Office Relocation
Critical Tips for A Smooth Office Relocation
Office relocation can be very disruptive to employers, employees, and clients alike. Experienced and trained staff are imperative in order to minimize the disruption to you and your team who are still trying to attend to daily business transactions during an office relocation.
Office relocation or moving is the process in which you move your entire office, together with its equipment and staff to a new premises.
To move your shop or office it is important to seek out the services of professionals who can assist you with your move.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons why a business would want to relocate and what procedures your business should ideally follow in order to make the relocation easy, fair, and ethical to all the employees and customers who may be affected by the move.
Office Relocation: Reasons Why A Business Would Want to Move to A New Location
Accessibility
It is important that your business is reachable to both your employees and your clients. Not many people will want to visit a business that is far away, and employees most definitely don’t want to travel long distances to get to their place of work.
When we talk about accessibility, we are also talking about how easy your business is for customers to come to, and how much parking space you have available if you are running a very profitable business.
Area Demographics
Any businessman will tell you that demographics play a big role in business dealings. Not only does it speak to your target market, but it also gives you an idea of the preferences, tastes, and tendencies of any prospective clients toward needing your products or services. It is important to situate your business in an area that needs your type of business,
Security Management
Theft in South Africa is real! Having a lack of security can be a risk factor to your business and lead to theft that can bring your business to its knees It is also important to remember that many insurance companies are going to charge you exorbitant premiums if you are situated in a high-risk area.
Moving to Create Space
Always have high expectations and think about how your business may grow over time. Never rule out the possibility of expansion in the future and new ventures. It is important to base your relocation decision on the fact that your new location will have enough space to build new offices should the time come.
Competitors
Don’t relocate to an area where there are several of the same types of businesses as yours. This move would be setting yourself up for failure. Before you decide on where your company is going to relocate to it is important to conduct research on the areas that you are thinking of moving to so as to make sure that there are not many businesses that offer the same as yours does and that your service is new in the area.
How Does Management Plan an Office Relocation?
If management has planned their office relocation correctly it can be a great way in which to provide staff with new extra opportunities as well as the introduction of new technology and working practices. If done properly this can help to improve staff morale and give them a chance to start new and fresh thus increasing production rate and improving their overall stress and health levels.
Office relocation can, however, also be an extremely stressful event for business owners and staff if it is not managed well by managers and HR. As a business owner, it is extremely beneficial that you involve all areas of your company in the relocation process and communicate with them on a regular basis about the impending move.
Office Relocation Announcement to Employees
Always remember that your employees are what keeps your company performing optimally and efficiently. They need to be the first ones to know of your decision to relocate the business.
Management needs to organize a meeting in which all staff need to attend and advise them of the details of your relocation. It is important for all of your employees to hear the news at the same time in order to maintain positive interaction and communication between your members of staff and management.
Explain to your staff why you are deciding to move offices and reinforce the idea that it is a positive move for both them and the business. Show enthusiasm and excitement and they will more than likely follow.
At the end of the meeting give all of your employees a hard copy relocation announcement that includes the new location of the business, the moving date, and the moving timeline. You also need to instruct them on what to do to be ready for the move when the day arrives.
Relocation of offices can sometimes be a very sensitive issue, especially if you have staff who have worked on the premises for many years. As Management, you need to be aware of how the move may affect some of your employees and be prepared to listen to their general health and safety worries.
Can Your Employer Make You Relocate?
Office Relocation Notice to Clients
An office relocation notice will normally come in the form of a letter. The following should be included in your announcement letter:
- The reasons as to why you are moving premises. These can include improved customer service or the need for a larger facility due to your business’s growth and success.
- Remind the clients of how much you value their business.
- Dates in which the current office will remain open until as well as the hours that it will be open from and to.
The Office Relocation Checklist
Once your relocation plan has been analyzed and assessed it is important to plan for the preparation of your office relocation. The best way to do this is by making a checklist with step-by-step planning and relocating guidelines.
Your checklist should include but is not limited to the following:
- Make a list of inventory.
- List any current damages to the property.
- Give notice to cancel all of your utilities.
- Make sure to remove all your signage.
- Hire a cleaning service to make sure that the premises are clean for the next tenants.
- Return keys, locks, and passwords to the landlord.
Letters to Clients
The first step should be to build up your mailing list and make sure that everyone who needs to know about the relocation is on that list. It is important that these people are properly informed ahead of time.
# 1 Make a List of Contacts
Once you have officially decided to move your business to another premises it is important to draft a letter to customers, vendors, and business partners. You can draft different letters for each so as to explain why you are relocating your business.
Let your customers know that you are moving for the benefit of both them and your business and give them some details about your new premises. This is a great message to send out if you want to let them know that the move is based around your company wanting to serve its customers more conveniently.
Always let your customers and business partners know that you are moving for positive reasons and not to save money because business is going badly. Explain to them how amazing the new premises are going to be and how your business is going to expand by relocating.
# 2 Determine How to Contact Them
Now it is time to figure out just how you are going to contact all of your clients. This needs to include both individuals and organizations that are on your mailing list.
Email is normally the preferred method in which to do this. You may also want to reach out to people through social media as well.
# 3 Gather Information
Make sure to include your company’s present and future information. Include things such as:
- Street Addresses and Postal addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Email Addresses
- Website Address
- Other Social Media details
- Mailing Lists of client
# 4 Write Your Letter
The final part of the process is to write your relocation letter. Make sure to include all of your contact information and keep the letter brief and to the point.
How Much Does It Cost to Move an Office Space?
There are many costs that come with relocating your office both before and even after moving day.
Costs can include items such as:
- Labor needed to move equipment.
- Labor is needed to make both internal and external moving announcements.
- Consulting and lawyer fees.
- Moving Companies.
- Repairs and Construction.
- Built-in expenses on the new premises.
- Service fees.
Moving business premises is no excuse for your business to close down. At BW Movers we work with you and your staff to provide a seamless office move with minimal business disruption and maximum peace of mind.
Your move does not begin on the day you move. At BW Movers we carefully help you plan your move by helping you every step of the way. Our professional packers help you pack your belongings and we also supply the right packaging materials to ensure they are moved safely for you. At BW Movers we take pride in knowing that you are going to receive the ultimate moving experience.
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