Moving to a new location may be both exhilarating and daunting. Moreover, proper packing and shifting all of the belongings can throw a person off their game. Relocating the office is no less intimidating than shifting a house. Compared to home, in an office, one would typically find a variety of heavy furniture, including closets, computers, files and other books, other associated accessories, and so on. All these office supplies are to be handled and packed carefully while shifting.
A significant concern when it comes to office shifting is that the entire workforce, as well as the departments, has to be shifted. Therefore, for a smooth and efficient office shifting process, one should include the staff to ensure that almost every workspace is appropriately packed.
When considering office relocation, the packing and moving services come into the picture. They make the overall shifting process smooth, efficient, and hassle-free. Owing to the efficiency and timely services provided, there has been an overall increase of 44% in the country’s requests for packing and moving services. The table below shows the cities having maximum advancement in the packers and movers segment-
| CITIES | % GROWTH OF PACKERS AND MOVERS |
| Pune | 85% |
| Kolkata | 76% |
| Ahmedabad | 61% |
| Delhi NCR | 42% |
| Chennai | 45% |
(Source-https://www.insightssuccess.in/local-services-market-study-packers-movers-category/)
Kolkata alone has witnessed a 250% upsurge in the packing and moving services providers, whereas Chennai has seen a 186% increase in the growth of the packers and movers.
Let us look into the ways one can follow when planning to relocate your workspace to an entirely new location.
- Proper Planning- The first and the essential step in office shifting is adequate planning for things. When it comes to shifting your office, there are tons of things to be packed and relocated. One must begin planning well ahead of time to ensure the least amount of downtime possible during an office relocation. It is highly advisable to prepare a well-organised checklist of the things to be packed and taken to the new place. Having a proper checklist right in front of you might help you keep track of the items to be packed and which are left behind/disposed of or shifted without packing.
- Declutter Unnecessary Stuff and Get a Moving Manager- After chalking out a proper plan for office shifting, it becomes essential to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff in the office closets, such as unwanted piles of papers, old files, and much other such stuff. All the things in your old office space might not be required in the new office. Hence, removing these redundant things from your area would ease the entire shifting process. Remember to use a good shredder when disposing of office documents.
After removing the unnecessary stuff from the office, appointing a manager who can closely monitor the packing process is recommended. The manager would keep a close track of how things are progressing and whether any change in the plan of shifting is required or not. Usually, an efficient administrative assistant would serve the purpose of monitoring the entire shifting process.
- Hiring Professional Packers and Movers– When relocating your office space, packers and movers are of great help. The services provided by the packers and movers make the entire process of shifting a little less chaotic. Understanding how these packing and moving services ease the stress of shifting is vital. The professional companies of packers and movers would be packing all the essentials of your office space in a well-organised manner. They will be the ones who will be shifting your belongings to the new space.
It can be challenging to find reputable packing and moving service providers. An inept moving firm could jeopardise the entire move process. As a result, selecting a reputable and trustworthy organisation is highly suggested. One can browse for nearby packers and movers online, for example, on social media or search engines, and choose according to their needs. Before narrowing down to a particular packing service provider, understand your need and requirements from the company and make your office shifting process enjoyable.
- Labelling the Boxes and Providing Proper Address- Labelling the boxes is essential for any relocation, but it becomes especially vital when shifting to a new office. To keep things moving smoothly during and after the move, carefully label or mark each box, so you don’t have to seek items such as more printer paper or toner when you need them.
The experts from the packer and mover companies are well-versed in how one should label the boxes containing all the essential items. They usually label each box with the location and the type of item packed. To keep track, the packers and movers maintain an inventory spreadsheet with the details of the contents of every box. It will take a little more effort, but it will save you a lot of time when settling into your new area and will be accessible to everyone. It is highly advisable to provide the packers and movers with the address of the new place well in advance so that they can chalk out the way of transporting your stuff to the new location.
- Understanding the Overall Estimate of Hiring Packers and Movers– It is usually advisable to do your research and comprehend the expenses associated when employing professionals for relocating purposes to avoid falling into the trap of deceptive packing services. Several things will determine the cost of hiring reputable packers and movers. The following factors are to be considered when estimating the overall cost of hiring the packing services –
- Packing material cost
- Overall packing charges for labour
- The distance to be covered
- The volume of the goods to be transported
- Type of vehicle to be used
- Insurance
It is recommended that one should select an office shifting service provider after thorough research and analysing the overall cost factors.
- Assign Small Roles to Every Person- Even if packers and movers come in to take care of the big stuff, having everyone responsible for their desk area will be a massive assistance. It is advisable to inform your employees in advance when they must have their desk belongings packed and urge them to do so little by little so that no one tries to pack everything up at the last minute. This would mean that you may only need to give your workers a couple of hours off the day before the relocation to organise their desks, thus saving on production loss.
- Be Careful with IT- Disabling and restoring all of your technology is one of the most challenging aspects of transferring to a new office space. Have your IT department prepare a strategy for relocating all of your office’s technological equipment as early as you know the rough schedule of your shift. This includes your bandwidth and internet plans, as well as your laptops, servers, and phones. This is a significant job that you won’t be able to delegate to the packers and movers, so the team must get started as soon as possible. Create a plan for discarding or donating any equipment which would be of no use in your new space. This would, in turn, facilitate a smooth set-up in the new office space.
Thus, following these few suggestions would make the office shifting process a not-so-tedious one. Having a proper, well-organised plan, an efficient packing services provider, and cooperation among the employees can make the shifting process easy.