Office Moving Checklist from New Zealand’s Specialist Business Movers
Before your move (planning)
- Prepare a floor plan detailing the layout of your office.
- Assign each desk a number in sequential order and a pre-fix for each departemt. For example, if all your Marketing people sit in one area, asign their desks numbers M50-M100 , your IT Team IT100-IT150 , Customer Service CS150 to CS200, and so on. It makes items and areas more easily identifiable and quicker to sort out.
- Individual offices should also be assigned numbers sequentially.
- Match your numbered floor plan with the staff members who will be assigned that desk/office.
- Label communal spaces, up to you if you use names or numbers, just make sure they are clearly defined.
- Collaborate with IT to ensure all data and power needs are ready (or will be ready) for moving day.
- Ensure you have all details to access the building and parking g available for removalists.
Before your move (communications)
- To movers – arrange an onsite meeting with your moving company to discuss your move, figure out a moving plan and outline any special requirements your have.
- To staff – send clear instructions about the process of packing, along with a cut-off time to have their packing wrapped up. Emphasize that any items that are not packed properly will be left behind and then disposed of.
- To staff – send a map of the new location so they understand how to get there, where to park, what public transport is available, etc.
- To clients and suppliers – make your existing clients and suppliers aware of your new address and ask them to update their records for future communication.
Before your move (packing)
- Notify each staff member his or her allocated desk number.
- Instruct staff members to number all boxes, computer monitors, hard drives and furniture. Ideally, each item type should be labelled in the same spot (base of the computer screen, top of hard drive, etc).
- Filing cabinets should be emptied and locked or taped closed for easy removal. We recommend using low resin masking tape to prevent glue residue on furniture or stripped paint.
- All keyboards, cables, phones etc should be placed in plastic bags and labelled with their allocated number.
- Laptops, iPads and any other valuable/personal items should be handled by individual staff members rather than packed.
- Items for shared areas such as kitchens or utilities rooms should be labelled in the same way they are on your floor plan.
Before your move (at your new location)
- Paste signs or sticky notes for the removalists with directions to each area. For example, ‘For Numbers M300-M500, turn right’.
- If you are moving desks into the space, use masking tape, or similar, to plot out where the desks should go. Label each space with its number. Ensure you’ve measured up ahead of time to make sure everything will fit.
- If the office is already fitted out then label the desks with their location number.
- Let your building managers at both sites know that you will be moving and arrange dedicated lift access, lift protection blankets and parking for the moving trucks.
- If sidewalk / footpath parking is required, arrange with council in advance as it usually takes 2-4 weeks to get approval.
- Arrange transit insurance with your brokers for your move. Most removalist do not have transit cover for commercial moves.
During the move
- Depending on the size of the move you may need to allocate staff at both locations; if there’s more than one truck working, allocate someone to be at the new location to meet the first one that arrives while someone stays at the old location until the last of the trucks have completed their work.
- Try to have the removalists work on one area at a time, especially in a bigger building. It will ensure you can be there to provide instructions and answer questions. Alternatively, for bigger moves, we recommend a staff supervisor who can work with the moving team in terms of providing direction if needed.
- Wait until everything has been moved in before trying to connect phones and computers. Alternatively, if you have IT critical operations, request to prioritize the handling of the IT assets first so this can be setup first.
- Before staff return, do a quick check to see that the boxes and items on peoples’ desks correspond with their allocated number.
- It is a good idea to create personalized desk labels for each staff member with their name, photo, job title and company logo and leave them on their new desks. It’s a nice surprise for staff and much more welcoming than allocation numbers.
Before staff arrive
- Check the building is safe for staff to enter, that any rubbish or hazards have been removed and walkways are clear.
- If the building is big, put up signage with directions for each team to find their way around.
- Spot-check all facilities – make sure power, toilets, fridges etc are working.
