Planning an office move in Chicago takes time, organization, and help from your employees. Having some commercial relocation experience is a huge bonus. But since people move homes more often than offices, that can be hard to come by.
That’s where the best commercial movers in Chicago come in. We’ve put together this guide to help you plan a smooth office move that minimizes your company’s downtime, fits into your budget, and lets you hit the ground running in your new facility.
Create Your Commercial Relocation Timeline and Checklist
The first step in coordinating an office move in Chicago is to take a close look at your timeline. If possible, start the planning process at least two months in advance. The more time you have, the better prepared you’ll be to get your team ready for a seamless transition to your new office.
It might be easiest to look at the date you have to be out of your old facility and work backwards to create your commercial relocation timeline. Then, you can map out both your timeline and checklist. For example:
- 8 weeks ahead: Notify your employees of the move and start researching local commercial moving companies. If your office has machinery that requires specially trained technicians to disassemble and reassemble, contact the manufacturer directly.
- 7 weeks ahead: Obtain moving estimates from at least three professional office movers.
- 6 weeks ahead: Book your moving company. This is also a good time to create a strategy for informing your customers and vendors about your move, including updating your website and marketing materials.
- 4 weeks ahead: Create a detailed layout of your new facility. This should be a scaled drawing of the offices, cubicles, common areas, warehouse, and any other amenities your new location will include.
- 3 weeks ahead: Provide packing supplies to your employees so they have ample time to prepare. Many companies opt for eco-friendly reusable moving crates over cardboard boxes to minimize both waste and cost.
- 1 week ahead: Confirm the final move-day logistics with your movers and perform a walkthrough of your old facility to address any last-minute items or to-dos.
Remember: the first priority is to plan a smooth relocation with as little disruption to your business’s daily operations as possible. For most companies, the second priority is to plan a budget-friendly office move in Chicago—and that requires getting accurate estimates.
Obtain Accurate Moving Estimates for Your Office Move in Chicago
For over a decade, Chicago has topped the list of corporate relocations for metropoles in the United States. When it’s time for you to head into the Windy City from the surrounding areas or plan a commercial relocation within the city limits, one of your most important tasks is to get accurate estimates from local office movers.
Because there are so many intricacies involved in moving a business, sometimes the first step in obtaining an estimate is a phone call. Talk to a commercial specialist at your favorite Chicago moving company to see if they’ll schedule an on-site walkthrough of the facility you’ll soon be leaving. That way, they’ll be able to ask questions, take notes, and snap pictures before they create your custom estimate.
If an on-site walkthrough isn’t possible, your movers will need an inventory list along with pictures (and maybe even a video of your office and warehouse spaces). This will require some work, but it’s worth it! The more information you provide, the more accurate an estimate you’ll receive.
Delegate Tasks to Your Employees and Departments
No one person can schedule an entire office move in Chicago on their own. You’ll need to enlist the help of other teams and departments to help out. Here are a few to-dos you might want to delegate to other people in your company:
- Let the IT Department handle shutting down and packing up sensitive equipment like servers and computers.
- Pick a team of two or three people to handle the common areas like breakrooms, restrooms, and filing areas.
- Make sure every single employee knows the move dates and when they need to have their personal effects at their desks or offices boxed up.
Communication is key throughout the commercial relocation process. Be clear and proactive with all team members as your moving day approaches. You’ll also have to consider that due to the natural ebb and flow of your industry, some departments might be busier than others during the move. Help the employees who are buried in daily tasks by asking people from other teams to lend a hand.
For many businesses moving throughout Chicagoland, it’s simply not an option to interrupt operations to pack for a move. The good news is that you can bring in a professional packing service to help out. Basically, a crew of expert packers will arrive at your facility a day or two before the move to wrap, box, and label items that your employees don’t have time to touch.
Prepare for a Smooth Move Day
As your move date approaches, you can start preparing for the big day. Take one last look at your moving checklist to make sure you’re on track and that no details have slipped through the cracks. Walk through your facility to check on each department to make sure they’re making good progress, and find some extra helpers if any teams are running behind.
The day of your office move, try to have just a few key people at your old facility. While your Department Heads can answer questions about their team’s equipment and boxes, having the entire company on-site can cause confusion and clog up the hallways and stairwells that the movers will need to use. In other words, try not to have too many cooks in the kitchen on the actual move day.
Before your movers arrive, you’ll also need to ensure that the pathways from your shipping docks or doorways are clear. Remove any outdoor debris like leaves or snow (depending on the season you’re moving in) and give the movers a nice, open walkway to their truck. The better prepared you and your facility are, the smoother—and quicker—your move day will be.
Planning an Office Move in Chicago? Time to Call in the Commercial Relocation Specialists at Move-tastic!
As Chicago’s favorite commercial relocation experts, we can’t wait to help you plan your office move in Chicago. It starts with a phone call or an email so we can learn about your move…and it ends with an outstanding moving experience that helps your company get right back to business.