Moving office can be a complex process with many moving parts, from IT infrastructure to employee communication, and hence, requires careful planning and organization. For ensuring a smooth transition, it is advisable to create a timeline with critical dates and also a relocation team to carry out the entire exercise.
An essential checklist for smooth relocation
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Timing and logistics: The timing of the shift is of paramount importance so as to minimize disruption to business operations. The move needs to be planned in a way so that all your employees, on-site or remote-working type, lose minimum man-days/hours. Hence, a lean period is ideal for the relocation. All the logistics including multiple vendors, packers and movers and all staff members must be coordinated with in a systematic manner to avoid confusion and chaos. The timelines for the entire infrastructure in the new office to be in place will determine how soon you can get your business operations back on track.
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Packing and labelling: This is easily the most tedious part of shifting office. Making sure that everything, from furniture to files and all items in between, are packed properly and labelled meticulously is a major part of ensuring a smooth transition. When the packing is efficiently done and the labelling methodical, chances of items getting damaged or lost in transit can be minimized to a large extent.
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IT and tech: Moving computers and other IT services essentials is a critical part of relocation and requires special attention to prevent damage during transportation. All important data and files must be backed up carefully and double-checked so that you don’t lose any important data. An added responsibility is to ensure that your remote and hybrid employees have uninterrupted support and seamless connectivity to help them continue working.
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Office setup: You must have the layout of your new office fully visualized and planned beforehand. While doing this, it’s a no-brainer that you will plan for your remote and hybrid workforce, because the trend of work-from-home and hybrid work mode is set to continue and at this stage shows no signs of slowing down, according to a McKinsey survey.
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Communication and coordination: It’s extremely important to ensure all your employees are totally aware of the relocation exercise and the respective schedules. Without proper knowledge and directives, they might feel totally in the dark and left out of the shifting process. This is not ideal for teamwork and the management will do well to include the staff members in every detail planning for relocation.
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Budgeting: Managing the cost of shifting is critical to ensure that the exercise is financially feasible and doesn’t overshoot the company’s budget allocation. Thorough research on the fees and deliverables of packers and movers for similar assignments will give you a fair idea of the potential cost of relocation. Meeting all the outsourced agencies in person to clarify minute details helps avoid confusion in future and gives you a clearer idea of hidden costs, etc.
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Safety and security: This is a priority area during a relocation exercise. While the shifting process is on, it’s important to ensure that both the premises, existing and new, are safe and secure. Make sure the doors are locked properly when everybody leaves, critical documents and valuables are securely locked up, the computers and other equipment are safe and all CCTV cameras are working properly.
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Unpacking and setting up: This is a mammoth task and can take a lot out of your staff. It is advisable to set up the furniture and equipment first and make sure all individual belongings are secure. The next step should be securing and arranging the documents properly so that those can be accessed when required. For a hybrid setup, the support system for the remote-working staff members must be set up next, including IT support, video conferencing and cloud-based storage.
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Testing and troubleshooting: Testing of the new setup and infrastructure is another critical milestone in relocation. This will include testing network connectivity, so that everybody is in the loop and connected. This is particularly relevant in today’s hybrid work culture. Next, all audio-video equipment must be checked to ensure video conferencing can be done without a glitch, another present-day requirement. Last but not the least, the office security system must be checked thoroughly, including access-control systems and surveillance cameras.
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