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Moving an office from one location to another is different from shifting houses. When you move an office, you must take care of the business operations even on the last day before the move. You don’t want to disrupt the workflow, and you want to get started in the new location as soon as possible, especially if you’re moving to a buzzing city like Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, there were 104,120 companies incorporated in 2022. Thus, with so many companies (and potential competitors) present in this city, you must ensure that your company’s downtime during a move is minimal. This means that telephone lines, water, sanitation, and electricity need to be set up in the new place before you arrive. Similarly, your office needs to be set up with desks, chairs, and systems so employees can resume work without trouble.
As indicated above, a lot goes into planning an office move. So, here are some tips that can help you make your move as smooth and hassle-free as possible.
Begin the Process Early
You must determine how early you can start the process. In the initial phases, try to wrap up rooms and equipment you won’t need for the next few weeks. For example, you could pack the furniture in the meeting rooms, put the stuff on sale that you’re not taking with you, and set up the utilities in the new space.
If you haven’t gotten access to the new space yet, you might think there’s no need to begin packing until we get the location to set it up. But a great way to get your stuff closer to your location in Hong Kong is to rent a temporary storage space. You can rent a warehouse or a storage unit from a reliable storage space company like SC Storage, depending on your needs. Getting storage space in such a busy city can help you begin early and set up things as soon as you get access to the new office.
Declutter and Downsize
When moving offices, you have a lot of spare equipment in the old office waiting for you to decide its fate. If you choose to keep all of it, you’re racking up the moving costs because moving companies charge you based on the volume of belongings you have packed and moved.
If you’re making a long-distance move, you might also consider selling off the old office furniture because you can get new equipment and furniture within the cost of transporting this stuff. Additionally, an office setup with new furniture can improve employee productivity and help make your office space more aesthetically pleasing, which may make a positive impression on visiting clients.
Organize Your Packing
Organizing your packing for a seamless transition is another reason to start the process early. When you’re packing, take off the pictures on the walls first and the furniture that the staff can work without.
You should also unpack these items last because the employees can do without these pictures but not the essential office equipment. However, if you already have the keys to the new location, there’s no harm in setting up the office environment by unpacking the non-essential stuff first.
Similarly, label the boxes according to the rooms. So, you could color code the boxes according to meeting rooms, kitchen, and copy room essentials. This way, unpacking in the new location will be a breeze, and employees can get to work without dealing with the chaos of unpacking.
Involve the Employees in the Process
When you’ve finalized that you will move the office for whatever reason, informing the employees of the decision is essential. You should clearly communicate why the need to shift locations arose. The second step is to involve the employees in the planning process.
These two steps will allow employees to think about how to manage their commute to the new location. The upper management should share the timeline of the move so employees can be prepared to move with the company or look for new opportunities if the company moves to a new city, for example.
If the move is cross-city or cross-state, they will have to relocate if they want to stay with the company. If not, the company will have to manage their offboarding and hire new employees in the new location to minimize the disruption to the workflow.
However, suppose you’re moving to a new city or a new state. In that case, companies can retain talented individuals by upgrading their compensation packages or offering relocation assistance so the move doesn’t burden them.
Update the Company Info
A company typically has a lot of marketing collateral, including brochures, business cards, and online data. Before the move, updating the customers through the website, social media, or press releases is important. Also, updating the company info is vital to gather new customers in the location.
For example, if an office is moving from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, it must do the following:
- Share on its social media pages that the company is closing its location in Shenzhen.
- Offer goodbye discounts to customers in Shenzhen.
- Start running Facebook and Instagram ads for people located in Hong Kong to build anticipation.
- Offer opening discounts to customers in Hong Kong for the first week or month.
- Print new brochures and business cards with the address of the new location.
Final Words
Offices shift to new locations because of the growing needs of the business or because they want to improve access for a particular customer base. In either case, pre-planning for the big move is essential. The process should ideally begin with informing the employees of the decision and telling them how they can stick with the company. Offering them relocation assistance is one way to retain the employee base.
Next, involve these employees in the decisions for the move. They can make recommendations that will help the company to transition to the new place seamlessly. Additionally, beginning the process early and decluttering the office equipment can help reduce the chaos. Lastly, updating the customers about the move and building anticipation amongst the new customers through effective marketing strategies is also essential.
5 Tips for Planning Your Office Move

Image Source
Moving an office from one location to another is different from shifting houses. When you move an office, you must take care of the business operations even on the last day before the move. You don’t want to disrupt the workflow, and you want to get started in the new location as soon as possible, especially if you’re moving to a buzzing city like Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, there were 104,120 companies incorporated in 2022. Thus, with so many companies (and potential competitors) present in this city, you must ensure that your company’s downtime during a move is minimal. This means that telephone lines, water, sanitation, and electricity need to be set up in the new place before you arrive. Similarly, your office needs to be set up with desks, chairs, and systems so employees can resume work without trouble.
As indicated above, a lot goes into planning an office move. So, here are some tips that can help you make your move as smooth and hassle-free as possible.
Begin the Process Early
You must determine how early you can start the process. In the initial phases, try to wrap up rooms and equipment you won’t need for the next few weeks. For example, you could pack the furniture in the meeting rooms, put the stuff on sale that you’re not taking with you, and set up the utilities in the new space.
If you haven’t gotten access to the new space yet, you might think there’s no need to begin packing until we get the location to set it up. But a great way to get your stuff closer to your location in Hong Kong is to rent a temporary storage space. You can rent a warehouse or a storage unit from a reliable storage space company like SC Storage, depending on your needs. Getting storage space in such a busy city can help you begin early and set up things as soon as you get access to the new office.
Declutter and Downsize
When moving offices, you have a lot of spare equipment in the old office waiting for you to decide its fate. If you choose to keep all of it, you’re racking up the moving costs because moving companies charge you based on the volume of belongings you have packed and moved.
If you’re making a long-distance move, you might also consider selling off the old office furniture because you can get new equipment and furniture within the cost of transporting this stuff. Additionally, an office setup with new furniture can improve employee productivity and help make your office space more aesthetically pleasing, which may make a positive impression on visiting clients.
Organize Your Packing
Organizing your packing for a seamless transition is another reason to start the process early. When you’re packing, take off the pictures on the walls first and the furniture that the staff can work without.
You should also unpack these items last because the employees can do without these pictures but not the essential office equipment. However, if you already have the keys to the new location, there’s no harm in setting up the office environment by unpacking the non-essential stuff first.
Similarly, label the boxes according to the rooms. So, you could color code the boxes according to meeting rooms, kitchen, and copy room essentials. This way, unpacking in the new location will be a breeze, and employees can get to work without dealing with the chaos of unpacking.
Involve the Employees in the Process
When you’ve finalized that you will move the office for whatever reason, informing the employees of the decision is essential. You should clearly communicate why the need to shift locations arose. The second step is to involve the employees in the planning process.
These two steps will allow employees to think about how to manage their commute to the new location. The upper management should share the timeline of the move so employees can be prepared to move with the company or look for new opportunities if the company moves to a new city, for example.
If the move is cross-city or cross-state, they will have to relocate if they want to stay with the company. If not, the company will have to manage their offboarding and hire new employees in the new location to minimize the disruption to the workflow.
However, suppose you’re moving to a new city or a new state. In that case, companies can retain talented individuals by upgrading their compensation packages or offering relocation assistance so the move doesn’t burden them.
Update the Company Info
A company typically has a lot of marketing collateral, including brochures, business cards, and online data. Before the move, updating the customers through the website, social media, or press releases is important. Also, updating the company info is vital to gather new customers in the location.
For example, if an office is moving from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, it must do the following:
- Share on its social media pages that the company is closing its location in Shenzhen.
- Offer goodbye discounts to customers in Shenzhen.
- Start running Facebook and Instagram ads for people located in Hong Kong to build anticipation.
- Offer opening discounts to customers in Hong Kong for the first week or month.
- Print new brochures and business cards with the address of the new location.
Final Words
Offices shift to new locations because of the growing needs of the business or because they want to improve access for a particular customer base. In either case, pre-planning for the big move is essential. The process should ideally begin with informing the employees of the decision and telling them how they can stick with the company. Offering them relocation assistance is one way to retain the employee base.
Next, involve these employees in the decisions for the move. They can make recommendations that will help the company to transition to the new place seamlessly. Additionally, beginning the process early and decluttering the office equipment can help reduce the chaos. Lastly, updating the customers about the move and building anticipation amongst the new customers through effective marketing strategies is also essential.