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Happy Customers
Galliford Try

The team at Wold Academy are very happy with the result. I would like to extend my personal thanks for all the hard work and effort put in to get this project over the line.

Samuel Hallam
Senior Site Manager Galliford Try Plc
East Sussex County Council

Johnsons moved Seaford and Newhaven Libraries for us over 2014-15. Both jobs went successfully due to the hard work and efficiency of the very friendly and helpful Johnsons Staff.

Michele Brooker, Librarian Coordinator East Sussex County Council
Blackburn College

The moving process has been very efficient. The teams supplied were punctual, organised and couldn't do enough to help. This has made the whole experience of moving better for staff and students alike.

Cathy Hale
Masterplan & Accommodation Manager Blackburn College
Norland – Alcatel-Lucent

I was incredibly impressed with their ability to cope with a demanding and labour intense situation and will now only consider using Johnsons for any future work of this type.

Colin Donnelly, Area Manager Norland – Alcatel-Lucent
Pennine Acute Trust

Johnsons Business Moves have been appointed by this Trust as our preferred office relocation company for the past 10 years.

David Shepherd Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
West Midlands Police

I would like to thank the team. Not only were they prompt in arrival, they also completed the job to a high standard and were extremely professional throughout.

Dan Bacon, Facilities Officer West Midlands Police
Office move checklist

Moving office can be a disruptive and stressful time for everyone. Not only do you have the stress of physically moving location but also moving an entire workforce. With this comes the added pressure of having to continue with business as usual.

However, with the skill, care and personal service of Johnsons to help you, this needn’t be the case. We specialise in office move management and have been moving businesses and organisations for decades. During this time, our clients have found our office move checklist really useful.

When moving office, it helps to ensure that no stones are left unturned. To do this, an office move plan is vital. As part of our total office removal service, our project managers work with you to prepare a custom checklist for office moves based on your individual requirements. This will help you think about:

  • Pulling together the right team of people
  • Communication between key stakeholders
  • Informing service providers
  • Planning out the new office environment
  • The availability and allocation of resources
  • Recycling or repurposing of existing assets
  • Disassembling and reinstalling equipment
  • The office move budget

All in all, forward thinking and careful preparation are key to a successful office move. Having an office move project plan is important to ensure a smooth move. Although this starts long before most relocation companies are involved, Johnsons are there early in the process to ensure that you have the best possible support throughout your office move.

An office move checklist is a key part of an overall office move plan. It provides the basis of the office move plan template. We have outlined some of the key points you need to consider.

1. Assign a project team and choose a move representative

Prior to the office move, you need to decide who will be involved with the move and what their roles and responsibilities will be. These people will form the project team and they will take responsibility of the project plan for the office move. Key skills to look for will be organisational, multi-tasking, decision making, communication and being financially aware enough to stick to a budget.

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You also need a move representative or representatives (depending on the size of the office move) to act as intermediaries between those making the move decisions and those who will be affected by them. The role of a move representative is to communicate what’s happening to the staff and to raise (and alleviate where required) any concerns. Move representatives should know the staff they are conveying information to so they can do so in a way which fits their personalities best.

2. Review existing property lease and identify:

    • When it’s due to expire
    • What the notice period is

Both of these are crucial steps in a good office move project plan.

If you are looking at moving, then your lease expiring in 3 years time might be an issue as you’d have to keep paying for two buildings. Equally, if it expires in a few months time, then you’d need to move pretty quickly. Knowing both the length of lease and notice period can help inform you of your timescales.

If you are unsure as to what the lease means or there are clauses that you don’t understand, then it might be a good idea to get an expert to have a look at it. Johnsons have the expertise to be able to advise you as to the best course of action.

3. Agree a move budget with Senior Management

Relocating offices can be extremely expensive and it’s easy for spend to spiral unless properly controlled. A budget needs to be put in place and agreed with senior management so decisions can be made without impacting on the success of the move.

Once the budget has been agreed, to ensure that you get the best value for money, you should get quotes for all aspects of the work required. Any reputable company will be more than happy to provide you with a quote absolutely free of charge. Doing this will give you a point of comparison and whilst you may not want to go with the cheapest quote (a more expensive quote can be better value for money at times), you can at least make an informed decision.

4. Contact removal companies to get quotes and discuss the move

Whilst it is important to get quotes, the price won’t be the only consideration when choosing a company to do the job. Value for money doesn’t mean the cheapest company; it means the company that does the job best for your needs. Discussing the move with removal companies allows you to understand their methodology, find out whether there are any extras and see what that company would be like to work with. It is important to understand their previous experience, accreditations, and insurance details.

5. Select and appoint a removal company

Choosing the right removal company is important as they will be the company responsible for the safe removal and transportation of your furniture, goods and machinery to the new site. You will select this company based on a series of selection criteria. You will normally have a first choice and a backup option.

Selecting a professional removal company should be based on some key criteria. These may include:

  • Health and safety record
  • Accreditations
  • BAR membership
  • Level of insurance
  • Years of trading

6. Visit both sites with the removal company to fully brief the move

By now, you should have a removal company selected. It’s always a good idea to go to both sites ahead of the actual move with the removal company to go through the logistics and any potential issues.

The removal company will be able to inform you of any potential issues they can see ahead of time. Whilst floor plans are useful, actually seeing it in front of them can help the identify issues earlier.

By doing this, it prevents costly delays occurring and helps ensure a smooth, efficient office move.

7. Prepare a move programme with completion dates

Preparing a programme as part of an office move plan ensures that there is a pathway to office move success. You can easily see what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. The other benefit of this stage is that by listing out all steps and putting completion dates, you can identify ahead of time any issues that may arise and correct them before they occur.

8. Obtain a floor plan of the new office space

Before making decisions such as what furniture is needed, who sits where or any other logistical issues, it is important to have a copy of the new office space floorplan. This will let you do scenario planning to see what works on paper. With this completed, you can then use it to inform any decisions that you need to make.

Doing this will save you time and money further down the line as you will be able to avoid any reworks that would’ve been required had you not performed the exercise.

9. Take a full inventory of all assets and contents in current office and identify:

  • Which assets/content needs to be moved to the new office
  • What upgrades/replacements are required and if you need to purchase any additional furniture/equipment
  • Whether any contents can be archived
  • Whether any assets can go into off-site storage

Having most likely been in the same office for a period of time, you often find that you have accumulated junk, made do with equipment that isn’t ideal and have paperwork floating about.

An office move is a good time for basic housekeeping as well as planning for the new move. This involves a thorough stocktake of what you have and from this, the ability to identify what you will need going forward.

It’s also a good time to consider your requirements for storage going forward. Sometimes, an off-site storage might be the best solution as per square feet it can be cheaper storing assets/documents elsewhere rather than in an office space which could be utilised more effectively.

Johnsons offer an archiving and storage solution which enables you to safely store everything you need (including business documents which have a legal requirement to be kept for a certain period of time). We have multiple centres which are all secure and monitored 24 hours a day. We are also able to provide barcoding and tracking for documents and boxes.

10. Plan the new office environment. Using the floor plan, identify where everything will go and where everyone will sit. Consider the working environment and office culture in your decision

Moving into a new office isn’t just a chance to have more space or be more modern, but it’s also an opportunity to move teams to more suitable places for working (e.g. you may want finance next to commercial to gain synergistic benefits).

Equally, you may want to create a new office culture. For example, if your previous office had lots of cubicles and as a result you felt communication was poor or the atmosphere was a bit flat, you may wish to consider a more open plan approach. Moving office can be a great opportunity to breathe new life into your teams.

11. Order new furniture and equipment if required

It’s unlikely that you will have all the furniture and equipment you need to make your new office fully functional. Once you have planned the new office environment using the floor plan, you can cross reference against your inventory to identify what additional equipment and furniture you may need.

Once you have done this, you should gather some quotes from suppliers for the provision of these or simply do comparisons online or from catalogues yourself. Once you have found the products for the best value for money, you can place your order.

12. Consider PC’s, servers and phone lines and ensure that the new office layout will accommodate these.

All offices rely on electronic communication and it’s important to plan how your computers, servers, phone lines and printers will be accommodated in the new office layout. Using an expert is advisable and at Johnsons, we have IT specialists who can manage all this for you, including the installation as part of your relocation package.

13. Tell key stakeholders about the move

Keeping stakeholders informed about the move is absolutely key to the success of the move. Stakeholders include suppliers, customers and staff. Office moves can make people feel nervous, so regularly informing them and reinforcing positive reasons behind the move can not only alleviate any concerns but also build rapport and confidence.

14. Confirm delivery of new furniture and equipment

Using a checklist of what you have ordered, you should tick off items as and when they are delivered. If items haven’t been delivered and as a result you can see your office move project plan is at risk of falling behind, chase up the suppliers.

15. Arrange for collection or disposal of any unwanted furniture and equipment. Johnsons can help you with this through JohnsonsZero

It’s likely that there will be some items that are surplus to requirements or not fit for purpose in the new office. As such, you will need to dispose of these.

We know that being environmentally friendly is increasingly important to companies and an office move can be a great time to demonstrate your commitment to this. Through our JohnsonsZero service, we can help you meet your commitment by recycling, donating or selling any unwanted furniture in a way which will benefit both the environment and your local community.

16. Tell service providers in both locations: telecoms, utilities (gas, electric, water), insurance providers

It’s important to let service providers know of the change. This ensures that you aren’t erroneously charged for costs incurred at your old office and equally makes sure that vital services aren’t cut off at your new one and that you are adequately covered by insurance.

17. Tell customers and suppliers about your change of address

It’s important that you let your suppliers and customers know about your office move and in particular the new address. For suppliers, this is important so you can ensure that any supplies required go to the right place at the right time.

For customers, an office move could be an opportunity for you. You could use the move to reconnect with customers, remind them of what services you offer (including any new ones you may have introduced) and also reassure them that whilst the move happens, business as usual will still occur. Outlining the positive reasons behind the move could be beneficial to you.

Office moves are complex, time consuming and can be stressful. However, by having an office move plan in place, the chance of a smooth, successful move is increased.

Some companies try and go it alone when moving office but when the success of the move is normally very important, turning to experts can be the best option. Here at Johnsons, we are specialists at office moves. We are experienced and can handle any office move, no matter what the size.

Unlike many other companies, we also have our own team of project managers who have the office move management experience, expertise and qualification to guide you through your move. We can manage your move from start to finish, leaving you to focus on what matters most; running your business.

If you need help with an office move, or simply want some more information, get in touch today. You can either call us on 0800 279 2505, email us at [email protected] or complete our quick and easy contact form at the top of this page.

We have experts ready to help make your office move a success.

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