Office Furniture Installation Blog

An office relocation doesn’t end when all of the furniture and equipment are installed and setup, employees find their desks or workstations, and customers are notified of the new address. That’s because your new environment – whether it’s larger or smaller than the old one – must also be strategically planned and optimized for success.

To help you get the most value and ROI from your new space, below we share 3 principles of strategic office space planning:

1. Look Ahead

Obviously, you need your new space to support your current needs – such as making sure everyone on your employee roster has the space they need to be productive and efficient (not to mention, have a coffee and eat lunch!), that your customers and any other stakeholders can be ushered to suitable waiting and meeting areas, and so on. 

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 prepare for an office relocation, you’ll certainly tap into the expertise and experience of your business moving company. However, you can also benefit from other resources and tools that can help ensure that your experience is straightforward, successful and stress-free. Here are 7 suggestions to put you on the right track: 

1. The Precision Blog

As you may know, we regularly share tips, advice, best practices, do’s and don’ts, and more. Unlike a lot of other office relocation companies, we don’t feel that our blog should be a non-stop advertising channel. After all, it’s about you and your needs – not about us and ours!

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:

66% percent is a great number when looking at year-over-year growth, or the number of prospects in a sales pipeline that are converting into happy, loyal and profitable customers.

Unfortunately however, 66% is anything but a great number – in fact, it’s on the horrifying side -- when the discussion turns to the proportion of employees tasked with managing an office relocation who end up quitting or getting fired within six months of the move. And yet, as reported by the Facilities Management Journal, that’s exactly what research by the International Facility Management Association has discovered!

While each office relocation is a complex and multi-phase project, moving a medical practice can be somewhat more challenging because there are more factors to consider. Especially challenges related to continuity of patient care and medical records.

As noted by Entrepreneur.com, the five most common reasons for a business move include:

• labor and workforce issues
• entering new markets
• upgrading facilities and/or equipment
• reducing costs and/or increasing cash flow
• improving quality of life

If your business is seriously considering an office relocation – or you’ve already decided to make a move – then your reasons and motivations are probably reflected (at least partially) in the list above. 

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.

As noted by the Environmental Protection Agency, a growing number of businesses across the country are demonstrating leadership by reducing their environmental impact. For example, they’re:

• Reducing overall energy consumption, such as dimming the lights during the summer or turning off printers, shredders and other equipment when not in use.
• Purchasing ENERGY STAR-qualified products (learn more about these products on the ENERGY STAR website).
• Encouraging and/or providing incentives for employees to carpool, as well as offering occasional remote working options to cut down on commuting.

As you know – or as your CFO, accountant or facility manager will gladly remind you! – IT equipment is a major investment. In fact, in some businesses, IT equipment can be even valuable than any other capital asset, including furniture, inventory, and possibly even the office or building itself!

Given the critical importance of your IT equipment and the size of your investment, naturally you want to ensure that everything is moved safely and efficiently during your office relocation. Here are 4 tips to point you in that direction, and ensure that you aren’t forced to repair or replace damaged items: