Top Tips for Internal Office Moves
Apr 07. 2022
As with any office relocation, an internal office move will require considerable planning and preparation to ensure it’s executed as efficiently as possible and causes minimal down-time for the organisation. The move maybe to another floor or part of the building; it maybe a reconfiguration of the present office; or it may be that arrangements need to be made for new staff to be added into the office. Whatever the reason, here are a few pointers to factor into the planning process:
- Assign the responsibility of the co-ordinating of the move to a member of staff or a group of staff. It will be quite an undertaking, so it’s not something that can be just left to evolve over a period of time and not be formally assigned to anyone. The particular member of staff will need to liaise with the chosen removals company and communicate at various points of the process with other staff and stakeholders. Factor into your plans, when key members of staff will be on annual leave, to ensure that the essential people are available for the move.
- Start planning the move early to ensure that everything is taken into account and the move proceeds in an orderly manner. Starting early will give you time to delegate tasks, communicate the changes appropriately so that staff know what’s happening and are aware of key dates (when they need to pack their desks etc) and research a removal company.
- Don’t overlook the need to move phone lines. When the move in internal it can be easy to overlook the need for phone lines to be moved with the members of staff whose work stations are being moved. Also bear in mind that if this is a necessary part of the relocation and if new phone lines are required, these need to be arranged, installed and tested in advance of the move. Also, don’t forget to issue an updated phone list with the changes to all staff.
- Call in the professionals. As with most office moves, an internal move will still involve the movement of large and heavy office furniture and equipment. It’s important to speak to a removal company as a professional remover will have removal crews who are trained in heavy lifting. Trying to move office equipment without professional help can be dangerous and cause a risk of injury and damage to the equipment itself. Both of these outcomes can negatively affect the swiftness and efficiency with which the organisation can return to work. Speak to your chosen removal company about whether you want them to also pack for you, or if you decide to do this yourself, the remover should be able to arrange crates for you to rent to enable you to pack safely and securely. These can be rented daily, weekly or monthly.
- An internal move does also open up the opportunity to re-design and improve the office layout, so give some time and thought to creating a layout that will create a more productive environment.
