Depending on the office space and the number of employees, an office move can feel like an unsurmountable task—and purposefully so. It’s a big deal.
You have large, bulky office furniture, hard-to-pack electronic devices, and several room-sized pieces of junk to pack.
From the financial planning all the way to informing employees and actually making the move, there are a lot of moving parts.
Any person who says you can plan an office move overnight has never done one before, or at least, they haven’t done one for a large company.
Planning a move to a new office? Here's what you need to know—from the planning process all the way to the actual move:
If it’s your first big office move, it might feel overwhelming trying to keep track of everything you have to prepare, but luckily, we’ve created a moving checklist of best practices.
Streamline Your Office Move with Our Professional Team
Book your office move with us today and enjoy a seamless, hassle-free experience!
Phase 1: Planning Process
12-24 Months Before the Move
1. Develop a Timeline
Typically a big office move is decided by the owner about two years in advance of the actual move, depending on whether the business is currently leasing or owning the office space.
How early you need to start planning can depend on how big the company is.
If it’s just a couple of employees, you can get the company ready much quicker than a large corporation with multiple offices and large pieces of furniture.
That being said, there are a lot of moving parts that will dictate when you can move, like the sale of the old offices or the end of the lease term, if you are renting.
Creating a timeline is incredibly important.
Here’s what to consider in an office move to help build your timeline:
- Current office lease end date
- Sale of current office
- Availability of new office space
- Lease term of new office space
- Discounts offered for committing to a certain contract length or move-in day
2. Consider Moving Costs
Any type of office move isn’t cheap.
There are several factors you will need to consider in order to prepare for an office move:
- Number of employees and offices that will be moved
- How much furniture is in each office
- How many miles from the old to new office.
- How many movers/packers you thinnk you may need
Knowing these details will help you price out your unique move, whether it is across the city or across the country.
An office move could cost you between $1,500 to $9,000 when relocating an office space of about 3,000 square feet, based on the furniture, materials, disassembly needed, and how far you are moving.
This cost estimate includes the whole moving process: packing, movers, and moving truck.
Learn more about the cost of movers by reading those articles:
3. Visit the New Space
Don’t forget to check out the new space before you sign the lease.
You want to make sure you have an idea about the purpose of each room, so that you can tell movers where they need to take certain boxes.
What to note about the new space:
- Do you need to remodel the space?
- How clean is it?
- Access information and codes
- Location of the loading docks
- Purpose of each room
- Layout map for movers
- Extra keys or temporary passcodes for the movers
4. Prepare the New Space & Hire Cleaners When Necessary
This step is so often forgotten in the bustle of getting things to the new place, but before you move, it’s a great idea to hire cleaners to clean every nook and cranny before you put new furniture in the space.
You may find you need to renovate or fix parts of the building before everyone moves in, and this could affect the timing of the office move.
So getting everything ready before announcing the move and hiring office movers could be key to firming your timeline, or it could at least be something to consider when you initially drat your moving schedule.
What to do:
- Do you need cleaners?
- Do you need to hire a renovation service?
- Are there more rooms in this office you will need to furnish?
- Do you need to order more desks, chairs, or couches for the team rooms?
5. Announce the Office Relocation - Internally and Externally
All the internal details are finalized and it’s time to make the office move official.
Who needs to know about the move:
- Employees
- Contractors
- Business partners
- Suppliers
There’s no better way to make it real than to tell everyone. It’s been proven that sharing with others keeps things on track to actually happen. It’s the best form of accountability.
So if you’ve told your employees and started to pay for the cost of the move, odds are it is going to happen.
If you’ve only looked at your lease term and have done nothing else, the change probably won’t happen.
How to announce an office move:
- Name and new office address
- Office relocation date/dates
- Important features of the new office
- Justification for the office relocation – This could be a letter or quote from the CEO or any of the key decision-makers, stating the need to relocate.
- Roles of employees during the office move (if any) as well as the moving companies involved
- Any information employees should expect to receive about the upcoming office relocation
Phase 2: Packing and Preparing
5-12 Months Before the Move
1. Create an inventory list and get rid of non-essential items
Before you hire movers or even look at moving companies, it’s important to understand what items you want to move, which ones you want to ditch, and what you want to buy new.
This can make getting a quote for the office move (and moving process) a lot more seamless.
For bigger items, there might be an extra charge so be sure to count and understand what you’re going to sell and what is going with you to the new office space.
On the flip side of that, you don’t want to pay to move items you are just going to end up getting rid of at the new office.
Taking inventory of what you are keeping and what you are throwing away is key as your moving date approaches.
2. Assign Tasks and Set Up a Relocation Committee
So you’ve planned the dates and know what it is going to take financially to move all your supplies and employees into the new office.
And last but not least, you have informed the company. So you are ready to make the move official.
Now, it’s time for rubber to meet the road. It’s time to start actually preparing the space to move.
If you’ve decided that your employees are going to help with the office move, it’s best to divide them by space and give them very specific roles.
This will help them understand their role in the move while letting you know what is taken care of and what isn’t. That way moving day isn’t a free for all.
If you’ve decided to hire movers, maybe all you need is a couple of employees to report the bigger items on their floor or office that need to be moved. This will give you an idea of what to tell the commercial movers or long distance moving companies so that they can give you an accurate quote.
3. Hire Movers and Packers as Required
Now it’s time to seal the deal.
Ideally, you can schedule the movers after you’ve completed all of the prior steps. You’ve approved all the smaller details and you can start sending the exact details of the office move to the movers to get a quote.
There are a number of great moving marketplaces where you can use to compare all of the best local moving companies and cross country movers in your area easily without creating a massive spreadsheet or having twenty tabs open on your browser.
Between enrolling your employees to help with the move and hiring a professional mover, the easier option is to hire a mover because they are experienced at what they do, but you can also enlist employee help, noting that their time will go toward the move, not their normal daily work tasks.
Now what?
- Hire movers
- Notice the different types of boxes you may need
- Start packing
4. Label the Boxes to Ensure Each Item Goes to the Right Place
The week and day of the move can be stressful, but making sure the little details are in place will make your life easier when you unpack.
Little things like labeling the boxes will help you not only put the box in the right room but also know where to find things if you need certain supplies before others in the new office space.
This will also allow you to give more specific directions to the movers, saving you time unpacking.
Rather than needing to put all the boxes in the right spot, they will already be in the right spot for you to unpack.
5. Meet with the Moving Company to Review Plans
The week or day before your office move is crucial, and it’s important you give the movers all the details they need to complete the move to the new office successfully.
They might need passcodes, building entry schedules, loading dock location, and more depending on the building you are in and the building you are moving to.
Be sure to register the movers with security before they arrive and make sure you you have the time and date set for their arrival.
While all of this seems small, it makes a big difference on the day of the move, especially if the loading dock isn’t the exact address of the building. It will make the move more efficient and if you are paying the movers by time, it could make your move cheaper.
Give the movers key information:
- Passcodes, or temporary passcodes
- Building entry schedules
- Loading doc location
- Layout map of old and new space with room names that correspond with box labels
Phase 3: Moving and Organizing
The Week of the Move
1. Pack Items in Appropriate Containers
Not everything fits in a square box.
While that is the default assumption, there are so many different types of boxes: mirror boxes, television boxes, and more.
Packing everything in the right box could make or break your move to the new office, literally. You don’t want to show up at the new office with broken computers and screens.
Another little detail often overlooked is packing wired correctly. Incorrect packing of cables and wires could result in bent and splitting cords that don’t work.
If you are hiring professional office movers, ask them if they have special boxes and ways to protect your valuable items.
This will ensure everything gets to the new building in one piece. Having ways to protect data and important paper documents, keeping everything confidential, is also key to a successful move. Don’t lose papers along the way, especially information that does’t need to be shared with the public.
2. Check on the New Building One More Time Before the Office Move
Check on the New Building One More Time Before the Office Move” is a crucial step in your office relocation process, ensuring that everything is set for a smooth transition. This involves a final inspection of the new premises to confirm that it meets all your requirements and is ready for your team’s arrival.
3. Make Sure the Utilities are Set Up Before the Office Move
This could mean that all you need to do is transfer utilities from the current office. Ensure you have running water and electricity in your new office!
Utilities to check:
- Gas
- Electricity
- Water
- Internet and phone installation
4. Do Any Last Minute Packing
All those little leftovers need to go!
5. Move!!
It’s your moving date, and it’s time to move and celebrate the new office!
At a Glance
Moving from one office to another a new office is a big deal, and it can take a lot of planning ahead of the big day.
Whether you are going to hire a moving company or manage the move yourself, make sure you don’t miss some of the details, because it is in the details that you make your life easier when you are unpacking in your new office space.
