Office Move Checklist: 6 Things to Consider When Relocating
Moving office is a common part of running a business.
Some growing businesses find that they have outgrown their current premises and need somewhere bigger. More and more, businesses are looking to change their workspace but accommodate hybrid working.
If you’re considering moving offices, you may get bogged down in the logistics and not think beyond transporting furniture.
Why Careful Office Move Planning Matters
An office move can be more than that. It’s an opportunity to improve productivity, company culture and future scalability.
By using a checklist to help your business stay organised, you minimise disruption during an office move.
Office Move Checklist: 6 Things to Consider When Relocating
1. Location Supports Your Business
When choosing a space, it’s worth considering:
- Accessibility
- Parking and public transport links
- Nearby amenities
- Client convenience (If your business involves client-facing interactions).
- Local business culture and community
- Future growth opportunities
2. Choose an Office That Can Grow With You
Allowing your business not to be wholly controlled by external forces.
You need to find a space that suits your business. Short leases give you the freedom to scale up when you need to and are immediately available. This means too that hiring plans are not dictated by space, but by what you need, as you can quickly find space to adapt.
There are also more options in the types of space. Content studios are much more appropriate for film and photography businesses, meaning you don’t have to adapt spaces to suit the type of work you do.
Serviced offices (like what we offer here at Mersey Bank) have utilities and internet included and 24/7 access.
3. Create a Timeline For Your Office Move
Depending on the size of the move, you should begin planning several weeks or months before, to avoid the risk of overlooking anything important.
Mapping out your timeline should involve:
- Deciding on a moving date
- Assigning responsibilities
- Notifying suppliers
- Arranging IT migration
- Booking removal services
- Updating insurance
- Reviewing contracts
- Communicating the move to staff
4. Update Your Business Details
Maintaining consistent business information across all platforms is critical to ensure that you don’t lose mail, confuse your customers, lose business and suffer a drop in online search rankings. Also, business records need to be kept up to date so that you don’t suffer legal or financial consequences.
Key areas where details need to be updated include:
- Companies House (if applicable)
- Your website
- Google Business Profile
- Business stationery (if you have any)
- Email signatures
- Social media
Groups that you must inform about your office move include:
- Suppliers
- Customers
- Banks
- Insurance providers
All this is easy to do and will save you a lot of headaches down the line.
5. Virtual Office Services
If you need a business address, but don’t really need a physical location, then it’s worth looking into virtual office options. This’ll give you a registered business address just without having to commit to the office space. Mersey Bank offers virtual office packages, giving you a professional Wallasey business, access to mail handling and forwarding services, and meeting room hire. Businesses that choose us can start using the service quickly after completing the required verification checks.
Also, if you want to move beyond our virtual office services, we have other types of physical workspaces, providing hybrid working opportunities.
6. Minimising Downtime During The Move
If you’re well-prepared, you’ll be able to keep things running pretty smoothly from the minute you start the move to the moment you’re settled into your new space.
Obviously, the goal is to get back to business as usual as fast as you can. So to get the downtime down to a minimum during a move, consider these things:
- Backing up your really important data so you don’t lose anything essential
- Testing your internet and phone systems beforehand so you can be sure they’re going to be up and running when you need them
- Booking the move for outside regular business hours if it’s at all possible
- Letting your clients in on the temporary disruption – that way they can be understanding when things are a little slow
- Prioritising the kit that’s most important to get up and running right away
- Making sure your staff know where everything is and what the new routines and procedures are – that might take some time to get sorted
Common Office Move Mistakes to Avoid
With an office move there’s a lot of things to organise, stay on top of, so there’s always a chance a few things slip through the cracks.
Here are some common pitfalls to avoid so that you can make your workspace transition as smooth as possible.
- Leaving planning too late – If you plan too late, then the whole move can feel like chaos. People don’t have the relevant information, and you have to scramble to organise logistics. All this will cost you time and money.
- Underestimating costs – Costs can build up during a move, and you should prepare to spend more than you initially think.
- Choosing an office that is too small – Moving office is usually about growth. You need to anticipate that continuing growth; you may be having to move again after a short while.
- Forgetting to update business listings – Not updating your details could lead to losing customers, lower search ranking and legal issues.
- Poor communication with employees – Moving office can have big implications for your staff. Keeping them informed will lead to more time to adjust and prepare for the move.
- Ignoring IT requirements – Offices run on IT. If you get a swanky office, move everything and your people in perfectly, and no one can log in, that’s a huge problem. Make sure your IT team has adequate time to set up so you can be up and running on Day 1.
- Overlooking parking or accessibility – If you make it hard for your team and clients to park near and get into your new office, it will cause frustration and potentially be an issue for them to look elsewhere to work and do business.
How Serviced Offices Can Make Moving Easier
Business hubs like Mersey Bank offer flexible office solutions for businesses.
We offer cost-effective, fully flexible and equipped serviced offices, virtual office services so that you can work from where you want whilst having a professional address and offer meeting room hire.
With these services on flexible contracts, you have the freedom to grow at your own pace, whilst having access to business support services like call handling and IT support.
Interested in a Flexible Office Space? Reach Out Today
If you’re interested in talking to us about our serviced offices or a virtual one, get in touch today.
Call us on 0151 459 8102 to find out about our available rooms and services.