When you imagine your company in a brand-new sparkling office, what comes to mind? A team meeting in a light airy office with enough space for everyone maybe? Or top-of-the-range utilities to make yourself your favourite coffee in the morning?

An office relocation can be the best thing for a company, especially if you are growing and expanding. The dream may be a beautiful thing, however the reality of relocating your office and company can be intimidating. It involves a lot of moving parts (and people), and if you are an office manager that is about to take on this job – we know it’s not easy.

That is why we have put together a checklist for you with all the things that you need to keep in mind when organising your Oxford office relocation:

Notice periods

Notice periods for when you are relocating your office in Oxford can vary depending on your current agreement, so check carefully so you know exactly how long you have to organise your office relocation. Commonly it is between one and six months, so make sure that you check your contract before starting to make any plans.

Let your team know

There are lots of different ways you can let your team know about the move. It could be through an email, team meeting, newsletter or video. Whatever the method of communication, remember that it should include as much detail as possible about the office relocation so that you can help not only your team but also yourself to get your thoughts in order. If writing or communicating the office relocation brings anything up, be sure to add it to your to-do list.

Some things that you could include in the announcement are:

• New office address
• The dates and times of key events in the lead-up to the office relocation
• Why the necessity for the move
• Any action the employees need to take

Create an office relocation task force

Do you have members of your team who are great at organising and have what it takes to take responsibility? Creating an office relocation task force is a great way to share the load. Everyone has their own strengths and members of your team are no different. You may have some who are fantastic at putting together spreadsheets which can come in really useful for an office relocation, or maybe a team member who is very good at communication and can relay information efficiently. By creating a task force you can have the right power in the right place.

Talk to employees

It is always a good idea to get some feedback from your team. Getting honest feedback can help you to see what areas need a bit more attention. Perhaps a team member has some concerns about an area that you have never even considered.

Make a layout plan

Once you have an idea of where you are going to be moving to, it is good to get the lay of the land. Have a walk around the new space if possible and think about what big items will be coming with you and if you can or need to streamline your furniture. Having a visual plan is very useful, you can use an online tool like Floorplanner to create a 2d drawing of your new office and have it with you as you carry on planning the office relocation.

Spring clean

With any move, it’s a great time to take stock and do that spring cleaning that you have been meaning to do for ages. This can be from those filing cupboards that haven’t been opened since 1995 or the back of the fridge. Get all of your team to think carefully about what they would like to take with them and what might be better in the bin.

Stock and inventory check

While preparing to pack up the offices, use the time to make a clear inventory of everything that is hiding in the stock cupboards. You may find that you don’t actually need to order any more paper clips for a while. This combined with the spring clean will mean that you don’t have to actually move so much stuff, plus you will have an idea of how many boxes you need. This brings us to the next point.

Get moving supplies in order

It’s a good idea to get in touch with a moving company as soon as possible so that you know all the logistics will be taken care of. If you are planning an office relocation in Oxford or Oxfordshire area then Headington Carriers has everything you need for a successful relocation. We have a lot of experience in commercial removals in and around Oxford. From manpower to resources such as T-Crates and packing materials, we guarantee a successful and bespoke removal service for office relocations.

Organising and decorating plan

It can be useful to have a plan of what to unpack when and prioritised to make the actual move smoother. What are the absolute necessities? What can wait longer to be sorted out? Ensure all your team know and that you have labelled the appropriate boxes/T-Crates so that the most important things get unpacked first.

Celebrate

Finally, make sure you make a bit of time in your first week at the new office to celebrate!! Moving can be stressful so having an opportunity to relax and thank your whole team for a successful move is important. Crack open that champagne, get some pizzas in and enjoy your new office space.

If you would like more information about how Headington Carriers could help you with your office relocation in Oxford then please get in contact with us today on:

(0)1865 311 000 or enquiries@headingtoncarriers.co.uk