METCALF MOVING BLOG
Should You Keep a Full Office Staff During an Office Move?
With your moving date marked on the calendar, and plans going into place for your business relocation, one crucial question might come up. Should you keep your whole staff during the transition or give them some time off? The answer can depend on several factors. Take a look at a few questions to answer to help you decide if you need all hands on deck during the move.
1. Are you working with a full-service moving company?
Business owners tend to take one of two directions when facing a move. They will either source a moving company that will simply handle the transport of the business belongings or a full-service moving company that will address multiple aspects of the transition. If you use a full-service moving company, the moving company may manage specific parts of the move. Therefore, this can influence how many staff members you must have on the schedule.
2. Do you have roles in mind for each employee to keep them productive?
Assigning roles to each employee during the moving process ensures you don’t end up paying for employees to come to work that have nothing to do when they arrive. The Staffing Stream states that you can task employees with numerous projects during a business relocation, such as:
- Decluttering the office
- Clearing paperwork from cabinets and drawers
- Packing office items
- Disassembling office furniture and equipment
- General cleaning
- Taking out trash
A good guideline is to list different moving-related tasks that need to be handled during the move. With your list, consider how many hours each task will take, and then look at how many employees you will need to fill those hours. For example, if you determine that disassembling office furniture will take 16 hours, you may need two employees during an eight-hour workday to get this project done.
3. Will there still be a need for certain aspects of the business to be handled?
Even when a business is relocating, some aspects of the company may need to happen as usual. For example, you may need some employees to handle inbound calls and customer questions or to navigate online orders. If you need to keep some employees running the business, consider how many employees you need to carry out these tasks effectively.
4. Do employees have the option of performing business processes from home?
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of people working at home in the United States tripled. Many modern workplace practices and objectives can be carried out in a home office setting or remotely. If this is an option with your business model, it may be more logical to transition part of your staff to a work-from-home setup until the move is complete.
Make Sure All Elements of the Move Are Efficiently Coordinated
Moving a business is a challenging feat. You need minimal disruption, extensive planning, and professional guidance. If you need help with your upcoming office relocation project, contact our team to receive a no-obligation moving quote or discuss your project needs.