Recently, I was asked to consult for a non-profit agency who are planning an office move. Now, way back when I was a wee lass (before the internet!), I worked for an office furniture design house. I took on my very first project management role there, managing a move for a large corporation and interfacing with the design team. At that point, I was in way over my head, but 20+ years later, I have project managed many moves and wanted to share some expertise with you.
Attached to this blog post is a checklist that is appropriate for a small office move. When I met with the non-profit, we discussed their needs, their budget, and their timeline, and as often happens with non-profits, they decided that they had the capacity to handle their needs in-house, without calling in consulting reinforcement.
When planning a move, it’s really important to clearly define roles and expectations. Working within even a very basic online project management tool (e.g. Trello or Asana), create checklists with assigned duties that provide transparency to the entire team. The earlier you can contract with a moving company, the easier the move will be. And when you move can be a great time to revisit retention policies, vendor contracts, and a host of other business essentials – from your network infrastructure to functional office arrangements.