Moving Your Small Company? 6 Tips to Prepare

Moving is an involved process and a rare occasion. When the time comes to go through a commercial move, many business owners don't know what to expect. If you're a business owner who will soon go through a commercial relocation, here's what you need to know to plan your upcoming move.

1. Pick the Right Time of Year

Move at a time of year when it makes the most sense for your company. Avoid busy times when your company is most likely to be overwhelmed with orders. This is because you’ll want to set aside at least a couple weeks for packing, a few days for loading and unloading the truck, and a few more weeks for unpacking the boxes.

2. Put Someone in Charge

Someone at your company needs to be the point person for your move. This is the person who is responsible for informing the affected parties, establishing a moving timeline, and ensuring everyone knows their roles.

This person may need to work with other people in your company to consider all the potential problems and put into place workable solutions. This person will coordinate with movers, staff, and clients to keep the relocation moving forward.

3. Inform and Involve Staff

People in your staff must plan their work activities around the relocation, so keep them informed. They need to know when the relocation will take place, where their new workspace will be, and how this new location will affect them and their work. When talking to staff, answer questions like:

• How will parking change?
• How will staff workstations be different, and how will they stay the same?
• Will more or less storage space be at the new location?
• Will company policies be different in the new location?
• Will the company scale back work production during the relocation?

Many people are resistant to change, so you may need to put in extra effort to convince them that the relocation is a good move for your company. Describe to staff how your relocation will solve problems, pave the way for company growth, and improve their quality of life while they're at work. 

Give staff the chance to raise concerns in periodic meetings so you can alleviate those concerns. Your staff may come up with new questions as the relocation progresses, so give them multiple opportunities to express their thoughts.

Establish a moving timeline and keep it in a location where all staff people are able to access it. If your staff is responsible for packing their own belongings, establish deadlines and communicate their role in the move clearly. 

4. Budget Properly

Commercial relocations are a major expense. Work with your staff and people from the moving company to establish a workable budget.

Your moving company should give you a bid up front so you'll know how much the move will cost. The cost may come with a margin of error, so find out what that margin of error is and budget for the maximum amount possible. 

When budgeting for your relocation, this may impact your ability to pay from a reduction in productivity while the relocation takes place. Work with staff to ensure that your company can continue to make sales goals throughout the relocation.

5. Update Clients

Clients need informing almost as much as staff. If your relocation will impact your hours or availability, tell clients about your updated hours. If contact information will change, this too needs communicating to clients. If you have a store, put up signs around the shop months in advance of your move. Clearly outline where your company is moving and on what date. 

Some businesses lose clients when they move because their customers think the business closed instead of relocated. You can prevent this from happening to your business by gathering contact information for your clients and then sending the word around to everyone who the move will impact.

Start a newsletter. Ask customers to sign up. Give discounts to people who give their email address for your newsletter. Distribute flyers. Finally, make a big deal of your grand opening at the new location to give people an incentive to check out your new location. 

6. Find the Right Mover

Most important of all is to find the right mover for your upcoming relocation. Work with a moving company that has commercial relocation experience and expertise. When meeting with potential movers and before signing a contract, ask each mover about what strategies they use to make commercial relocations a better experience for clients. 

The mover you sign a contract with should be able to discuss in detail what they can do to make your move successful. They should also be able to discuss the type of insurance they offer for commercial clients and what they can do to minimize problems while the relocation takes place.

For more information about how you can make your upcoming commercial relocation a success, talk to United Moving & Storage. We're happy to answer your questions and give helpful tips.