An office with computers, desks, and employees.

How to set deadlines for an office move?

When you’re preparing for office relocation, there are tons of different things you have to think about. Even if you hire some of the best moving companies Buffalo NY has to offer, there are still a lot of preparations and logistics that you have to take care of on your own. Yes, this is by no means a simple process that your company is about to go through. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that you will necessarily have trouble juggling all the different tasks. There is one key component of your commercial relocation that ties everything else together. And that’s your effort to set deadlines for an office move. If you come up with the best possible schedule for individual tasks, you will find that your move is not that difficult at all. Don’t worry; we’re here with some useful tips to help you out.

Two months before the move

One of the biggest questions when it comes to your plan to set deadlines for an office move is, naturally – where to start. Or, to be more precise, when to start? Indeed, knowing how much time you’ll need for this office relocation in advance is not that easy. Naturally, the answer to this question is not universal. There are many different aspects pertaining to individual companies; each of them playing a great role in determining when you should prepare for commercial relocation. Still, four to two months in advance is still reasonable for most mid-sized companies.

People working at their computers in an office.
Planning an office relocation is definitely a complex task.

Once you do start planning, your first instinct may be to find and hire the best commercial movers Buffalo has to offer. However, that should not be your first instinct. Instead, you should start by focusing on your own part of the relocation planning. Primarily, you’ll need to identify the scope and define the resources that you’re going to use. That means cooperating with the proper individuals and/or departments to start working on your preliminary moving budget. Also, one of the first things that you’ll have to know right away is which parts of the company will be moving to the new address.

Essential preparations

When you begin to set deadlines for an office move, you don’t just have to think about the timing when it comes to logistics. You will also have to consider who among your staff will be tasked with helping you out. Sure, you probably won’t handle the manual part of the relocation yourself; that’s why moving companies like Wayfinder Moving Services exist in the first place. But, you will definitely need some internal help while planning everything out. Considering this, start by assigning adequate roles at the very start. 

After that, you will be able to define the master moving schedule more specifically. After a lot of careful deliberation, you need to decide on a specific date for your moving day. Everything after that will fit into that crucial part of your schedule. When you’ve decided on one date, you can begin thinking about the procurement of the items you’ll need for your new office; some things, like IT equipment and location-specific network circuits, can’t be transferred from the old office. But remember to hire packing services because you will certainly need them.

People looking at a board with sticky notes in a meeting.
You will need cooperation from your entire staff.

At this point, you will also know if you’re capable of planning the entire logistics of the relocation on your own, or if you need outside help. There are plenty of things to think about here; unless you want to be your own business consultant, hiring one may be a necessity. If so, now is the time to contact them. In addition, start doing an inventory of your office, and determine what things you intend to bring with you.

A couple of weeks before the move

Now that your relocation is becoming closer and closer, you need to start thinking about it in more practical terms. If you managed to set deadlines for an office move correctly, you should have no trouble here. You simply need to make sure that everyone involved is working according to your moving checklist; we recommend starting weekly meetings regarding the relocation with your internal move coordinators. Start looking at the practicalities of the relocation more closely; for example, think about parking arrangements for the movers at your new office on moving day. Also, if there is any particularly fragile equipment that you’re transporting – make sure you’ve acquired the right moving insurance. In fact, many people forget that some office interiors have expensive artwork. If you’re moving something like that, get a professional to appraise it beforehand so you can have insurance. 

A woman talking on the phone to set deadlines for an office move and smiling.
If you set deadlines for an office move promptly, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Your goal should also be to make sure that there is a minimal interruption for your business during the relocation, but afterward as well. Realistically, you shouldn’t expect that everyone with whom you’re in business will learn of your new location and contact information; stuff like that can get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily business. Considering that, we recommend making arrangements to maintain your previous phone number for at least a couple of months. Having a prerecorded message on it pointing to the new number will be quite enough.

Conclusion

The entire point of careful preparation for your office relocation and striving to set deadlines for an office move correctly is this; you want moving day to go over like a well-oiled machine. By the time you actually have to perform the move, you should have everything scheduled and prepared. There are always more things that you can do, of course; like leading your employees on a tour of the new offices before moving day. However, knowing your priorities here is absolutely crucial!

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