Office Furniture Installation Blog

As you prepare for your office relocation, your “to do” list will include key aspects such as scheduling and logistics, risk management, communications, employee re-deployment, and so on. However, there’s another priority that shouldn’t overlooked or pushed to the side -- because it’s vitally important: conducting a comprehensive furniture needs assessment.

To help you head in the right direction, and ensure that your office relocation experience isn’t sidetracked by furniture-related issues, here are key 5 questions to ask:

Among owners, executives and managers, there are few phrases in the business vocabulary that command as much immediate, jarring attention as “reducing legal risks”.

With that in mind (and now that we have your attention!), below we highlight 4 best practices to reduce legal risks during your office relocation:

1. Establish Roles & Responsibilities

Ensure that all employees involved in the office relocation are clearly aware of their role and responsibilities. This should be established in your overall plan, and all employees should have an appropriate amount of time to review and provide input. There should also be a standard process in place for communicating (i.e. all emails and documents should be stored on a centralized system, etc.).

As you consider or prepare for an office relocation, one of your main goals is to ensure that your move stays within budget. Otherwise, instead of a streamlined and efficient experience, you might be on track for a cost nightmare. In fact, you may even end up losing a key staff member or two. Research by the Facility Management Association has found that a startling 66% percent of employees tasked with leading their office relocation either quit or were fired within 6 months of the move!

To ensure that your relocation is rewarding instead of regrettable, here are some practical tips on how to set – and stick – to a moving budget:

As noted by Business Insider, in recent years a number of organizations have opted to downsize; but not in terms of their workforce or marketplace. Rather, they’ve reduced the size of their physical office. For example, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Panasonic moved its headquarters from a 575,000 square foot facility to one less than 50 percent of that size – but without cutting head count.  

If your organization is considering taking the “less is more” approach to your work environment – either to slash costs, so you can move to a more strategically advantageous location, in order to improve collaboration and interaction among employees, or for any other reason – then it’s vital that your office relocation company is part of the solution.

For many homeowners, the only motivation they need to configure their furniture is the desire for something new and different. However, businesses operate in a different framework, and while not every business decision has to be exclusively about the bottom-line, something as significant (though not necessarily costly) as an office furniture reconfiguration simply can’t be motivated by boredom or wanting “change for the sake of change”. There has to be a logical, rational financial justification.

With this being said, many businesses have long since past the point where they need an office reconfiguration – because the delay isn’t just negatively affecting aesthetics and appearance, but it’s adversely impacting the bottom-line.

In both business and life in general, it can tough to separate experienced professionals from those that may be full of enthusiasm, but haven’t yet developed the knowledge base required to perform at an elite level. Unfortunately, it’s customers, clients and patients who pay the price – because instead of a rewarding experience, they end up with one that’s regrettable.

To help you avoid pitfalls and setbacks during your office relocation, below we highlight the 4 most common mistakes made by inexperienced office movers. These are the clues and symptoms that tell you that it’s in your best interest to find another partner now -- not later.

After weeks or perhaps months of research, analysis and consideration, you’ve decided that it’s time for an office relocation -- perhaps because you need more space for your growing workforce, you want to be closer to your customers, you need a more cost effective home for your business, or any other key reason(s).  

However, you may also be under the impression that an office relocation is essentially a “scaled up” residential move. Nothing could be further from the truth! Here are 4 common and costly misconceptions that, thankfully, you won’t fall victim to because you’re reading this article before your office relocation – not after:

Whether you’re preparing for an office relocation, renovation or refresh, there’s a good chance that you’ll identify some items of furniture that don’t fit into your new design plans. For example, a shift to a more open and collaborative space may signal the end for your cubicles. Or, you may simply find that some workstations, tables and chairs don’t fit into the new décor and color scheme.

The good news is that you may be able to turn some of your used office furniture into cash, which isn’t just a financial win, but it’s good for the environment as well since you won’t be sending non-recyclable items/pieces to a landfill.

As you prepare to find a new home for your business, it’s vital to “do your homework”. To point you in that direction, here are 7 questions to ask:

1.  Will the new office space suit our future needs? 

While it’s obviously important for your new office space to align with your current requirements, it’s just as important to ensure that they fit your future needs. Otherwise, your growth will get stifled and you’ll be obliged to look for a new home much sooner than you anticipated. If it’s not possible to find an ideal space that fits your current/future needs, try to negotiate a shorter lease, or seek to put language in your contract that gives you the first right of refusal on any vacant space in the same building or complex.

You may have already decided – or will soon come to the conclusion – that hiring a professional moving company is the safest, smartest and simplest way to ensure that your office move is successful. Or to put things a bit differently but perhaps more memorably: you know that hiring professionals will keep your office move from blowing up and turning into a confusing, chaotic and costly nightmare.