You’ve probably experienced a summer move at some point in your life. The heat obviously isn’t enjoyable, but at least there’s less of a chance your moving day will be a wash out.
Office moves are in many ways the same. Commercial leases often expire in the summer, which makes it the busiest time of the year for office moves. But don’t let the regularity of summer office moves allow you to become complacent. The summer months bring with them a number of potential obstacles if you aren’t careful.
Peak Season
As temperatures rise, so does the number of office moves around the country.
According to Moving Labor, 80 percent of moves take place between April and September, with June and July being the busiest months. Usually, the first and final weekends of June and July tend to have the highest volume of moves.
Of course, no one knows how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the 2020 moving season. It’s reasonable to expect a minor slowdown, at the very least.
In any case, it’s always best to be over prepared. Here are a few tips to make sure your summer office move goes off without a hitch.
1. Book Your Summer Office Move Well in Advance
Higher demand leads to higher prices. It’s the one lesson from economics most of us know.
Unsurprisingly, the commercial moving industry isn’t spared from this principle. If your company is planning a summer office move you should expect to pay more than you would during any of the other seasons. You can, however, get ahead of the pack by choosing an office moving vendor and booking your move weeks, if not months, in advance.
Generally speaking, the more advanced notice you give the office moving company of your move, the less you will pay. So, you should begin planning your office move as soon as you learn your company isn’t planning to renew its lease.
2. Move on a Weekday
Many companies prefer weekend moves. And who can blame them? Weekday moves disrupt business.
But, once again, we see the rules of economics rear their ugly head. Demand for weekend office moves often drives up their prices. If your company can afford a day or two of lost productivity, it’s wise to consider a weekday move.
Luckily, you can still conduct some business in the midst of an office move. One way to do so is by having your employees start work early before the moving process begins. They can get into the office and try to get at least some work done before the office movers arrive. Then, once the movers get to work, you can send your teammates home early.
It’s far from a perfect solution, but it will help your company save money in the long run.
3. Setup Your Utilities in Advance
Very few conditions can harm productivity more so than a scorching office.
We’re all aware of how brutal Southern California summers can get without air conditioning. Thankfully, most of us don’t have to worry about going into an office facility without air conditioning these days. But if you aren’t pro-active in setting up your new facility’s utilities before you make the office move, you can expect an unhappy workforce until everything is up and running.
At least two weeks before your company’s office move, confirm with the realty company the utilities for which your company is responsible. Then, contact the utility companies and schedule the date of activation for the day of your office move. You can then rest easy knowing your new office will be ready for your team once you arrive.
4. Plan Around Employee Vacations
Summer months are often already some of the slowest months of the year for businesses with employees being on vacation. With this in mind, you need to carefully plan when your office move will take place and who will be there to help with it.
Having employees on vacation during an office move has both positive and negative implications. On the plus side, if you know in advance a number of your employees will be out of the office during a move, you can make a pretty accurate calculation of productivity loss during that time period. But you should also consider whether your company can afford an additional loss of productivity on top of a lack of help during the office move.
It’s definitely a discussion for which you’ll need to involve all members of your company’s management. Use company performance from past summer seasons whenever you’re hoping to create a baseline.
If you’re considering a summer move, we can help. Contact Nodus Office Movers today for a free moving estimate. We’ll make sure the quote you receive is the price you’ll pay.
