There’s a lot to remember when moving offices; from making sure everybody is aware of the plans, to picking a location that staff, clients and suppliers can get to easily and actually orchestrating the move.
There are bound to be bits that get forgotten. Luckily, we’ve collated the top 6 things that tend to completely go by the wayside during an office move…
- How Do You Plan to Optimise Space?
So many companies decide they want to move to a bigger space, but don’t ensure that the space they move into is properly optimised. Yes, it’s important to have an office that looks the part, but that doesn’t necessarily mean curved desks and sprawling coffee tables.
To get the furniture right, think about what can be arranged (and potentially rearranged in the future) most easily. Rectangular desks may seem a bit boring, but they’re the most space efficient by far.
Be careful to choose the right chairs, too! The last thing you need is to buy matching chairs in bulk, only to find your staff complain of back ache.
- Have You Told the Milkman?
Whether it’s the guy that delivers the milk, newspapers, water cooler or vending machine supplies, make a list of everyone that needs to know you’re not going to be around in your current space much longer.
If you use contract cleaners, make sure you let them know too!
- How’s the Water?
60% of the UK is affected by a hard water supply. Even if water isn’t fundamental to your business practice, an abrasive supply can cause a significant decrease in energy efficiency, appliance functionality, the length of time it takes to do the washing up, and the quality of your brews!
It’s worthwhile to bear this in mind whilst you search for property. Some may already have a commercial water softening system installed, but if they don’t, you might see fit to investigate how much it would cost to do this yourself. Dependent on how big your commercial property is, drinking water softeners are available from just a few pence a day, and will eliminate limescale deposits from your kettle and coffee machine, and give you better tasting water.
- Is There Somewhere to Store ‘Stuff’?
For some reason, this is the one thing everyone always forgets. Like every home has the ‘man drawer’, every office needs a place to store the bits and pieces like brown boxes, tape, kitchen and toilet supplies, extra stationary, etc.
- Change the New Address on Everything
So you’ve ordered new letter heads and business cards, but have all staff altered their e-mail signature, have you amended any online listings and notified the post office?
Most businesses will have a map on the contact page of their website, usually operated by Google. To change this, you will need to contact Google Places directly.
- Be Prepared for Anything
Something is likely to go wrong at some point. Your internet may not be up on time, moving takes longer than anticipated, the kettle breaks in transit… anything!
Be prepared for some degree of down-time, extra costs or delays; being ready to deal with such minor set-backs will help to keep the move as stress-free as possible.
This guest blog is written by Ali Raza on behalf of http://ecowater.co.uk/. EcoWater has been selling water softeners since 1925. Visit their site and see wide range of Domestic Water Softeners and also Commercial Water Softeners.