Office Moving Do’s and Don’ts for Administrators and Facility Managers
Administrators and facility managers play an important role in office relocation. They are the assets that ensure a smooth and hassle-free office move. Office relocation requires planning, contracting vendors, hiring packers and movers, and many other activities. Managing an office move can be quite challenging.
In this blog, we will discuss the things that administrators and facility managers should do and the things they should avoid to have a successful office move.
Do’s
Prepare a detailed asset list
An office can have many assets, equipment, files, documents etc. and it is impossible for the administrators or facility managers to quantify or know about all the assets. Hence office administrators or facility managers must involve all departments, business units and stakeholders and ask each of them to submit a detailed list of assets and their condition at least a month prior to the move. This can help determine what assets should be moved, what should be discarded and can save unnecessary items being moved to the new office.
Plan in advance
Moving an office is not easy and can be quite time-consuming. It involves careful planning to have a successful and hassle-free office relocation. It is recommended that you start planning your move well in advance. List all the things that need to be done and break down the tasks. This will enable you to stay organized throughout the moving process. Planning in advance ensures you do not face unnecessary problems during the relocation process.
Involve all stakeholders
Even though most of the office relocation activities are overseen by facility managers and administrators, it is not always possible for them to know about every aspect of the organization. Hence it is important to involve all stakeholders in the relocation process and take their inputs in planning and executing an office move. These stakeholders may include management, department heads, employees, vendors and in some cases customers too. Many activities will need to be done in a short time, hence it is important to share the move plan, the time lines, responsibilities constraints etc with all stakeholders. There is also no harm in assigning responsibilities to different stakeholders and work in tandem with them to execute a seamless move.
Have backup plans
There are many things to consider while moving an office such budget, space required, parking facility, distance, power backup, staff comfort, business productivity, security, finding right packers and movers specializing in office relocation among others. It is a time-consuming and intricate process that needs careful planning. However, even with planning and preparation, one can face unseen challenges. Hence, it is important to have backup plans in case you face sudden problems. This will help minimize your loss.
Keep sufficient budgets
Moving an office involves numerous expenses like interiors, equipment, networking, consultants etc and adequate budget is set aside for all. However, most organisations assume office moving is easy and tend to allocate lower budgets when it comes to packers and movers for office moving. An unprofessionally executed office move can have a huge impact on business. There could be damages to goods, items could get lost, there could be data loss too. Few hours of delay could lead to huge employee productivity loss, impact delivery timelines and could upset customers. Hence you must allocate adequate budgets for office moves.
Do a trial before the actual move
Moving an entire office to a new office is a challenging task, and there are high chances of facing unseen difficulties during the actual move. Facility managers and administrators must do a trial before the actual move to avoid such situations. Doing a trial will enable managers to gauge the time consumed, assess any problems they may face and come up with a backup plan accordingly. It will make them better prepared for the actual move, and they will be able to execute the office relocation smoothly.
Have team leads for multiple shifts
Office relocations can be long and may take many hours for completion. Administrators and facility managers must, therefore, assign teams with a team leader for different shifts. This will reduce the stress on the staff and improve their efficiency.
Don’ts
Do not use the cheapest vendor
Some administrators and facility managers try to save money and hire less expensive vendors for various purposes. It must be noted that hiring cheap or less expensive vendors is not always a good idea especially in a large office move. The service quality of such vendors may not be the best and many things could go wrong.
Do not take unnecessary risks
Sometimes administrators tend to take unnecessary risks to save costs like moving without insurance, moving servers without adequate packing or moving populated server racks etc. An office move is an intricate process and chances of facing unforeseen challenges are quite high. Taking unnecessary risks will create additional problems to an already complex task. It may also result in employee down time, productivity loss, data loss, customer loss and other financial loss. Hence, it is highly recommended that administrators and facility managers must not take unnecessary risks during the office relocation process.
Do not try to move everything in one shot
There are numerous things in an office and moving everything in one shot is not possible. Administrators and facility managers must plan the move and execute it in phases. Trying to move everything in one shot will create confusion. In order to remain organized, the office items must be moved in different phases only.
Do not move into a new office until it is completely ready and checked
Facility managers and administrators must prepare a checklist and check the new facility thoroughly and ensure that it is completely ready before moving in. This could include electricity connections, backup power, Air-condition, toilets, parking, security, fire fighting equipment, etc. If everything is in order, they can go ahead with the move. If something is not working, they must fix it before the move.
Do not try to do the office move alone
Office relocation is a challenging task and cannot be undertaken by a single person. It requires the involvement of various members to have a successful office relocation. Administrators and facility members must not undertake the office relocation alone and assign teams to oversee different activities. It will reduce their burden and also increase the efficiency of the task.
Office relocation is largely dependent on administrators and facility managers. However, managing an office move is not easy and it is advisable to engage office moving consultants.
Globe Moving is a specialist in office and data center relocation with over 4 decades of experience. Globe Moving has handled some of the largest office and data center moves in the country. Call +91 80 4211 5151 or email enquiries@globemoving.net to make your office move a stress-free experience.
Continue Reading:
How to Prepare and Plan for an Office Move
Things to Do Before an Office Move
Things to Do During an Office Move
Things to Do After an Office Move
