How do you relocate your office without your plans falling apart? Without doubt – in any relocation project – it’s never too early to consider timescales. In fact, it’s a pre-requisite!
Moving office smoothly doesn’t happen by accident or guesswork. It needs meticulous planning to reduce disruption to your business, and keep downtime to a minimum.
Let’s look at couple of crucial timescale elements:
Know Your Variables
Understanding possible setbacks and delays is an essential consideration in any relocation planning. Have you considered?
- What sort of variables could affect our timescales?
- What are the biggest time related risks?
- How can we avoid unnecessary delays?
All of these questions will play in your mind before the relocation process takes off. As you know, some tasks you can plan for while others seem to be out of your hands.
For instance, one of the biggest time risks which businesses underestimate is how long it can take to secure a suitable new office in the right location at favourable lease terms.
On top of that, you need to make sure it has the right type of space to suit your business. This ‘building search to the dotted line’ phase can take longer than you think – adding money, time and stress costs into the process, if you’re not careful.
To accurately estimate your likely timescales, use our project timescale tool.
Start as Early as Possible
Aim to give yourself as much time as possible between the old and new lease. Ideally, if your lease is up 18 months from now, that will give you enough time to put together a thorough relocation schedule.
Key dates:
- Current lease end date
- Date you need to officially terminate your lease
- When you need to appoint relocation associates such design and fit out specialists
- Lead times and completion dates for all project elements
- When you should start planning the move
- When you need to be up and running in the new premises
Remember to factor in whether your commercial fit out will be a Cat A or Cat B – not forgetting IT infrastructure and telecoms installations.
But of course, it all depends on having the right professional team around you. Don’t cut corners on project management. Experienced experts will help you avoid major headaches, ensuring your move stays on track.