How to avoid disruption when moving your business in Chicago
There are many reasons why a business decides to relocate its office. For some, this might be a way to expand their business, opt for a better geographical location or simply secure space for the future of the company. With that in mind, one could say that company relocation usually represents progress. However, this progress should not stand in the way of properly relocating. Namely, today we talk about ways to avoid disruption when moving your business and what you should pay attention to. Even if you decide to hire the best movers in Chicago, that can not guarantee for your business during the process of moving. Because of that, you need to organize and prepare for this move to minimalize your losses.
How to avoid disruption when moving your business
As with any relocation, moving your business means that you should have a plan to start with. This plan will guide you through the relocation process, assuring minimal losses and delays. Moreover, being aware of potential issues that might arise when moving is a good precautionary measure to take.
Many business owners will state that relocating an office might be one of the most stressful parts of running a business. It will require organization, both time and staff management, as well as patience and careful planning. So, before you hire commercial movers Chicago, make sure that you:
- Start planning early
- Hire a relocation project manager
- Involve your staff in the process
- Let clients and partners know about the move
- Minimise downtime when moving an office
Start planning early
As with many relocations, your best chance of doing everything right is to start as early as possible. Starting early means having enough time to plan everything out. More importantly, as time will be of the essence, you should make sure you use every second of it. Be aware that this relocation will not only affect your business and partners but will also have emotional stress on your staff.
By starting early, you will have everything according to plan and without delays and will allow your staff to adjust and accept this relocation. As office relocation can often be quite stressful – make sure you are ready for it. Avoid any potential delays and work on it step-by-step.
Hire a relocation project manager
As you have enough time to work on everything and you let your staff know about the move – consider hiring a project manager to help you. Namely, a project manager should be a person with adequate knowledge regarding office relocation. Their job will be to help get everything ready for the move. Moreover, they will be the ones who will contact moving companies, organize everything, get moving estimates – such as moving quotes Chicago. This is so you can focus on other important decisions and work on your part of the job. With the project manager running the process, they will inform you about any changes, issues or potential ways to speed up the process. More importantly, having a person focus solely on the move will leave little-to-none relocation errors that might occur.
Involve your staff to avoid disruption when moving your business
To avoid disruption means to accommodate your team with useful information about the move. For instance, choosing an office that does not fit into the team spirit of your employees might damage their morale. More importantly, things like this can even make some people quit their jobs. We understand that it is almost impossible to satisfy the preference of everyone on your staff. However, this does not mean that you should not take their suggestions into consideration. Allow your staff to communicate what they expect to come out of this and work together to a common goal. After all, this office will be their new working environment and should accommodate their needs.
Let clients and partners know about the move
The best way to avoid disruption when moving your business is to make sure everyone who works with you knows about it. Apart from your employees, your partners, as well as your clients, should be aware of this relocation. If you have several partners you understand how crucial their services are to your business. For that reason, you need to let them know that you are about to move. This will allow you to work out a way to continue your partnership or give you time to find a new one. Some of the ways to do that are via e-mail or simply by publishing it at the top of your company website. Regardless of how you do it, this will help you avoid losing customers or losing partners in the most crucial time for your business.
Minimize downtime when moving office
One of the biggest disadvantages of moving office is the loss of productivity in the company. More importantly, avoiding downtime as much as possible is advisable at all times. Namely, you should, before you start to move, work on a plan on how to stay in business until the moving day. There are several ways to do this and they all involve a solid plan of action. For instance, you can separate your staff into two teams working 4-hour shifts.
This way, you will reduce the stress your workers are feeling and have them maintain their productivity levels. Moreover, you can separate the work they have to do until the moving day. Downtime will not only create stressful situations but can also have financial consequences for your business. If you want to properly avoid disruption when moving your business, simply plan out the activities of your employees.