Companies in Halifax (or another Canadian city) who are planning an office move should take some time to think about how best to pack and prepare for this move. Regardless if you have a small office of only a few employees or a multi-story office building with hundreds of employees, preplanning makes an office move go more smoothly.
Communication is the most important key to a successful office move. Inform your employees in advance about the impending relocation. For a lot of people, their work life and location is an integral part of what makes them happy. If you are moving to another area of the city, take time to stress the advantages of the new location. If you have a number of employees who are dependent on public transit take some time to point out new routes and new modes of transit (like train travel).
Your moving partner like Premiere Van Lines will assign a moving manager to work with those employees who you designate. Set up a small internal committee of employees to work with your moving company on the details of the move. Ask them to work out a schedule that will minimize downtime and thus not inconvenience your customers more than necessary. Arrange for regular meetings to keep employees in the loop about the moves progress. Assign an employee to inform customers about the change in location. Make sure your website is updated and outgoing phone messages are changed.
When it comes to packing, take this opportunity to purge the office of outdated files, advertising material, catalogues etc. It might make sense to have departmental managers request employees to handle their own areas. Convert to digital files where possible to reduce paper. Your moving company will disassemble work station and pack files, artwork and other office items. This is best done after normal working hours in order to minimize disruption which is why most office moves take place over a weekend. The moving company will help coordinate third party services to maximize efficiency.
Most companies request employees to pack their own personal possessions. Have the moving company coordinate delivery of plastic packing crates to each department so that this can be done in a timely manner. Have employees carefully label their packing crates so as to make unpacking go more smoothly. It is especially important that the location on the new floor plan be noted so items are delivered to the correct place.
Have your internal moving committee work with your moving company to create checklists so that nothing gets forgotten. It is important to arrange for IT support to be available to make the necessary arrangements with suppliers and assist employees in getting setup so that they can resume working as quickly as possible.
It is important also for the moving company to have a contact person available should questions arise during the move. Your moving company will be able to provide you with specific information that is pertinent to your specific circumstances. For more information, contact our Premiere Van Lines Halifax office at 902-468-4313 or call Premiere Van Lines at 1-877-671-6683.