Office Moving 101: Your Guide to a Successful Office Move

Moving your office to a new building or a different floor is a different hurdle than to a new home. The process is often far more complex and involves many more “moving parts” and logistics that need to be carefully considered. Office moves require moving and setting up expensive, heavy and delicate technological and office equipment as well as important documents and files with as little interruption to “business as usual” as possible.

An inefficient move will eat into productivity time, making the move considerably more disruptive and expensive. Even in the best-case scenario, office moves require your team to get accustomed to their new workspace and adjust to a new routine. It takes skill and expertise to carry out an efficient office move that ensures as that as little productivity time as possible is lost.

All Jersey Moving & Storage has helped countless businesses in New Jersey and across the North East execute smooth, successful office moves. Here are some of the “insider” office moving tips and strategies we’ve learned along the way that will help ensure your move is as stress-free as possible:

BEFORE THE OFFICE MOVE...

Hire an Attorney to Review Your Lease.  If you’re leasing your new office space, it’s important to legally protect your business by hiring an attorney who can review your lease agreement. A seasoned attorney will help uncover any fine print that may favor your new landlord. All too often, lease clauses get glanced over hastily or are ill-understood resulting in complications and disappointments down the road. A good attorney will help you understand any confusing jargon so that you’re clear on the terms of the contract before legally binding yourself to it.

Notify and Prepare Your Employees. Your staff will need to be involved in the moving process, as their workspaces are being completely dismantled, re-located and re-assembled. Hosting a pre-move training session for your office managers and employees is a great way to clearly outline how the moving process will be carried out and what they can expect. It’s also a great time to review the proper packing techniques for their office items and equipment to minimize the risk of damage and inform them of any scheduling changes they may have to make to accommodate the move.

Hire a Licensed, Reputable Professional Moving Company Experienced in Office Moves. Not all moving companies have had extensive if any, experience with office moves. Executing office moves requires a specific process that differs from traditional residential moving. As a result, your run-of-the-mill residential moving company may not be the best choice for a smooth, efficient commercial move.

Your safest move is to hire professional movers who have tremendous experience relocating offices and businesses in the area. Scout reputable office moving companies and research your top choices. Be sure to book your preferred mover at least a few months in advance to ensure that they are available on your desired moving date. All Jersey Moving and Storage offers unparalleled office moving services. We have every confidence that we can seamlessly carry out your office move, just as we’ve done for countless New Jersey and North East Coast businesses in the past.  

Start Fresh by Removing Old Items. Moving to a new office space is an ideal opportunity to get rid of old or outdated files and equipment that have been causing clutter in your old office space. Doing so can help trim moving costs, as your movers won’t have to move as many boxes and equipment that are no longer needed. While packing, keep a trash or recycling receptacle near your packing vessels (boxes, tubs, etc.). If you take this step well before moving day, you may be able to sell unwanted items in good condition or donate furniture to a local registered charity.

Prepare Your Moving Team. Once you’ve chosen a reputable moving company, providing your moving team with accurate floor plans is an important step in the process. This is especially true for larger moves and multi-floor moves. Your office movers will use these floor plans to ensure that your systems, furniture, and equipment are moved to their proper location in your new space. It’s possible that you will need a few key employees on site during that day of the move, such as your IT team and maintenance staff who are familiar with electrical wiring and set up. Your business moving company may even be able to recommend an electrician experienced with commercial installations who has assisted with similar office moves in the past.

Minimize Risk with Professional Office Movers. Moving to a new office can be a costly process. Business moves often necessitate upgrading computer systems and investing in new furniture to improve office operations. Pair that with the fact that office moves can disrupt productivity which may result in loss of sales, and the message is clear: office moves can require a considerable financial investment in your business. Given the cost of the move, it’s important that you avoid moving with a company that lacks extensive experience with office moves.

Hiring professional, experienced, and licensed office movers like All Jersey Moving and Storage will help ensure that your move is executed efficiently and that all of your equipment, technology, and files arrive at the new site without any losses or damages. Our office moving team has the experience necessary to avoid damage to your valuable furniture and equipment as well as your new office walls, floors, entryways, and stairwells during the move.

DURING THE OFFICE MOVE...

Label Boxes Properly. Ensuring that your employees label boxes specifically and clearly will help your movers immensely in making the moving process easier and more efficient. With an understanding of the content of each box, your movers will be able to pack their moving trucks strategically, making the unpacking process at your new office location faster and more productive. To maximize organization and efficiency, compile an Excel spreadsheet detailing the contents of each box. This document will be a helpful tool when you arrive at your new office space as it will enable you to check to ensure all boxes reached their intended destination.

Carefully Handling Technology. One of the costliest items to transport in an office move is your computers and technological equipment. In fact, many business owners have expressed that their biggest concern during their move is that technological equipment will sustain damage.

To minimize the risk of costly damage, before unplugging your computers for wrapping, ensure that all online files are safe and secure by backing up data on a removable hard drive. Wrapping each computer monitor or expensive equipment with anti-static bubble wrap and securing the wrap with tape should be sufficient to avoid damage. Try to avoid getting any tape on the monitor itself and remember not to stack monitors in boxes on top of each other.

In addition to taking the extra steps to protect your computers, it’s important to take steps to ensure that your printers, fax machines, and copiers are adequately protected as well. Professional moving companies experienced with office moves understand that this equipment needs extra care and consider their fragility during the move. All Jersey Moving and Storage has completed countless office moves and we’re always extremely diligent when preparing costly technological equipment for safe transport.

There are also steps you can take to ensure that your equipment is transported safely:

• Remove printer or toner cartridges from the equipment
• Tape down lids and covers that may open or be damaged
• Separate any attachments and sorters
• Avoid improperly dismantling or moving equipment by checking the manuals that came with the equipment.

Protecting Important Computer Cables. A computer is only as good as the cables that connect it to its power source. Minimize the risk of damaging cables by removing only one cable at a time and placing it in a labeled Ziplock bag. A good system to implement while dismantling computers from cables to ensure nothing is lost in transport is to mark corresponding numbers on both the Ziplock and packaged computer. This will make pairing the equipment with its matching cables easy during the re-assembly process at your new office.

Stay on Schedule. The most strenuous part of any move is packing. It’s almost always a more complex, time-consuming process than initially realized, and it tends to be the most stressful. As soon as you know you’ll be moving, have your team begin packing items that are infrequently used so that you’re not packing everything at the last minute. Failure to pack well in advance could easily delay your moving date as you run the risk of being ill-prepared.

Experienced office moving companies will be able to share packing strategies that you and your staff can implement to ensure you are prepared for moving day. All Jersey Moving & Storage offers packing and unpacking services if you’d like to leave certain duties to professionals rather than undertake them yourself.

AFTER THE OFFICE MOVE...

Ensure Everything is in Its Proper Place. Effective movers will transport all your furniture and equipment to its intended destination based on the blueprints you initially provided them and the proper labeling of boxes and other moving vessels. Although you will most likely be present on moving day to direct your movers as needed, experienced movers won’t require extensive instruction. After the movers have transported all your items to your new office location, do a walkthrough and make note of anything that may be missing or needs to be relocated elsewhere. If you created an itemized spreadsheet of your boxes and equipment earlier, now is the time to check items off the list and ensure everything safely reached its intended destination.

Check the Equipment. Once everything is unpacked, check your expensive equipment to ensure that no damages were sustained. Experienced office movers take extra care with such equipment as they’ve frequently secured and transported such items in the past. If you do suspect that something is damaged, missing or broken, notify the moving company immediately. All Jersey Moving and Storage has the equipment and experience necessary to ensure your equipment reaches its destination in the same condition it was in when you left your old office. Choosing professional office movers who can protect your equipment in transport will give you the peace of mind you need to focus on the many other moving tasks on your plate.

Give Employees an In-Depth Tour. With a new location, layout, and workspaces, moving to a new office can feel chaotic. Help your team get acclimated to their new work environment by taking them on an in-depth tour of their new office and workspace. In addition to showing them their new workstation or office, be sure to let them know where storage areas, bathrooms, kitchens, and emergency exits are located. Have them review all the items in their new workspaces to make sure everything arrived as it should have and is set up comfortably. If you want to really make your employees feel welcome in the new office, consider treating them to a catered lunch on their first day!

Get Back into a Routine. Getting back into a comfortable routine can take time, but after a week or two everyone should be settled and office operations should pick back up seamlessly. Keep an eye out for any kinks or inefficiencies with the layout of the new space that may emerge as the office gets re-settled.

All Jersey Moving and Storage has earned a reputation as one of New Jersey’s first choice office and commercial moving companies. We are dedicated to helping you execute your office move seamlessly and efficiently so you can get your business up and running as quickly as possible.

For a complimentary quote on your office or commercial move, contact us today.