Knowing When to Say When: How to Know It’s Time to Move into a Commercial Space
Almost all companies will experience this at one time or another: the need to move. Whether you’re upgrading your square footage or seeking a more stylish space, an impending corporate relocation can be intimidating even to the most prepared people. Between picking a new space, packing, and the physical move, where should you even begin?
Below we explore 10 steps to help you survive your corporate relocation experience.
1. Plan to Move Well in Advance of the Actual Move
Small details during the move planning process can quickly pile up, so once you’ve decided it’s time to move, it’s important to begin planning four to six months before you actually move (not one month before!). Consider the location that you want to move to, as well as your ideal layout and floor plan, and set a budget. That way, when it comes time to get the ball rolling, you won’t be scrambling to fill in any blanks.
2. Hire Licensed Commercial Movers with Experience
Although it can be tempting to save money by asking your employees to pitch in and do some heavy lifting, it’s safer (for your equipment and your employees) to hire a licensed commercial mover with insurance to take over. This should be scheduled about one to three months in advance to ensure they are available on moving day.
Keep in mind that many professional buildings don’t allow moving to occur during business hours; as a result, you may need to wait until after hours or on the weekend.
3. Research/Negotiate Locations
This is the fun part: researching and picking new office locations. If you’re looking for a retail space or medical location, refresh yourself on what to look for with our previous blogs.
Furthermore, to better understand the different types of commercial leases, we created a simple guide that you should check out!
4. Clean the Current Office
Depending on how long you’ve been in your current location (and how clean or messy your office is), this task could take some time. Cleaning should be an ongoing task, but if a little extra TLC is needed to sort through old paperwork or equipment, we recommend beginning a deep clean at least two months before the move. That way, you aren’t bringing over any wasteful resources to the new space.
5. Take Inventory of Equipment
While performing a deep clean, each department should take an inventory of equipment (such as computers, keyboards, projectors, etc.) in order to ensure nothing gets lost in the move. This is also an opportunity to see if any additional equipment will be needed in your new location to prepare ahead of time.
6. Determine What Will Need Address Changes
Once you have signed a lease, it’s safe to begin updating your new address on your:
- Website
- Business cards
- Flyers and other recurring marketing material
- Email signatures
- Business directories
- Utilities and other online resources (like a CRM)
- Bank and tax forms
- Insurance
For physical mail, ensure that you connect with the US Postal Service to forward your mail at least one month before the move. To be safe, consider occasionally stopping by the old office after the move to see if any mail fell through the cracks.
7. Schedule Utilities Transfer
While setting up the move of the actual office, remember to coordinate electricity, phone, and Internet services over to the new location as well. Keep in mind that utilities representatives may want an employee or manager to be present during their installation.
8. Schedule Client Meetings/Deadlines Appropriately
Even though the move may be the number one thing on your mind, remember to accommodate the heart of your business: your clients. Record the date or dates you will be moving, and be sure to schedule meetings, deadlines, and other appointments around them. Otherwise, it could be problematic if a client was trying to reach a team member while your office was settling in to the space.
9. Coordinate Move with Managers
Because the move may occur on the weekend (or after hours), it’s important to have at least one manager overseeing the move to ensure everything goes smoothly and to help bring items that movers might not touch. The manager should also be referring to a predetermined floor plan/layout to ensure that the furniture and equipment are going where the team envisioned it going.
10. Leave Artwork to Later
Lastly, while artwork might complete the new space (and make it feel like an office instead of a new room), we suggest leaving the design aspect to a week or two after the move in case furniture needs to change locations (and to prevent unnecessary holes in the wall). If you have a lot of artwork to hang, hiring professional art hangers could be helpful.
For a helpful step by step moving checklist, download our Moving Checklist today.
If you need assistance or guidance on finding the best location for your next office, retail, or medical space (or anything in between), Murphy Commercial Real Estate is here to help. We have over 15 years of experience helping business owners big and small find their next space in the greater Baltimore-Washington region.
For more information, contact us today!
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