and feedback their needs and concerns in teams, so that you can address sensitive issues early on.

Technology

Prepare a technology survey showing the details of all equipment, PC’s, laptops, docking stations, copiers and printers, and a brief for the server room, including power requirements, racks required, category of new data cabling (normally Cat 6). Be clear on the IT needs of each team or area in the new office with your IT team and the timescales involved in getting staff up and running.

Reduce Storage

If you can, plan future storage requirements and future ways of working, especially if you are considering a more flexible combination of office-based and home-based staff. It pays to clear-out as much paperwork as you can, digitising files for easy access.

Timing

Remember that timing is everything. Plan the timing for your move carefully, avoiding the busiest times of the year for your business. The whole process can take up to 12 months, so starting to plan early can save you money.

Telling People

Notify your customers, suppliers and utility companies of your move promptly and share your new contact details once your new lease is signed.

Marketing and Communications

Don’t forget to change your stationery and update your website along with any online listings or directories to reflect your new contact details. You could also use the opportunity as a marketing campaign.

Budgeting

Finally, an office move can be expensive so you will need to agree to a budget for the move. If you don’t want to compromise your cash flow, you may wish to consider leasing as a way to finance the fit-out of your new office space.

A lease agreement can provide a flexible and tax-efficient solution from planning and design to interior finishes and furniture.

Summary

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