Your Office Relocation Checklist: Tips For a Smooth Transition

It’s often said that moving house is one of the most stressful events in your life. But the same can also be true for moving office spaces – in fact, it usually takes far more planning and moving parts to pull off.

That’s why we’ve put together this office relocation checklist for UK companies. If you’re planning an office move, this guide will help you understand what you need to put in place and when to minimise downtime and hit the ground running in your new space.

Phase 1: Before you start (12 to 9 months before relocation)

Before you choose your new office space, there are some things you need to add to your office relocation checklist.

Set your objectives

Before you even think about searching for a new office space, get clear on what you want out of your office relocation. Are you downsizing to account for hybrid working? Do you need more space for your growing team? Whatever your reasoning, you’ll need to choose your new office and plan your space to meet your needs.

Audit your space

Before planning an office move, audit your current space to see what works well and what needs improvement. This will help narrow down your search for a new office. It’s worth asking your staff for their views too – after all, they’re the ones who will be using the space.

Assemble your team

Office move project management isn’t a job for one person alone. Think about what support you’ll need from within your own team as well as the external suppliers you’ll need to bring in to help you plan, manage, and carry out your office relocation.

Phase 2: Determine layout (9 to 6 months before relocation)

Once you’ve chosen your new office, it’s time for the planning and design stage.

Plan your new space

An office space planning survey will help you create the layout of your new space and build an efficient flow. Consider where your team will work, which areas will work best as breakout spaces, where you’ll hold meetings, and what infrastructure you’ll need to bring your ideas to life. Creating a 3D digital model of your new office space can help you visualise your layout.

Choose your furniture

Once you know how your office will be laid out, think about the furniture you’ll need to populate each zone. Think beyond aesthetics and consider ergonomic furniture to support your team’s wellbeing, modular items to create flexible spaces, and using recycled materials to minimise your environmental impact. You could even reuse or refurbish existing furniture to make your office relocation cheaper as well as greener.

Phase 3: Arrange the logistics (6 to 3 months before relocation)

After planning is checked off your office relocation checklist, you can start taking action.

Restore your current lease

When you’re planning an office move, it’s important not to forget about any work you need to carry out on your current space to avoid landlord disputes or additional charges. This might mean a Cat A fit-out to restore the office to its original state before you move out. This phase in your commercial office fit-out timeline will need careful planning to minimise disruption to your team during the changeover.

Set up IT, utilities, and infrastructure

To avoid any downtime during your office relocation, now’s the time to start putting infrastructure and utilities in place in your new office. Setting up internet access, installing extra power outlets, and arranging anything else you need to get up and running nice and early will give you a chance to iron out any wrinkles before the big move.

Phase 4: Deliver, install, and move (3 months before to day of relocation)

This is where things get really exciting – it’s time to move into your new office.

Organise delivery and fit-out

You’ll need to coordinate furniture and other deliveries, various contractors to carry out your office fit-out, and movers to transport anything you’re taking from your current office over to your new space. This is where things can get complicated, as there are multiple moving parts that need to sync up so that each step in your commercial office fit-out timeline happens in the right order. Choosing the right partners early in the process will help make your office move project management easier.

Move into your new space

All that’s left to do is move into your new office space! Think about how you want to introduce your team to the space – will you all move in on one day, or will you take a phased approach? Will you have an ‘office warming’ or is it straight back to business as usual? Whatever you decide, make sure you communicate it well to your staff so everyone’s on the same page.

Let us help you stay on track

Organising every item on your office relocation checklist might sound like a lot of work – and that’s because it can be. Planning your new office space effectively to maximise your team’s productivity and efficiency is a challenge in itself, not to mention the logistical task of arranging infrastructure, deliveries and multiple suppliers to get your office up and running. Without the right support, you risk unnecessary downtime during your office relocation and knock-on effects on your business.

You can avoid months of unnecessary stress and disruption by working with an experienced office relocation partner. When you work with Richardsons, you can sit back as we design and plan your new office so you can get the most out of your space, source the right furniture for your needs (at the right price), and manage your commercial office fit-out timeline so you can focus on supporting your team.