
Office moves are rare, but when it’s time for one, you have to do it right.
Not only do they cost a lot up front, but office moves tend to be quite disruptive. Staff who normally have to be in the office will have to work from home, and if you do choose to implement some sort of office rotations during the transition period, you’ll have skeletal workforces that rotate between staff members at best.
Those in the office will face all the noise and extra movement that an office move creates, which is just distracting. To put it simply, office moves cost money. A lot of money. When you decide on an office move, you have to ensure that it’s a smooth process with minimal hitches, so you can minimize your losses as well.
One of the important factors that goes into an office move is the time of the year to do it. You’ll want to do it outside the busy seasons, so productivity hits are not too impactful. So when is the best time of the year for an office move?
Time your office move outside the May-August busy season
For moving companies, their “peak season” is from May-August. During these times, demand for movers is at its highest, which means that it may be hard for you to book an office move during these months. The moving company may also have its resources stretched thin as it tries to cater to all its clients.
The reason for the peak in demand during these months is that families are timing their moves so that they don’t coincide with the children’s school year. Additionally, college students renting dorms and apartments start moving in around these months too so they’re settled just in time for school to start.
Offices are not as bound to school years as schools are, so try to time your move outside this busy season. Specifically, the winter and spring seasons are when demand is lowest, so schedule your office move for September-April.
Moving in winter is considerably cheaper because demand is at its lowest. However, you’ll have to take extra precautions to protect office equipment. Depending on your exact location, the icy winter roads can create more precarious situations for the movers, so it may cost you a little extra to ensure that all your stuff gets to where it should go safely.
Early spring is one of the best seasons of the year to plan your office move because the weather is not as harsh as winter, but demand is not yet at its peak. This is also when most end-of-year school activities happen, so you don’t have to worry about competing with families for the same movers.
It’s best to start your move in the middle of the month
For any given month, regardless of the season, demand for moving companies peaks at around the start and end dates of the month. This is because leases begin on the first day of the month, so most people (individual renters and offices included) time their office moves around these times.
To avoid everyone else’s moves coinciding with yours, it’s best to schedule your first move date at the middle of the month, when the demand is lower. This way, the moving company has more resources to allocate to your needs, and it doesn’t have to juggle as many clients.
Weekdays are best for moving
So you’ve settled on a month and a week and the next question is: What day should you start your move?
Well, if your operations can afford it, it’s best to move during a weekday. Now you might ask, wouldn’t it be better to move during a weekend, when nobody’s at work?
You wouldn’t be wrong there. Moving during a weekend can minimize costs if you’re in a smaller office and don’t have much to pack.
But that’s also what everyone else is thinking, which is why the demand for movers climbs during weekends. Although planning your office move on the weekend can reduce initial costs, it can ultimately increase its time to finish the office move.
If your office can afford flexible work schedules, and your industry is one where people can work from home, you’re better off taking the hit early on so the whole moving process can occur faster.
Mondays to Thursdays are the best times in a week to move, so plan ahead and let your employees know so that they can make the necessary adjustments as soon as possible.
The best time of day to move depends on your business activities
Naturally, it’s best to decide on a time that doesn’t interfere too much with your business operations. Early mornings are more favored by moving companies because the drivers don’t have to deal with the sweltering noontime heat, but if your office regularly meets and interacts with clients, you may have to adjust your moving hours.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, there is no standard right or wrong decision as to when it is the best time of the year to move. You’ll have to consider plenty of factors, and these factors are mostly unique to your office situation.
The bigger the office, the longer the moving can take, so the most essential thing to do is always plan your move months, if not a year, ahead. Make sure to notify all your employees so that you don’t have to deal with last-minute hitches.
But as a general rule of thumb, the “mid-year, mid-month, mid-week” works for most offices. When moving companies see the least demand, you don’t have to pay more for the project.
Longer moves cost more money, so it’s always best to make sure that you do everything right in one go. That way, when you start operations in your new office, everybody is primed and ready to pick up right where you left off.
Interested in more tips for office relocation? Check out our services at Planwell Strategies.
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