Moving shop is never easy, but many businesses are outgrowing their current space and moving up in the world into a bigger office. While we'd all like to just snap our fingers and have everything moved safely and easily into the new location, we know it's never that easy.
Moving office is a big undertaking and requires a lot of planning. From office space planning to selling used office furniture, there are many considerations. Among them, you must also consider when is a good time to move.
Many businesses decide to schedule their big office move after hours. We share why this is often the case.
Reasons for Moving Office After Hours:
- There is no staff customer activity, so the move can be handled more efficiently than during the day.
- There is relatively less traffic on the roads, which further adds to the efficiency. In some large cities with notoriously bad traffic – such as St. Louis -- the time saving can substantial.
- Some businesses prefer the “optics” of moving after hours than during the day, because the sight of moving trucks, boxes, and professional movers isn’t necessarily one that they wish to promote.
- Some landlords and property managers mandate that businesses move after hours, so as to avoid disrupting other tenants. This is often the case in office towers and buildings with limited elevator capacity, or where having a moving truck(s) parked on front of the door for several minutes at a time would be a problem.
However, while these advantages are compelling, there are some key factors to keep in mind as well to ensure that an after hours move is the right decision.
What to Consider When Moving Office After Hours:
- While moving after hours is faster and more efficient than moving during the day, it costs more because evening/overnight labor costs are higher.
- Some major routes like freeways and main city streets are closed to traffic at night, so that construction crews can make repairs or improvements. While detours are certainly an option, it will make the office move take longer. With this being said, as noted above, the relative lack of traffic during the evening or overnight may offset any construction issues.
- Some businesses may wish to hire security to ensure that the after-hours move is safe and trouble-free. If so, then this will increase the overall costs accordingly.
- Some businesses prefer to have key staff members on hand during the move, not necessarily to supervise, but so they can be immediately available in case their office moving company has questions, or needs additional instructions. Making staff available after hours usually isn’t an obstacle or issue, but does typically require some advanced planning.
Learn More
At Precision Office Furniture Installation, over the years we’ve successfully moved hundreds of businesses after hours, during the business day, on weekends, and over holidays -- which for some businesses, is actually the most practical time they can schedule their office relocation.
To learn more about making your move safe, successful and stress-free, contact us today and take advantage of your free consultation.
