Timeline-Planning Start early.
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- Review all available options at least 9-18 months prior to lease expiration
- Typical business relocation project requires 3,000 hours of planning activities
- Enough lead-time will increase amount of leverage & competition between various vendors save
- Create contingency strategies
- Identify Risk
Create a Realistic Budget
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- Incorporate transition cost of employees
Assess Needs and Current situation
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- Be clear about the purpose of office relocation E.G lease break, lease expire, growth or contraction
- Define needs and map out office move plan.
- Subsequent planning: details of existing lease-notice period-current obligations and liabilities
Preparation
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- Hire a transition consultant such as Office Move Solutions or deal with these issues:
- Work as an extension of your internal team
- Coaches and prepares the staff to minimize stress
- Identify one person dedicated to the project. Have other report to him/her
- Obtain floor plans and design layout from property owner-provide to certain vendors
- Evaluate Everything
- Know what items you will need
- Where everything will go in the new location
- The date and time want to move
- Building Access (stairs-freight-elevators-loading docks)
- Parking issues and access
- If COI are required-contact insurance broker
- Space Planning and office design-may need to hire a professional
Inventory of Assets, Liquidation and Waste Management
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- What equipment has value and what is coming to end of life-cycle
- What office furniture fits the new space-what has to be discarded
- Hire a liquidator ascertain of value. They will obtain top dollar or you may need to hire removal company
- Hire shredding company for hard drives-PC’s-CD’s to paper
New Building Site Survey
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- Technology assessment of new building for options in voice-data-internet etc.
- With cabling vendor determine what can be used, where need new wires, at which locations
- Identify the best place for the server room-ensure has proper cooling and ventilation
Contact Current Service Providers to Inform Them of The Move
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- Contact current service providers to inform them of the move
- Insurance broker
- Signage
- Printing company
Hire A Moving Company
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- Contact Office Moving Solutions!
Procurement and Sourcing Decisions
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- Current services such as voice-data-internet-cloud-phones
- New services-moving company-furniture-cabling-security-waste management
- Vetting process
- Create RFP’s
- Benchmark for industry best costs-service level agreements, terms and conditions
Project Management and Vendor Liaison
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- Existing and new vendors ensure deadlines and milestones are met
- Maintain and update checklist, share with superiors
- Hold weekly staff meetings
Gather Your Team
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- Appoint someone from each department or division to coordinate their particular area
- Have team leader ensures employees takes responsibility for packing their desk-files
Establish a Packing Schedule
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- Determine what items can be packed in advance and what areas are packed last
- Prepare detailed move weekend schedule so everyone involved knows who is doing what, when otherwise vendors trip over each other getting into and out of the space
Label Everything Moving
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- Make sure crates are properly packed and labeled with new office location
Distribute a Floor Plan of the New Office
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- Label each room accordingly and give the map to the movers so they know where to place items, including packed boxes
Loading and Unloading
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- Inform surrounding businesses of your move and if you’ll be blocking entrances or taking additional parking spaces
- Find out in advance where the moving truck can park to load at the old office location and where it can unload at the new location.
- Find out in advance when freight elevators are available
Clean Up and Settling In
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- Content