Should employees help with moving offices?

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A question that boggles every mind that ponders a commercial move. And really, should employees help with moving offices? Especially when you already plan on hiring office movers. The only proper answer would probably be: most likely, yes. An office move is a rather complicated undertaking. Especially if your office is prodigious in size. When employees help with moving offices things are usually moving faster. Still, this may not be the case at all times. Let us see what is there to consider when this question comes up.

Are there any obvious pros and cons when employees help with moving offices?

Yes, and both are dependant on your employees. That is, what kind of people they are. Now, we believe that you choose carefully when making your office team. However, moving is a rather special kind of situation. Namely, you have to keep working well, as if nothing was going on, whilst conducting a big change. People who handle stress well will probably find this relocation not to be much of a challenge. On the other hand, people who flourish under order and a straight schedule will find it much harder to cope.

With this in mind, when you approach the idea of your employees helping with moving offices, know that the outcome can vary greatly. If your staff is up to the challenge, you will see:

• well-organized bunch showing the meaning of efficiency and speed.
• your business functioning without much to any hinderances, despite the adversity.
• the best movers in Manhattan being pleasantly surprised by your exquisite moving preparation.
• an office relocation that is being carried out in a meticulous fashion.

That said, if your staff is unbalanced in terms of dealing with stress, this relocation can wreak havoc in your usual business conducting. You will witness:

• nervous breakdowns, anxiety, and general stress throughout your office. Stress is contagious, and calm people can succumb to the influence of a nervous bunch or even individual.
• your business failing to handle even the simplest everyday tasks, due to the employees who cannot focus and prioritize well.
• the movers you hired taking more time to handle your move, thus costing you more money.
• an office relocation that makes you question your decisions.

How to recognize your potential scenario?

You will need a bit of intuition and experience. Still, you are probably already familiar with the ways your employees work under pressure. Now, if your relocation means moving a whole company, all with a big number of people, chances are you don’t know everyone’s habits and personal traits. If this is the case, it would be best that you have a word with their superiors, that are also people of your personnel. Still, moving a large office is hardly imaginable without the help of your employees, whichever way you look at it. Not everyone will get a chance to help. However, those that you trust the most with your everyday business challenges and tasks are also the people you will entrust with numerous moving chores.

Now, it is important to know which people are good for certain tasks, in order to get the best outcome. For example, you don’t want to let Mike from accounting handle the packing of delicate electronic devices. Let Mike manage the inventory, and work on that checklist. He would be much less of a hazard when left with his pen and paper. You would let George ‘the computer guy’ from IT handle the electronics since he is dealing with them every other day.

The tasks you need to consider

The key to every successful office relocation is proper organization. You need to start making plans as soon as you realize that the move is happening. Your trusted employees can help with this initial step. A good plan that you hold in your hands would consist of a timeframe and all the important steps, without going too much in detail. That doesn’t mean that things are done on a whim. Namely, after you’ve defined all the steps, more elaborate chore descriptions would find their place on other lists that go to your relocation coordinators. For example, a section of your plan would look as follows:

1. Establishing the budget for the move, as well as the purchasing process
2. Office decluttering
3. Finding a moving company
4. Getting packing supplies
5. Define packing and unpacking locations

Meanwhile, a part of a checklist that includes the second point (office decluttering), would consist of:

1. separating items that no longer have function or purpose
2. studying the layout of the new office and defining the necessary objects
3. making sure the objects who are not on that list have a place and a purpose
4. collecting all redundancies
5. seeing if anything can be donated. If not, finding a proper place for tossing or recycling

 Every big project is best started with a plan

As you can see, there are many things to consider before answering the question of whether your employees should help with moving offices. If you find it too hard to deal with organizing your people to go about your relocation, do not hesitate from asking for advice. Even if it’s from them. As with every other well-functioning business, communication is key. See where the problem lays, and find a way to fix it. If a certain person is finding it too hard to combine their everyday tasks with the chores of moving, consider allowing them to take care of only one thing. If you want your staff to help, and also get a successful move as a result, everyone needs to be on board with the course of action. So, start planning on time, make a quality team of people who you trust the most to organize larger groups of employees, find a reliable moving company, and all else will work out just fine.