Endless surveys by large companies will tell you that moving your office or small business is the second most stressful thing after hiring new staff and even places it above handling finances. An incredible amount of stress can be avoided (not to mention valuable workdays lost) if you follow some simple tips to help you smoothly transition to your new premises.

Start Planning Early

Due to the stress involved many businesses often decide to stay put in cramped or expensive premises when in reality, taking your time and not trying to do it in a rush will make the whole process a lot easier. Giving yourself a realistic schedule will be helpful, as all the planning will pay off when your removalists come as things will go according to plan. Think about how long it might take you to achieve certain tasks and other important things like budget.

Assign a Project Manager

Most small to medium businesses don’t have office building managers, just maybe a general office manager, so assign this person the task, or whoever else is capable and has the time. Letting too many people be involved will likely lead to not only arguments but mistakes and costly ones too. It should be obvious to most small companies who this is, even the boss or business owner, but someone would have overall responsibility.

Tell Your Staff

Good communication is key and not telling your staff of your plans could upset some of them. They don’t need a running commentary but telling them at the start will make the transition less stressful for them too. They will have to get used to being in a different space and potentially next to different people. For very small companies, having your team onside is helpful as they could help in the move itself too.

Hire a Professional Removal Company

This part may seem obvious, but moving can be a costly task even if it’s to ultimately save money, but not hiring removalists will certainly be even more costly. Damages, time lost, information lost and the extra stress won’t be worth it. Professionals will help you plan in advance, but don’t book one at the last minute, as we said at the start, plan early as there can be unexpected hurdles or plans slightly changing. Your project manager should choose a local removal company that has good experience and a great reputation.

Update Your Address

This last one is easily overlooked, but it goes without saying how important this is. Not only should it be done on your own properties like website, social media and Google My Business profile but also web directories too. There’s all your company stationery to consider and it’s also a great excuse to do a mailout to keep in touch with partners, suppliers and customers.

Proper planning is what is needed for your moving day to go smoothly. “It’s all in the preparation” as they say. This is true, so here are some top tips to help make your moving day less stressful, because let’s face it, moving home or office can be quite painful so we’re going to help you avoid some pitfalls which will be a bonus to you, and us.

Start With Budget

Before you book professional removalists and just expect them to deal with everything (please don’t!), start with knowing what you can afford to spend and working out how you’re going to do it. You might think there aren’t many options but for a large household or business, there are. Ask yourselves these questions:

• What kind of size vehicle can I afford?
• Will I need to hire help packing?
• Can I afford a full service moving company?
• What parts can I do myself?
• How will my items be packed?
• Have I allowed enough time?
• Is there anything the removalists won’t take?

Once you have a budget worked out and you can answer the above questions then you should know what you can and can’t do. Trying to do the impossible in a short space of time when you have already paid and booked removalists will turn into a headache fast so knowing what’s possible before you start will definitely help.

Take your Valuables and Paperwork in Your Car

Important documents, valuables like jewellery, fragile items and unique things with sentimental value should be carried in your car separately – just in case. Most removalists will advise this and many will refuse to take fragile items and valuables anyway as their insurance policies don’t fully cover you.

Dedicate a Room for Storage in Your New Premises

It’s not always going to be possible to put everything in its relevant room right away. Time and space will dictate that you just place items and boxes elsewhere. Make things easier by designating a room where a lot of stuff can just be placed into that won’t get in the way of the important stuff like kitchen, bathroom and most importantly – your bed!

Prepare The New House for Office

Make sure you are arriving in the daytime, that there is electricity and bulbs and even toilet paper! Also, make sure it’s relatively clean and that you have access to all rooms so you can utilise all the space. Preparing at the source is not so effective if you haven’t prepared at your destination.

Prioritise Your Beds, Kitchen and Bathroom

Your removal company should be able to help with assembling your bed, but doing that first means you know that at the end of a long day when the removalists have gone that you can at least have a bite to eat, a shower and then some sleep without having to worry about finding those items and building your bed.