Office Furniture Installation Blog

“Handle with care” are words to live by in the technology field – and we aren’t talking ensuring the health and wellbeing of IT professionals and other specialists! We’re referring to the valuable and mission critical IT equipment and assets that are deployed on-site; everything from workstations and servers, to peripherals and devices, to cables and connectors, and the list goes on.

Naturally, properly maintaining IT equipment and assets at all times is a top organizational priority. However, this requirement takes on an added significance – and more risk – during an office move, both from an asset protection point-of-view, and from an end user access point-of-view (as noted by CIO.com, hell hath no fury like employees who can’t access their technology tools!).

As you may know from prior experience – hopefully positive, but perhaps negative -- a successful office relocation isn’t just about adhering to schedules and budgets. You also need to ensure that you minimize employee downtime, since every hour that your people can’t be productive means money down the drain.

Fortunately, there are steps and strategies you can focus on well ahead of moving day that will reduce – or better yet, eliminate – employee downtime during and immediately after your office relocation. Here’s what to keep in mind:

Let’s start with this: what many people around the country call winter is balmy, almost tropical compared to what happens in and around St. Louis from about Thanksgiving to late March. In fact, it’s not uncommon to be scraping off ice and shovelling snow into April (although this hasn’t stopped the fine folks at Riverfront Times from finding 20 reasons to love winter in St. Louis).

However, many businesses can’t put their office relocation plans on hold just because “the weather outside is frightful”. Take it from us: we’ve been around for more than three decades, and business moves happen throughout the year – even in the dead of winter. We’ve even moved several businesses during snowstorms!

It’s well known that most homeowners aim to switch addresses during the summer. However, they aren’t the only ones doing some packing and labelling when the days are long – and usually hot and sticky, too. A substantial number of office relocations take place from June through September as well. 

In an article published by the About.com network, operations and technology expert James Bucki advises businesses to have a relocation option in the event of a disaster.

Clearly, that’s wise advice. But what happens if the office relocation itself is the disaster? Not necessarily of the life-threatening kind, but certainly of the “this office move is taking far longer than it’s supposed to and costing way more than it should” variety. Unfortunately, that’s what THOUSANDS of businesses experience each year – and most often, the root cause is that they didn’t have the right professionals on their moving team.

As noted by SAP’s Digitalist magazine, some of the most common reasons for an office relocation include reducing costs, accessing new markets and attracting talent. 

However, while these goals are certainly worthwhile, the office relocation itself needs to be efficient, too. Otherwise, the process can be stressful and regrettable, and it will certainly cost more and take longer than it should. 

If you’re planning on an office relocation or are seriously considering the possibility, here are 6 tips to make your experience streamlined and successful: 

There are many key benefits of a business move, including reducing overhead costs, improving efficiency, getting closer to customers or suppliers, improving brand and image, and the list goes on

However, there is another important – yet often overlooked – advantage of a business move that should certainly be part of the plan: how to make the office more collaborative. Below, we highlight 4 ways to achieve this goal:

When it comes to dealing with customers and suppliers, businesses know that good communication can make or break the relationship. Well, the same holds true when it comes to a business move. Knowing how, why and when to keep employees in the loop is a vital piece of the puzzle, and can ensure that the experience is successful, streamlined and stress free.

Below, we highlight 5 key ways that good employee communication can improve your business move:

One of the most important pieces of your office move puzzle is a communication plan. And while this plan obviously needs to cover how you’ll spread the word to customers, vendors, suppliers, couriers and other external stakeholders, be sure to include your employees as well – especially since the change can trigger anxiety and worry.

To avoid this negativity from affecting your team and unfolding in your organization, here are 5 best practices for communicating an office move to employees:

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: