Corporate Relocation- Planning the Logistics
Once the decision to move your company has been made and your goals for relocation have been clearly outlined, the real work begins. With so many things to consider it can be hard to know what to do first. It is a valuable practice to get as organized as is humanly possible before putting the wheels of your corporate relocation in motion. We recommend the first steps as follows:
Do Location Research
When you have figured out what you need from your new office you should spend some time really researching the area in which you plan to move. You will of course need to know a lot about this new city before you can commit to setting up shop in it. Take advantage of various reference materials such as the US Census Bureau Statistical Abstract by State in order to get the demographic details about your potentially new location. It can also be a good idea to subscribe to a few local papers for a couple of months before making the move. This will give you an idea not only about what is happening in the area but how the people in the area interpret these current events. Invaluable cultural insights can be surmised from reading local publications and can give you a better idea if this city is the best match for your business.
Create a Timeline
Sit down with those who are most strategically involved in the relocation planning and make a preliminary list of what needs to be done. Be realistic in this and make every effort to consider three main concepts: the physical office, the employees and the customers. Once you have decided to make a move, it can be easy to get caught up in the pace and excitement of the process. But time will fly during your logistical planning so creating a schedule that allows for real life and all of its delays is a key point. Ask yourself, will this move take 3 months? Will it take a year? After this, create your timeline accordingly.
Find a Professional
Once you have decided where and when to move, it is a good idea to assign someone in your company to be in charge of the overall process. Realizing that this will take up a good amount of their time should be a consideration when choosing an employee who already has a rather large workload. Beyond this decision, it is time to select a moving company that can help you with the logistics of you move. Considering that not only does your office need to be moved but also in most cases, your people and their families, it’s a good idea at this point to start shopping for experts in the industry. This part of the process will be easier once you have asked yourself the important preliminary questions. Knowing what you want and when you want it will make it easier to identify which moving company best suits you and your company’s goals for corporate relocation.
