What’s in an Office?
A well-designed office serves the needs of your business from top to bottom, facilitating business operations rather an impeding them. Motivation for an office move is as diverse as small and medium businesses are.
No matter ‘why’ the move is necessary, here are a few fundamentals to make your move smoother.
#1 Recognize the Human Element in Play
Personnel – Any workplace move will bring up a range of emotions in Staff. From excitement to disappointment as opinions vary regarding altered commutes and changes to the workspace. Management can help things stay on the positive side by taking Personnel into consideration from the beginning. Initiating communication and inviting comment is a great way to ensure that those affected – feel that they have an opportunity to voice their values and concerns.
Invest in communication with the individuals that form the core of your business. Keeping them up-to-date and in the loop regarding the move; will go a long way towards fostering and retaining their respect regardless of whether or not they desire the move.
#2 Keep Time in Mind
Timelines – A reasonable and well-considered timeline can be a valuable important tool.
• Ensure all Service Providers are notified timeously.
• Schedule installations or call-outs to sort the new space requirements.
• Contact those affected ahead of time and remind them again of the move closer to the date.
• Host “planning and coordination” meetings with Staff.
• Organize Employee keys &/ other access arrangements for the new office.
• Create a labelling system and implement it with pre-packing where possible.
• Plan a complete move from a Friday to Sunday if possible.
*NCX professionals allow for the benefits of a single-vendor.
#3 Thorough Equipment & Installation Needs Review
Ensuring that the correct technology moves with you and that installation happens without hassle is a priority of any business move.
Most offices have multiple generations of tech devices lying around and multiple chords that no one can quite explain. We recommend a review of what is in the existing office such that you can mitigate the unnecessary expenses of moving the things that are not in-use or adding value.
• Declutter! Assess, categorize, and sort the ‘stuff’ in your existing workspace. Now is the ideal time to re-home printers that deserve to be ‘put-down’, donate old phones, and dispose of broken chairs and the like. Decide what can be donated, recycled or sold.
• Archive! Now is an optimal time to sort out any excess of paper files. Find out which regulatory requirements are to be taken into account. Keep only what you need. Consider taking benefiting from digital archiving services; such that you don’t have to pay to move and store paper documents. However, be sure note the following point…
• Locate the essential business paperwork and set it aside securely so that it is not misplaced.
#4 A Disruption in Connectivity would be a Disruption in Business
Companies do differ, but for the majority; the daily business operations are supported by the fundamental pillar of Connectivity. As such it is vital to ensure that connectivity disruption is at an absolute minimum during an office move. Pay particular attention to the fitting of the new office space to adequately ensure it has the specifications of what is required for your business to operate.
If your business is cloud-centred your move can be as easy as plugging in and starting up. For more on Cloud Services, please click here. Complete data backups directly before the move. Ensure passwords and system access is secure.
• Check whether the new office is sufficiently equipped with the required wiring, cables, plug points, security, and the like.
• Appoint a move coordinator, design the office’ floor-plan, and tag the new space with allocation markings that guide and direct on move days i.e., where devices, desks, servers etc. should be placed.
• Bring the Technical Team to site to install, connect & test equipment before your general Staff arrive. *NCX professionals are an ideal solution for this task.
• Server Relocation:
◦ Offsite Server – Congratulations, prepare to reap the benefits of convenience as nothing special needs to happen for your office move.
◦ Onsite Server – Servers require expert assistance. Plan the move over a weekend so the server can be turned off for the entirety of the move. If turning the server off is not acceptable, the questions shifts to one of duplication. Click here, to speak to an NCX Professional about how this might be done.
Choose appropriate, practiced, and properly insured and bonded movers, do not depend on rookies/make-do’s for expensive and sensitive server relocations.
Planning Precedes Success
We are Office Automation Professionals, so for us, concise intelligent flow is a beautiful thing. A prepared and thought-out plan that is well executed can be a lovely testimony to how humans can cooperate.
Before getting lost in details, get grounded with a big picture overview. If your office is a hodgepodge of outdated mismatched devices – now is the ideal time to streamline equipment and infrastructure that makes work easier instead of making more work!
Some Inspiration:
• Read “If a Bank can go Paperless so can You”.
• Read “How to connect Staff’ home offices”
• NCX Home Office Solutions Package
Simplifying an Office Relocation:
NCX Press Solutions
On-Call Office Experts
NCX IT Professionals provide a wide range of expert services for the modern SME.
• From performing an IT Audit to installing remote connectivity for home offices; our service makes getting it done, pain free.
• Gain all the advantages of a single vendor with NCX.
• Benefit from our individualized service and our team’s ability to sort out infrastructure in your new office before your business arrives.
• Allow us to honestly determine what can be ‘smartened’, streamlined, or consolidated in your existing office systems.
• Strengthen your cyber security shields for peace of mind before, during and after your move.
The NCX Team goes beyond ticking the boxes of your contract. We listen and learn your business such that we can be valuable team players. We provide products and services appropriate to your company priorities, values, and needs. Your business success is tied to our success. Contact NCX today.
Contact us on: 010 035 1218
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