Here are 5 mistakes you don’t want to make when moving or relocating your office:
- Not planning ahead
Not planning ahead almost always spells disaster for an office move. Removalists often require at least 1 months’ notice to correctly plan your move. You might find a business willing to take on your move at short notice but it’s unlikely to go well. Removalists need time to:- Organise labour – Removal companies run a tight ship allocating just enough staff to cover jobs on hand. Labour is expensive and a typical removal labour force is 70% casual. Removal companies need to grow and shrink their labour force throughout the year as the work is cyclical.
- Organise equipment – Equipment is a limited resource and therefore carefully allocated to jobs up to 3 months ahead of time. Crates, skates and boxes are provided prior to your move so that you can pack up your belongings. They are usually picked up 1 week after move day after you’ve had a chance to unpack. If your removalists aren’t given notice, there simply won’t be enough equipment available for your move as it will be out on other jobs.
- Organise Trucks and Drivers – Trucks and truck drivers are a limited resource in the removals industry. It’s often a juggling act running equipment, furniture and labour between jobs on any given day. It’s highly likely that a short notice job will be short changed when it comes to logistics. This means your move will take longer and cost more.
- Not communicating with your staff
Good removal companies will book you in for a pre-move day. It’s essential that you make all staff available and stress the importance of attendance. Your removalists will run you through everything from box labeling and packing guidelines to OH&S best practice. You will be provided with a checklist to ensure you plan your move correctly. - Not booking goods lifts and parking bays
This can make or break your move. Especially if you are paying an hourly rate. The trucks will need easy access to your building and your movers will need full access to your lifts. The goods lift is ideal, but you may need to book the passenger lifts with your facilities or building manager for the day of your move. Your facilities manager can provide a key so that your movers have full control of the lift. - Forgetting ICT
Your most important assets are the ones you can’t see: your data.
Ensure your data is 100% backed up before move day. Choose movers that have the right experience, equipment and expertise to move personal computers and ICT equipment including your servers. - Thinking your move is over once you’ve moved
It’s essential that you unpack and setup immediately before getting back to business as usual. Dragging this out will lead to extended down time and extra costs. Your removalists need their boxes and crates for other jobs. Most companies will charge you for the equipment if they are not available for pickup after your move. Check your contract to find out your grace period. Removal companies would rather get the equipment back than charge you because they are essential to the running of the business.
