Increasing productivity is difficult in normal circumstances, and even maintaining current levels becomes a challenge when your organization goes through a period of upheaval.
An office relocation is the perfect example of this; it’s a necessary step for growing companies to take, yet can cause productivity to take a nose dive during the move, before a long period of recovery once you’re in situ at your new premises.
So what can you do to help the whole business to stay productive in this scenario? Here are some actions to take that will make a big difference.
Hire a professional company that specializes in office relocations
The most impactful thing you can do is seek out experts in relocating businesses between office buildings and rely on their advice and assistance from day one of the planning, right up to moving day.
It’s also worth choosing a company that is familiar with your location because there are unique challenges with moving to each part of the country. For example, working with office movers in NYC will remove stress and guesswork from the equation, and avoid unforeseen hiccups altogether.
Plan months in advance
You can’t expect a last-minute office move to be a slick affair, so the only way to guarantee a limited amount of disruption is to put plans together a minimum of three months before the day itself.
One key part of this process is getting to grips with the floor plan of your new premises and deciding where the main elements of your office layout will go within it. This gives you the leeway to implement changes on-site, such as adding networking infrastructure, building out specific spaces for meetings, and running power to all the right places, ahead of time.
Announce your move to clients and customers
Even if you don’t regularly have visitors to your current office from outside the organization, it’s still sensible to broadcast the fact that you’re moving elsewhere beyond your employees.
You can make this announcement over different kinds of advertising options and through various formats, including your social media feeds, your mailing list, and even print ads.
With this info made public in advance, you won’t miss out on business because would-be clients are unaware of your change of address.
Schedule the move outside of office hours
If you can’t afford to lose a single working day to office relocation, then the only option is to make sure that the heavy lifting takes place when your office would normally be closed for business.
This could mean making an overnight move, which is possible with the help of the aforementioned relocation professionals.
You might also consider moving over a weekend, which gives you a bit more leeway in terms of setting things up at your new premises before employees arrive on Monday morning.
Ship equipment to your new location
You can save yourself a lot of legwork by making sure that any items you order for your new office get sent directly there, rather than first arriving at your original site and then needing to be hauled along with everything else.
There are lots of other small but significant preparations which you can carry out at the new site before employees get set up there, which will allow them to crack straight ahead with work from the moment they arrive. This includes stocking the staff break room with drinks and snacks, and ensuring there’s sufficient stationery for their needs.
Final thoughts
There’s no escaping the work that’s needed to relocate your office without losing productivity, but the end result will be worth it, and you’ll begin reaping the benefits of the move right away.
Interesting Related Article: “Pre-Move Checklist When Moving to a New Office Space“