Christmas Office Relocations

If you are looking to relocate your business, why not consider moving over the Christmas period?

With any move, issues can arise when transporting equipment, and installing networks and phone lines can take time. Such issues can have an impact on the daily running of your business; relocating over Christmas is ideal for companies that want to avoid the business downtime that moving during other times of the year could incur. 

It also enables companies to start the new year afresh, in a new location and offers possible opportunities for rebranding or expansion.

Tracking Items Over The Christmas Move

Ensuring your Christmas move runs smoothly requires careful planning and organization. Every item that is being relocated should be listed, with copies available to everyone involved in the moving process. Each computer workstation (monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse and cables) should be packed in sets and boxes should be labelled so that time is saved when they arrive at the new office.

If you are considering a Christmas office relocation, why not contact the team at Edward Baden to find out how we can help you?

5 Tips For Making The Most Of An Empty Office

With Christmas fast approaching and many offices closing over the Christmas period, an empty office can be, in fact, the perfect Christmas gift for your business.

“An Empty Office Doesn’t Have To Be Empty”

While your company is having some Christmas down time, here are 5 tips for what to do with your empty office.

1) Declutter

Look around your current office environment. Are the desks tidy? Imagine you are a client visiting – what impression would your office give? Use the empty office time to sort through your office and throw out anything that is not needed.  

2) Repaint

We know how good the rooms in our homes look after a repaint, so why not treat your office to a fresh coat of paint? Current colour schemes can be continued, or new colours (and even rebranding) can be introduced.

3) Renew

Does your office furniture look tired and dated? An empty office is an ideal time to disconnect computers, remove old furniture, install new desks and chairs and reinstate computer systems (or even upgrade them!).

4) New Layout

Offices can often look totally different if there is a new layout. Use an empty office as an opportunity to play around with layout ideas. However, don’t forget it will need to work once “bodies are in seats” – a new layout may look great in an empty office but may not be practical once staff are in the room working.

5) Organize

Organization is key – everything should have its place in your office. Ensure files and documents are stored neatly and are accessible. When your new look office is unveiled to your workforce, take time to discuss your expectations as to how things should be kept. If your office organization is maintained, your new look office will still look new come next December!

How are you going to make the most of YOUR empty office this Christmas?

Planning A Relocation

Whether you are planning an office relocation to acquire more room, to lower operating costs or to modernize equipment and facilities, identifying the best time for your relocation is vital.

Although disruption to the everyday running of your business sometimes cannot be avoided, when planning a relocation it is important to consider relocating during “quieter” periods of the year to help avoid as much business down time as possible. 

Each relocation is different, and depending on your circumstances, you may find that relocating out of office hours is an available option (particularly if your relocation is local and you have a “transfer period” between old and new sites). You may also find that weekends or Bank Holiday Weekends are sufficient. 

However it is often recommended that larger office relocations take place during school holidays and Christmas holidays; periods that will cause the least amount of disruption.

Points To Consider When Planning A Relocation

Plan In Advance: Many office relocation errors and problems are the result of working on a tight schedule. When little time is given, choices become fewer, mistakes are made due to rushing and as a result costs rise. It is recommended that you should be thinking about an office move plan at least a year before your current lease expires.

Have a schedule: If you have relocated before, revisit your previous office move plan – was it effective? Having a schedule enables office relocation to be structured and allows things to be done in the correct order e.g. cabling for networks and phones. When planning your office relocation, keep all your relocation-related documents in one, easy to find place.

Budget: Office moves can easily go over budget, particularly if this is a first time move or you are unaware of costs. As with any move, there are often unplanned costs and it is more common to go over budget than be under budget so when setting a budget leave “breathing room” to allow for this.

Relocation Co-ordinator: Appoint a relocation co-ordinator to plan your office relocation project. The co-ordinator will need to be highly organized as they will be running the relocation project as well as their regular job, and will be responsible for all aspects of the project.

Consider Rebranding: As well as moving office, relocation also allows opportunity for rebranding. When planning your company relocation, consider interior design and logo redesign – would this benefit your business?

Choose Carefully: Although quickly looking up a service provider in the phone book saves time, it can also create problems if the quality of their work is not up to standard. Well-vetted service providers are essential for your office relocation to be a success. Take time to research – are the companies you are hiring to provide a service or product familiar with office moves? Are they endorsed by a trusted third party? Try to get recommendations from trusted professionals.

Security: Relocating an office is a hectic time and quite often valuable items such as equipment and furniture are left unattended for periods of time. Ensure security measures are in place and are working when you arrive at your new office. Any business sensitive equipment e.g. servers should be stored in a lockable room to prevent theft or tampering. Many thefts occur when moving trucks are left open and unattended so in order to protect your equipment and furniture, ensure someone is monitoring the trucks at all times during the move.

Relocating IT: Bad IT relocation can cause major issues for a company, particularly if IT servers are affected.  Ensure your IT department backs up your data and a test recovery is performed before your IT equipment is moved off the premises.

Success in the City – Big City Relocations

Locating your business in a big city has several benefits. The hustle and bustle of a large metropolis seems to transfer its energy to the businesses and its residents, in this blog we are going to explore some of the other benefits to you and your business to relocating to a city.

A city workforce has more workers than a small city or town, thus you have access to a larger quality labour pool with a more varied skill set. A city environment offers businesses a variety of different target employees from different backgrounds bringing diversity to your business.

As well as accessing a diverse employee base, a diverse customer base is also available. Businesses are able to target a certain segment of customers, more prospective customers and higher visibility, especially great if you are in a niche market.

City infrastructures also offer great public transport links such as tubes, trains and busses that are easy and cheap for people to get to work, and for your customers to get to you. Locating in a cluster of innovation, as we have previously mentioned is great for businesses to thrive. Location can create synergy benefits via collaboration between businesses.

A city location also creates greater diversity of professional services to choose from to supplement your business such as accountants and advisers etc.

Not forgetting quality of life – Enabling your employees to access to a wider range of leisure activities such as theatres and shops.

Cities have a totally different set of assets, cultures, values, demographics and aesthetics and opportunities, so find the city that matches your business values and watch it prosper.

Edward Baden are relocation experts with a great wealth of experience in relocating businesses to cities where they can benefit from all these advantages. Get in contact today to find out more about our relocation service and speak to one of our industry experts.

Top Tips for a Seamless Office Move

Spring is in the air and it’s that time of year again when many of us are contemplating a move during the more forgiving summer months, so here are some top tips to ensure your office move is as pain free as possible – let’s face it we could all do with some advice in times of change!

First things first, if you fail to plan, then prepare to fail - we love this saying here at Edward Baden! Come up with a clear set of goals for your relocation. Have your goals agreed upon and finalised and don’t forget a contingency plan as it’s always best to have a plan B, just in case.

Ensure your figures are correct – set a budget and stick to it. Again, a contingency fund would be sensible for any overlooked and unexpected costs. This will enable you to take control of your spend. Edward Baden can cater for a range of budgets and has a multitude of experience in managing public sector relocations so has a plethora of experience in accommodating the most stringent of budgets.

Prepare a time plan – this will help you imagine the process and tick off any goals as they are completed; great for morale and keeping an eye on your critical path.

Prepare staff and facilities – let staff know way in advance you intentions for relocation, the importance of having your workforce working with you, not against you is paramount. In terms of facilities work out what

furniture and equipment will be going with you, what is redundant and what needs to be purchased for the new location, this will allow less lead time in the changeover.

For more top tips regarding your office relocation get in contact with one of our industry experts at Edward Baden today for a free consultation.

Keeping Positive when Relocating

They say moving house is stressful – not to mention an office move with numerous staff and equipment to coordinate! Because of this we have devised some handy tips to advise you how to de-stress in times of change.

Think positive: Keep positive, a positive mental attitude is key when embarking on an office location, think of it as a fresh start, something to be excited about; your business is hopefully moving somewhere more suitable and with better business prospects -  to do not become overwhelmed by change and worry.

Office politics are not something to be indulged. Let your workforce know the plans for relocation and any implications to them way in advance – they are your greatest asset, you need them on board, working with you, not against you and they will appreciate your honesty.

Make life easier for yourself and plan well in advance. Do your research so you feel confident in your actions and decisions. Also, have a contingency plan! Plan for those little hitches and snags along the way that could jeopardise the smooth running of your move.

For more tips and advice regarding your office relocation and to unload some of your stresses onto our industry experts get in contact with Edward Baden today for a high quality and bespoke office relocation service.   

Don’t Gamble when it comes to Office Relocation

Most people are partial to a flutter on the horses and here at Edward Baden HQ we are not ashamed to admit that Grand National fever has hit hard! (Our office sweepstake is hotting-up!) But - we are not advising you to gamble when it comes to office relocation.

 Your office relocation needs time, dedication and planning and is not something to venture into lightly. You cannot underestimate the amount of specialist knowledge needed to complete a successful relocation.

With many years experience and a highly skilled workforce Edward Baden is your sure bet, we understand that careful management, the ability to prepare for the unexpected and a strategic approach whatever the project are essential when implementing all aspects of corporate relocation.

From the specialist work of full officemoves, records management, Fine Art shipment and personal possessions storage, here at Edward Baden we will attend to the smallest detail and the most complex operations to ensure your challenges are met, and your expectations exceeded.

So good luck for Saturday’s Grand National, we hope your bets come in! But remember when it comes to your business, taking a risk it not advisable; put your money on Edward Baden, Contact us today.