How to plan an office move project and manage it

Proper organization and planning are key to any office relocation project. The first step to any successful relocation of the office is creating a detailed project plan. It is, without doubt, the most crucial step in any corporate office move.

This plan consists of all the tasks necessary to complete the move successfully. For instance, if includes assigning roles and responsibilities of your staff members, specific tasks and their deadlines, etc.

By drawing up this plan, you ensure that everything gets completed in the due time without any difficulties. You also make sure that your business downtime and loss of productivity are kept at a minimum during the move.

This article will include how to make a plan to move office and safety tips for moving an office.

How to create an office move project plan

Following things should be kept in mind while making a project plan for office move:

• Designate a supervisor who will be in charge of the intended move. It can be either you or any trusted and responsible employee in your staff. This supervisor will serve as a coordinator and organizer. He or she will have the authority to make the decisions on behalf of you and your company regarding the move.
• Choose other responsible and reliable people from your staff and put together a small planning team. The supervisor will be the team leader. This team will have the responsibility to draw up the plan for an external and internal office move.
• The important part of this move is to note down all the key dates like the preferred date for moving, signing of the new lease, start and finish of the new office build-out, final deadline, termination date of the current lease, etc.
• The budget of the whole project should also be estimated and every team member should make sure that the project is completed within the budget.
• Make sure that you develop the plan customized for your office specifically. There are many tips available online on things to remember in your moving plan but it is our recommendation that you always customize them for your office. You can build the project plan in MS Word or MS Excel. Make a list of all the tasks, people responsible for the individual tasks, and the deadlines of each task.

Tips to create an office relocation project management plan

The following tips will help you to create an effective office relocation plan.

1. Decide on the professional moving company

You have the option to hire professional movers that will take care of everything for you. If you decide to hire professionals, the physical move will then be their responsibility.

2. Give notices

You’ll need to inform all your employees, vendors, and clients of the intended move. It is highly recommended that you do this as soon as possible. Hold meetings to discuss and answer all the queries about the move and keep everyone in the loop all the time to make the process as smooth as possible.

3. Forecast the growth of your company

Before deciding on the new office location, you’ll need to determine how much space you’ll need in your new office. That will be determined by the current number of employees and the expected number of employees in the near future. This will help you choose the right location.

4. Negotiating the lease

When you are done with the selection of office location, you’ll need to negotiate the lease. Again, you’ll need to have forecast data to estimate the length of your lease and the type to avoid any inconveniences.

5. IT office move plan

Your IT department will have specific tasks to plan the infrastructure. So, work with their head of department to plan the move so that you have the necessary infrastructure in place before the move.

6. Update all marketing material

Update the address on your company website, stationery, brochures, business cards, etc.

7. Project management office relocation checklist

Keep an office move checklist of all the necessary tasks so you know if you are going according to the schedule or not. It will also help you keep a check on all the completed tasks and pending tasks to streamline the relocation project.

8. Review

Lastly, it is best to review your plan from every aspect to make sure that you are not missing something. This will give you the opportunity to correct your mistakes (if any) and potentially save you from losing money.

So, there you have it. These are all the things that you need to include in your relocation plan to make your project successful.