The ultimate office moving checklist

Many companies consider their office move during the summer as it is usually not a busy time for their business. Whether you plan an office relocation because your company is growing, expanding globally, looking for working space with modern technical infrastructure, or you try to optimize your fixed costs, it has to go as smoothly as possible.

To achieve this, you should plan, manage and communicate the move ahead of time. A useful tool is a checklist with all necessary actions and important information to consider and the timeline to follow. It will help you not forget details that you can miss trying to see the big picture; in the end, it is too late to include. With a checklist in front, you can ensure the office relocation process will run cohesively. 

If you need a detailed guide on handling your technology and systems during your office relocation, read our article  How to manage your business telephony, IT, and hardware during office move?

Below you will find a handy checklist with all the steps you should follow to ensure your office move will be smooth, with less stress, and your partners and the team will see the positive change in the big move.

6 months before the office relocation – set the stage

• Analyze your office needs and create a moving strategy.
• Appoint a project manager and team in charge of office relocation.
• Review your property lease contract and estimate the liquidated damages you need to pay in case of early termination of your lease agreement.
• Together with your project manager, create a list of the top priorities of the new office.
• If you have time, conduct surveys among employees to find their preferences regarding the workspace improvement your team inhabits.
• Start searching online and offline for appropriate office spaces.
• Check the Internet connection – How good is the Internet there? It is, by all means, the ultimate question that you need to know the answer to before moving your company to any new office.
• Ask your Internet service provider to research the technical and communications infrastructure of your potential office building.
• If you move away, ask the Internet companies operating at the new location to send you information about their Internet bandwidth capacity.
• Contact your telecommunications and IT service providers to know the possible technical restraints and solutions that will allow you to build a better telecommunications system in the new office space.
• Once you found your dream office, set a timeline that everyone should follow.
• Set a moving budget and try not to overspend it.
• Ask moving companies from the area to send you their offers. Compare them and opt for the best service and value for money.
• Find out if you’ll need moving insurance for expensive hardware and furniture.
• Create a detailed schedule and establish the deadline (per your previously stated timeline).
• Share it with the team responsible for the office move.

3 months before the office move – contact your telecommunications and IT service provider 

• Review your current installation and set deadlines on when the new telecommunications and IT system should be ready
• Design your new office space and plan how to organize the workstations, IT installation, and fixtures.
• Ask your IT services provider to check your ICT systems and equipment needs and give you options for connecting your new office space.
• Discuss your specific Internet connection needs with the Internet service provider in the field.
• Coordinate with them when to order, set up, and activate your new lines and when to close the existing ones.
• Talk to your business telephony provider to :

• Pay attention to the timing that your providers give you for connecting the office – it has to be finished on time before the office furniture arrives and the employees get involved.

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2 months before moving your office – communication and planning the logistics

• Appoint the date and communicate it both internally and externally.
• Unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement, it is time to contact your property manager and inform him about your decision.
• Inform all your employees about the upcoming office move and give each of them a detailed plan of how they should participate.
• Review and update the lists with your clients, partners, suppliers, and affiliates.
• Create a master list divided into several sections for the customers, partners, authorities, and institutions you need to communicate your office move.
• Sections can be:

• Notify all of them about the office move
• Collaborate with the legal team to update your contact details on any legal documents
• Instruct the marketing team to change your contact details on marketing materials, including your social media accounts, at the right time
• Remind your employees to set a date in the calendar to change their email signatures when the move occurs.
• Start coordinating the office relocation with your IT department, asking them if extra help will be needed for dissembling any complex hardware or communications system. 
• Reserve the moving company you chose
• Book cleaning services for both your current and the future office
• Book a parking space for the moving dates as near to the office entrance as possible
• Complete any necessary paperwork regarding your old and new office space.

1 month before the date – office equipment and furniture preparation

• Audit your office furniture and order new pieces if you move to a bigger working space.
• Design a detailed floor plan with dimensions and interior.
• Outline working stations, meeting rooms, and communal space.
• Ask each employee to tag their office equipment like PC sets with the keyboard, monitor and mouse, laptops, desk phones, and headsets.
• Appoint members of the IT team who should organize the transfer of your ICT machinery like servers, racks, switches, and routers.
• Let them handle other office hardware – conference systems, TVs, printers, copy machines, fax machines, IP doorbells, and badging systems.
• Create a list of all IT and telecom items you are taking into the new office.
• Check the compatibility between your equipment and the existing technical infrastructure at the new workspace.
• Order now new hardware assets so that they arrive on time
• Discuss with your telephony provider the options to move your communications to the cloud.

2 weeks before the relocation – data and network security by relocation

• Create a backup for any voice communication data during the office move.
• Make a list of the resources that contain important company information and decide how to handle it during the move.
• Assign the rights to your employees according to their access level in the corporate network. Send them all necessary access codes, access cards/keys, and parking passes.
• Update your security policies to match your new workspace’s needs.
• Finalize all paperwork – new contracts, license, lease agreement.

The day of the move 

• Create a detailed moving day schedule for your team to follow.
• Contact IT, Internet, and Telecom providers to ensure that all the communications systems are up and running and the downtime will be minimal.
• If you have a cloud phone system, redirect your office calls to your mobile phones so that clients can always reach you.
• Once the equipment arrives, plug in your desk phones, Internet, IT systems, and the rest of the technology to test if it functions properly. Troubleshoot to ensure your business is back online as soon as possible.
• Take a final look at the empties space to record any damages on the premises.
• When the office furniture is unloaded and the company is connected, ask your employees to unpack their inventory, place them at the assigned spots, and arrange their new workstations.
• Once you have finished the relocation process, you can throw a small welcome party for your employees to make them relax after this long day.

The office move is not an easy step in any business development. It requires good planning and organization, clear communication, and careful execution. There are many important things to consider and minor details that need to be acknowledged. The best way to do it is by having a handy checklist for every stage of the process. With its help, you can manage the office relocation successfully and ensure your service continuity even on the day of the move.

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