Relocating Your Business on a Weekend? 5 Tips
Do you plan to relocate your business on a weekend? Weekend moves are a good choice for many businesses as this can prevent your customers and operations from being overly affected. But a weekend commercial move has its own challenges. What might you want to keep in mind as you plan a weekend move? Discover a few important tips.
1. Book Services Early
Weekends are often the most popular times for both residential and commercial relocations. This means you will have more stiff competition from all sides when reserving trucks and help as well as getting supplies.
Research and choose moving companies as early in the process as possible. Then, commit and book the pros as soon as is feasible in your plans. The longer you wait, the fewer options you will have, the less experienced companies you'll wind up with, and the more you'll pay.
2. Don't Make Employees Do It All
If moving outside business hours, limit your expectations for what employees must handle on their own. Expecting staff to work all week on their assigned jobs and then spend their weekend moving your company stuff is unfair to everyone. The result is likely to be reduced productivity during the week throughout your operation and stressed employees. The weekend move would also likely be rushed and haphazard.
Instead, outsource the work of sorting, packing, transporting, and placing items in the new location whenever possible. Talk with employees about what help they want and need and what they prefer to do themselves. Between moving services, reassignment of staff, and temporary services, you can usually find the assistance they need.
3. Plan Buffer Days
Moving on a weekend gives you at least two days to relocate without affecting business hours and your customers. But this may not be enough. Try to build dedicated buffer time before and after the big move so your employees can focus on preparing and then getting back up and running.
If you can schedule for a holiday weekend, this could be a good way to give everyone in the company a day to recover before welcoming back customers. If you can't, consider dedicating the following day to relocation work and pushing back most work obligations at least one day. You might also schedule some employees to work from home to handle those obligations.
4. Be More Prepared
It may be more convenient for your operation to move during a weekend, but this could cause logistical challenges. For example, many support services may not be open or may close earlier than otherwise. If you find yourself missing something important on the weekend, you won't have as many options to move forward. Therefore, your moving committee and planners should work hard to be more prepared than normal.
5. Stick to Your Timeline
If the purpose of relocating on a weekend is to minimize disruption, crafting a realistic timeline is key. This timeline should begin as early as possible, and everyone should keep up with it in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the move. The timeline should be honest and manageable. You can get help building a good moving schedule by including employees and experienced commercial movers.
If you fall behind on tasks that must be done before the move, the weekend move may not be limited to the weekend. So stay on top of this. If your staff isn't able to keep up with the timeline before or during the move, bring in extra help to get back on track.
Want more tips for a successful weekend business move? Start by meeting with the relocation professionals at Azalea City Moving LLC. We will help you assess your moving needs, craft a timeline that works, and provide extra help for your employees. Call today to make an appointment.