For the last couple of years, companies who have previously packed their bags and left Chicago for so-called greener pastures have set their headquarters back in the Windy City after a study showed that educated and talented millennials have flocked to the city, consequently raising the property value of homes all over Chicago’s inner city areas.
These areas reflect what most millennials with a college degree want out of their lives: a home where culture and convenience blend perfectly in one giant melting pot. Hence, many big company names who have hired moving companies to relocate to Chicago chose the city for a simple reason – it’s where many young talented people prefer to live. These companies believe they’ll have a bigger chance of hiring brilliant young professionals who will help their business grow faster.
Whatever the reason behind your move, proper planning is vital to its success. Many factors are involved in the planning process, but the key to successful moving can be simplified into three categories.
Budget
Like in anything else, money is a big issue when moving businesses, and a company should have ample budget allocated for the move. Your budget needs to include all the additional costs you will incur as a result of the transfer. Aside from the lease, the budget should also include termination, disconnection, and connection fees of your utilities, the billable hours of those employees who will help you plan and organize the actual move, and the printing costs of new business cards, stationeries, and packaging materials.
As always, it can be tempting to do the move yourself to save money, but remember that it may end up costing you more in repairs, particularly if your staff accidentally damages office equipment. Worse, you may spend more time on the move than you should. Time is money–and you tend to lose more revenue the longer that your office isn’t operational. For this reason, make sure to allot the necessary budget to hire professional moving companies that will help you relocate faster and more efficiently.
Scheduling and Pre-Move Preparation
After coming up with a budget, create a reasonable time frame and schedule the move. Ensure that this causes minimal disruptions to your normal operations. In fact, consider moving over the weekend, after-office hours, or on an off-peak day.
You will also need to assign your employees into committees to help organize the move and run it as smoothly as possible. Typically, a move committee is composed of representatives from the IT, HR, and Operations departments since they will be most affected by it. The committee can also help you to think of the best layout to install all your equipment and reduce potential environmental and safety hazards.
Lastly, as part of your planning process, make sure to find out if your equipment needs a specialized vendor to move it to a new location (e.g. manufacturing and laboratory equipment, copiers, and some electronic gadgets). You can get this information from the manufacturer or the vendor who sold you the equipment.
Setting up Internal and External Communications
Finally, prepare everyone affected by the move – from your employees all the way to your customers and suppliers. E-mail, call, update your website, and put up signs bearing your new address and contact information. You may even want to include directions and a map to your new place. Doing all these avoids issues like suppliers delivering to your previous address or customers getting a nasty surprise that you’re no longer there.
Transferring to a new business location is never easy. Planning your move properly and hiring a professional moving company can make your transfer much easier.
Sources:
Quick Checklist of Things to Do When Moving a Business, TheSpruce.com
Is Your Business Moving? 6 Tips for Attracting Customers to Your New Location, USSmallBusinessAdministration.gov