Moving to New Office

We has just moved offices – in three weeks. If you’ve never managed an office move before that might not sound like such a big deal - but if you have, you’ll know how stressful, time-consuming and laden with hidden disasters the process can be.

Our first step was picking our new premises. Ideally you need to leave at least three or four months for this, but you can push yourself into super-search mode if need be. Smarta’s Debra says: “The most important things is to have a deadline. It gives you something to aim for and makes sure things don’t drag on forever.”

First things first: “You massively need a project plan,” Hayley explains. “There’s just so much to remember. It’s crucial.” Your plan is your checklist – and your sanity.

Choose your supplier carefully. We chose Viking Direct because as well as having a really extensive range that included everything we needed, they could also promise to get our stuff delivered within five to 10 working days. Plus, it’s standard practise for them to assemble all the furniture when they deliver it – so no Ikea instruction-leaflet nightmares for us!

You definitely need to hire a professional removals company. “You’re too important to the organisation to do it yourself,” Mike says. “If anything went wrong, you’d be off work for a while.” And make sure employees steer well clear of lifting too: take heed from the squillions of TV adverts offering five figure sums to people who’ve been injured at work.

Cancel meetings for a couple of days either side of the move, and remember to set out-of-office messages on move day. Forward calls from your old office to someone’s mobile until your new phoneline is put in.

Then, when you’re settled, send out your new address notification to contacts.

Finally, crack open the bubbly, and enjoy!