Commercial Furniture Removal in 2023

Commercial furniture removal, here is what you need to know in 2023. Office moves start out exciting but it should be organised in phases. You envision the finished product; everyone in your company working and thriving in a shiny new, perfectly organised office. The panic sets in when you realise you have to figure out how to prepare an office desk removal and organise everything in that shiny new office.

There is an overwhelming number of literal and figurative moving parts when relocating your office. Obviously, you have to move all the items, but you also need to consider your employees’ happiness, transitional workflows, re-organisation, adjustment periods, and so much more.

Don’t worry Van-247delivery made a list to get you ready to handle every aspect of your office move. From old office furniture removal to photocopier removals, we’ve got you covered.

As you go through this list, remember to do what many of our Van-247delivery satisfied customers say is the most important part of the moving process: Breath!

Phase 1: Planning the Business Furniture Removal

12 – 6 months before the move

1. Select one place to organise your Commercial Furniture Removal notes and to-do items

First, figure out where and how to record and organise all notes, documents, to-do lists, and other move-related items. Centralising information will keep you from pulling out your hair later. When you remember you have an office move timeline in Google Drive, a to-do list in Box, and a list of handwritten employee comments in… or one of your notebooks.

2. Organise key documents

Now use the method you established in step one to organise important documents, including insurance records, contracts, agreements, and other records.

If you don’t yet have contracts and agreements, you can simply open out a space in your notes for them to help you stay organised later on.

3. Announce the corporate furniture removal

Plan a detailed email, newsletter segment, presentation, or brief video to tell employees about the big move. This is extremely important for good internal communication.

The announcement should be comprehensive, regardless of the format you select. Communication needs to tell employees everything they need to know. In fact, the more detail you put into the communication, the easier it will be to wrap your head around all the steps of your commercial furniture removal.

As you create the announcement, be sure to translate any applicable items to your master to-do list. For example, if your announcement reassures employees they will have a complete “office move checklist for employees” of to-dos before moving day, then you need to include the “making and distributing checklist” as an action item in your timeline.

Here are some items to include in your announcement:

• The new office name (if different) and address
• Moving date or dates
• Key features of the new office (why are we moving?)
• Justification for the move (A quote from the CEO or other key decision maker is the perfect way to explain the decision to move and even get your employees excited for the transition.)
• What do employees need to do right now, if anything?
• What future corporate furniture removal information employees should expect to receive

After the initial announcement, you’ll want to plan a way to talk to your employees throughout the move. Create a WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, or Signal group for this type of communication.

4. Communicate with your employees

After the announcement, take a couple of weeks for the idea of a move to set in. Then ask for feedback from your employees.

Seek feedback on aspects of the move or the new office that you can reasonably control and work into your planning process, including:

• Changing workspace needs (Some employees may want to request standing desks, lamps, privacy screens, etc.)
• Equipment needs (Replace broken keyboards, cracked screens, etc.)
• Seating changes (Some employees may need or want to change what teams and people they sit near.)
• Workstyle preferences, especially if your new space will include elements of both open and private floorplans.
• Design wish items or recommendations.
• Address any issues that restrict people from carrying heavy boxes.

You can deliver this communication in multiple ways:

• Communicate via department/division managers
• Send out a survey
• Host one-on-one meetings if your company is small
• Use your company’s email delivery tool
• Use your company’s internal Facebook group

After you get the first communication out, create a plan for subsequent sends. You’ll probably want to send one communication a month until the moving day if the complexity of your move calls for it. If your company has an internal communications team, enlist their help to make sure your messages are on point.

5. Establish your budget and purchasing process

Get a budget (preferably on paper) from your company leaders and establish guidelines for completing all move-related purchases. Will you be able to use a company card? Will you have to submit invoices? Who (if anyone) will need to approve your purchases or vendor contracts?

This step will help you envision the moving process and office move services that will be needed. For example, if you need a three-person team to sign off on all purchases and contracts, then you’ll be able to plan extra time for all to-dos involving purchases.

6. Establish and record key details

Confirm and record key details that could affect the move. These include:

• Employee headcount
• Size of your current office
• Size of the new office

7. Make lists of what you have and lists of what you need

Now it’s time to make inventory lists of all things big and small. Make two lists:

• Things you’re taking, and
• Things you’re leaving behind

The lists should illuminate some needs you might otherwise overlook, especially if you cross-reference them with your new office’s floor plan. This list will also be important for your office furniture moving company.

For example…

• If the office move involves a complete design overhaul, and you’ll be leaving behind all trash cans and whiteboards, you might need to purchase new versions of those necessities to match the new look.
• If you’re pulling off a move on a tight budget, making an inventory list will remind you that you do in fact need to pack everything lurking in that old supply closet.
• If your new kitchen is twice the size of your old one, but your “taking” list only has a few basics, then you might need to get a bunch of new kitchen items.

8. Talk to managers to establish move-related workflow strategies

Moving is hard; juggling work while moving is super hard. Luckily your cubicle moving company can help with the planning since they do these moves on a regular base. Encourage managers to develop comprehensive plans for managing workflows throughout the moving process, especially if they have any critical deadlines that fall within the moving time frame. Remind them to keep the move in mind as they take on and plan new projects.

9. Get volunteers for a moving committee

Don’t try to do everything alone. See if anyone wants to join a moving committee!

Be sure to outline duties before you make your appeal. Some standard responsibilities include:

• Planning
• Packing (some office furniture removal services include packing and unpacking, make sure to ask)
• Unpacking
• Organising
• Office designing and decorating

Float this idea with your supervisors to see if you can get approval for the team to complete move-related work during office hours. This would definitely inspire more volunteers.

10. Create a separate email address for move-related questions.

People will have questions (lots of questions) about the office move. Try to separate the office move from your regular duties by creating an email address just for move-related questions and correspondence.

Phase 2: Packing and Preparing

6 – 3 months before the move

1. Ask for vendor recommendations

Before you spend a minute on research, seek answers from expert commercial removalists who’ve organised more than their fair share of office moves.

What vendors and services do you even need? Here are some things almost any office move requires:

• Office furniture removal company
• Office movers trucks
• Boxes
• Clean-up crew and cleaning services

2. Secure office removalists or your moving crew

Your moving crew will define your office move.

After you get recommendations, ask the commercial furniture removal companies on your list a few questions to pinpoint:

• Flexibility (If you need them to come early or stay late, will they accommodate you without fees?)
• Fee structure (Do they charge per job or per hour?)
• Reviews and reliability (What are former customers saying?)
• Services included (Do they clean up or help pack?)

Tip: Try to find an office removals company that includes everything. For example the trucks, boxes, and cleanup. If you can’t find a company to cover all the bases, then just move on to the next steps.

3. Pick out business removals boxes

At first glance, this task seems simple and easy; why do it months in advance? Just take a look at the extensive selection of moving boxes and crates on the market, and you’ll understand why. There are giant stackable crates, rentable bins, classic cardboard boxes, moving pods, and more. Give Van-247delivery commercial furniture removal a call for advice.

Your box selection should be as individual as your move. Arrive at the perfect box decision by considering your budget, your timeline, your inventory, and your moving manpower.

4. Lockdown moving trucks and loading or unloading locations

If you haven’t chosen to go with an all-in-one office removal company that manages pricing and securing trucks, then you should definitely tackle this to-do early.

You’ll want to pinpoint the same features for the trucks as you did for your office movers:

• Flexibility (If you need them to come early or stay late, will they accommodate you without fees?)
• Fee structure (Do they charge overage if you get stuck in traffic?)
• Reviews and reliability (What are former customers saying?)
• Services included (Do they clean up or help pack?)

Once you have trucks lined up, it’s time to coordinate arrivals and departures. Work with your current and new building managers to find ideal loading and unloading times and spaces. The spaces need to accommodate your moving trucks without disrupting traffic. If either building has underground loading docks, then make sure your trucks will clear all entrances and exits.

5. Select a cleaning service and cleanup crew

If your office movers don’t clean up your old space, then you need to find someone to do that—unless your building will handle it. (Ask your building manager about this if you’re not sure. You don’t want to pay for unnecessary cleaning, and you also don’t want to get stuck with fees for not cleaning.)

Does your new building include an ongoing cleaning service? If not, then you will need to set that up. If you’re pleased with the service in your current building, then find out if that company can clean your new place and simply update the address on your existing service contract.

6. Do a few walks

Even the most detail-oriented people can miss a few moving details. Do a few long, slow walks around the office and make notes, especially when you notice things that could:

• Present moving obstacles
• Require major preparation
• Be easily forgotten

You might have a giant, permanently affixed company sign that will require major manpower for office clear out furniture removal and reinstallation.

7. Downsize

If you use your pre-move time wisely, you could actually reduce the items you even have to move. Take some time to carefully review inventory and tag items with throw-away stickers. You can do one purge a week so you don’t get overwhelmed. The long, slow effort will help you avoid haphazardly discarding things at the last minute… just because you don’t feel like packing. (It also helps you avoid packing and moving a bunch of junk you really don’t need.)

8. Plan an office warehouse sale if needed

If you’re getting rid of big-ticket items, such as desks and chairs, plan an office warehouse sale so you can recoup some money to put toward new items.

9. Start packing

Start packing early to avoid an overwhelming commercial furniture removal. Complete the process in short, manageable increments. Divide your items into a three-pronged list. Get going on “early bird” items and make a packing plan for the others.

• Early birds. These are rarely used, but “keeper” items you can pack immediately and never miss.
• Make-do items. These are items that are nice to have, but not crucial.
• Absolute necessities. These are the items you’ll need to pack the day before, or even the day of, the move.

10. Host office moving committee meetings

Evaluating the scale of your move should tell you how frequently this group will need to meet. Usually, weekly meetings should cover all the bases.

Figure out exactly what you want to discuss or get help on before the meetings. Send out a simple agenda so attendees can come to the meeting with ideas in tow.

Your first few meetings will probably revolve around planning and talking. Try to get some good packing and organising into your meetings as you get closer to move-in day.

11. Talk to employees

Continue your ongoing conversation with your employees. They will have questions.

Here’s how to focus your office furniture removals communications in this phase:

• As questions come in, post them into your communications in Question and Answer format. With hope, this will reduce the questions flooding your inbox.
• Status updates. Everyone will want to know what’s going on. Tell employees what items you have completed and what you have yet to accomplish so everyone feels informed.
• Changes in day-to-day life. Pinpoint how the move will affect employees’ day-to-day routines. Definitely cover parking in the new office space, especially if it’s a different structure than the one your old building uses. If there will be space assignments, passes, or fobs, then employees will want to know when they will receive those items.
• New neighbourhood information, especially if you’re planning a long-distance move. Tell employees about local emergency numbers, places to eat, amenities, transportation hubs, etc. If you have the time, turn this information into a dedicated web page or packet.
• Reiterate vital information from the announcement email. This is not repetitive; it’s helpful. (In fact, this info is so crucial, you might want to print notices to post around the office to make sure everyone commits the new information to memory.)
  – New office name and address
  – Moving date/dates
  – Key features of the new space

The office furniture removal specialists also agree that communicating key office moving information with your employees is vital and have some useful productivity office hacks you can use once you’ve moved to your new office space.

12. Create new seating arrangements

For this step, you’ll want to get a detailed floor plan for the new office if you don’t already have one. There are also online tools available to you to manage office seating in the new floor plan.

Use the employee feedback you collected to draw up the new plan. Send it out for everyone to review so you have plenty of time to make any requested changes.

Set a cut-off date for changes; you will need an absolutely final seating chart to make the rest of your packing a success.

Phase 3: Moving and Organising

3 – 0 months before the move

1. Label the boxes and the new office space to ensure everything goes to the right place

The office move london experts recommend coming up with a labeling system that makes it crystal clear where all the boxes should go.

You can use any system you want (letters and numbers or colours and shapes) as long as the labels on the boxes correspond with the labels in the new office space. This will make it easy for office movers to match.

For example, you can give every team a colour, and every employee a number. Mark sections of the office with tape matching the team’s colour, and mark each individual’s space with their number. Give employees labels with their colours and number to put on their boxes.

2. Talk to employees

Your last few moving communications should clear up any last-minute employee questions and concerns. Let everyone know:

• Where they need to be (Provide any necessary building access information. Before you relay this information, you’ll need to secure any necessary key codes to hand out.)
• What they need to do, especially packing and labeling instructions.

Also, push out those key office moving details just one more time:

• New office name and address
• Moving date/dates
• Key features of the new space

3. Connect all utilities in the old building

Connect the phone systems, electricity, internet, and water at the new office. Disconnect any service related to your old building, unless a building manager handles that.

4. Finish packing absolute necessities

Yep, it’s time… You’re almost there.

5. Create an organising and decorating plan

Just as you planned to pack in phases, you can plan to unpack, organise and decorate in phases. Consider transitioning your Commercial Furniture Removal committee members into a permanent “office design committee” to help you.

You’ll probably find your unpacking and organising plan mirrors your packing plan in many ways.

• Unpack absolute necessities. What items do you need to unpack and organise immediately to help employees do their best work?
• Unpack make-do items. What items could wait a week or two?
• Unpack out-of-sight, out-of-mind items. (How can you organise items people rarely use but still need?
• Polish and spruce. Now that everything has a place, how can you tweak and improve the organisation of your new office? What decorations and design work does the new space need?)

6. Frequently check on the new building

Check-in with your new building manager often to make sure everything is going smoothly. Ensure that all utilities were connected.

Plan a walkthrough about two weeks out to make sure everything is clean and intact, ready for your team.

7. Request help with unpacking absolute necessities

Focus your appeal on any IT experts in your company. A majority of your necessities might require wiring and connecting computers and phones.

8. Move! Van-247delivery Commercial Furniture Removal is ready to help

9. Unpack the absolute necessities you established above

10. Plan a party to celebrate your Commercial Furniture Removal success

We at Van-247delivery use the term “party” loosely. You’ll probably be just a smidge tired after the office move. But that’s all the more reason to celebrate your hard work. Get some champagne or non-alcoholic bubbly and some simple, healthy snacks, and you’ve got yourself a party.

By now you should be an office move expert!

Van-247delivery Office Furniture Removals

Book your Office Furniture Removals with Van-247delivery, whether you are expanding or just changing locations.

For office removal costs you can contact us at +44 (0) 204-552-3383 or fill out a form at https://van-247delivery.com/office-removals/  One of our office move agents will call you within 5 minutes. If you would like to read more about local office removal companies read our articles in Office Removals London Moving Trends

Van-247delivery, Delivers with Pride, choose us for your next Office Move.

References 

https://prioritymovingservices.com/moving-blog/office-relocation-checklist/

https://prioritymovingservices.com/moving-blog/office-layout-ideas/

https://teambuilding.com/blog/office-moves-tips

https://van-247delivery.com/office-removals-london-moving-trends/

https://van-247delivery.com/office-removals/

https://van-247delivery.com/

https://van-247delivery.com/office-movers-get-your-van-247-move-plan-here/

https://van-247delivery.com/office-relocation-companies-organisational/

https://van-247delivery.com/office-move-london-what-we-offer/