Director of Special Projects: Office Relocation

Getting started is always challenging, this article will help. Add content, remove items, rephrase, do as you wish but do not procrastinate. Set goals, prioritize, moving is always complicated.

Project development and space selection

• Determine a time frame and project schedule
• Conduct a site survey and facility review of current and proposed locations
• Create a floor plan for your new space that identifies work stations, equipment centers, offices, conference room needs, fixtures and other support spaces
• Hire an architect if needed for new construction, upgrades and/or build-outs
•  Create a move budget

Technology

•       Conduct complete IT infrastructure assessment of current and proposed locations
•       Inventory of all IT assets
•       Evaluate current cabling and network industry best practices
•       Review pending IT upgrades for potential project consolidation
•       Identify critical business and support applications
•       Evaluate network downtime options versus redundant hardware and applications during cut over
•       Develop desktop relocation support strategy and resources
•       Establish power, AC, ventilation, network and equipment positioning requirements

Furniture selection

•       Develop furniture selection criteria and specifications
•       Update or develop complete furniture inventory
•       Consider your furniture options:
•       Reuse your existing furniture
•       Repurpose existing furniture
•       Purchase new furniture
•       Purchase refurbished options
•       Sell/decommission old furniture

Telephones

•        Make decision to order new phone system or relocate existing
•        Order new telephone numbers from phone company and/or transfer existing numbers
•        Order new phone/data

Security

•       Establish a list of access levels for employees
•       Decide if any specialty areas need additional security
•       Decide which areas need additional fire suppression
•       Determine the type of monitoring required for employees and facility
•       Select new or transfer existing vendor for monitoring security system
•       Maintain security plan in vacated space until turnover

Communication

•       Establish an internal communication plan for employees:
•       New building rules
•       Parking procedures
•       Move dates
•       Move and packing procedures
•       Network outage and contingency plan
•       Revised telephone and fax numbers
•       Required HR postings
•     Establish an external communication plan for customers, suppliers, service/utility providers and other pertinent vendors (i.e. accountant, attorney, insurance agent, etc.)

Examples

•       Change address and phone number
•       Order new stationery and business cards
•       Order new signage
•       Update company vehicle signage
•       Change vehicle registration
•       Change website to reflect new address/phone numbers
•       Notify post office
•       Revise advertising (including the Yellow Pages and other directories)

Document management

•       Determine off-site storage needs
•       Determine on-site storage needs
•       Assign filing space for departments
•       Schedule recurring document destruction days with vendor
•       Dispose of or archive old files (consider sensitive documents)

Move preparation

• Select department move coordinators
• Determine building restrictions for move hours
• Schedule elevator access at both origin and destination
• Schedule parking and unloading at new site
• Obtain any special moving and/or parking permits
• Have a member of your IT staff on site during the disconnect and reconnect of servers and data centers or consider outside support
• Arrange to have the following sensitive items packed and moved:
• Computers
• Telephone equipment
• Networking equipment and servers
• Establish seating assignments
• Determine packing needs for employees
• Determine common area packing requirements
• Develop plan for protection of confidential information
• Establish a packing schedule; determine what can be packed in advance and what areas are packed last so your business can continue to operate as efficiently as possible with the least amount of interruption
• Establish and communicate packing/labeling guidelines; if you use a professional mover, custom packing instructions and labels should be provided
• Obtain packing supplies; be sure to ask the moving company about crate rental versus corrugated material – saves time, money and is better for the environment
• Ensure boxes are properly packed and labeled with office location, importance and content
• Arrange for protection of floors, walls and elevators

Vendors to consider hiring

• Moving
• Furniture installation/reconfiguration
• Architectural
• Cabling
• Telephone/data (POTS, T-1, ISDN, DSL)
• Network (upgrade, back up, prepare for move)
• Security system
• Secure document destruction and removal
• Janitorial
• Plant maintenance
• Catering