When you’re planning to relocate your workspace, your first, second, and third thoughts might be about planning for your future by making sure the next space is ready and prepared for you. However, you can’t forget the office space that you’re leaving behind either. Fail to take the steps following and you could end up paying some fines that can add a sting to the change, or even have to delay the move entirely.
Don’t underestimate the need for help
If you have plenty of vehicles and people who are willing to use them, you might be able to take care of the office relocation yourself. However, in the vast majority of cases, you are going to need the help of commercial movers. These services are often hard to hire if you’re too close to moving day, so you had better get in touch with them sooner, rather than later, to make sure that you don’t have to delay the move.
Start emptying it ahead of time
You might need to keep some equipment there to keep operations going at a reduced level until the end of the move, but you shouldn’t leave it until the moving day to start emptying it out. Non-essential equipment can be held in storage facilities, while you should look at skip bin hire for the furniture or equipment that you don’t need to bring with you. Start trimming the clutter now and moving day will be much easier.
Leave it as you found it
Every office is going to accrue some level of dirt, debris, dust, or grime after years of you working there. You might do your bit to ensure that it’s in good condition while you’re there, but there are places that might be missed during the usual clean. Before you leave, after you’ve packed up everything, you need to give the office one last deep clean, and professional cleaners can help ensure it’s up to the standards the next tenants are going to work with. Otherwise, you could end up paying more than you should in cleaning fees after the fact.
Update those who need to be updated
Start by making sure that your clients know that you’re moving if you need to. The same goes for vendors and suppliers. Update all your websites, business cards, and any social media posts or accounts that might have your current address. Similarly, you should make sure that you don’t have any client deadlines on or around moving day, rescheduling as necessary to avoid confusion.
Make sure your data is safe
Leaving any data behind, be it a hard drive or a device that could access your networks, could be disastrous to the company. Make sure that you use tools like Cloud storage to clear your hardware as best as possible and work with the IT team to ensure none of it is left behind.
A new and exciting future can await your business thanks to a change in your work environment. Don’t sully the experience by giving yourself more work to do or fees to pay.
