4 Things to Consider When Moving Offices or Closing an Office Down

Whether you're closing down an office or transferring to larger premises, it's all too easy to make simple mistakes. These mistakes can not only cost you money, but they can often leave your company open to legal issues. A

Unless you own the building, you need to leave your office space in the state that you found it in. This will involve completely removing all of your own furniture and ensuring that any information is safely (and completely) destroyed. Office clearance can also include the removal of IT infrastructure and other systems that you've installed yourself.

4 Things to Consider When Relocating or Closing Down Your Office Space

If you need to clear your office space, for whatever reason, make sure you don't forget these important factors. Failing to clear your space in the right way can lead to a wide range of issues, including legal complaints from clients, customers, landlords and employees.

When you're moving an office space, your customers will still expect a seamless service. As such, you need to make sure you are able to deliver a high-quality service throughout the office clearance process.

1 - Make Sure Your Information Is Protected

Information is one of the most valuable currencies in the world. Security and regulations around the control of personal information are becoming tighter. It is quite easy to fall on the wrong side of the law, either through forgetfulness, negligence or simply not understanding the rules. If you are moving or closing down an office space, you need to ensure that all your information is dealt with in the correct manner.

Recent laws regarding personal information, including GDPR, have made it more important than ever that you are fully compliant. You can't leave valuable personal information without security and you need to ensure that hard drives containing them have been fully destroyed. If you're leaving any part of your information network behind, you need to ensure that it doesn't contain any data from your business.

Just some of the personal information that you might accidentally leave exposed during an office clearance can include:

• Customer and Client Information.
• Employee Information.
• Information Relating to Business Partners.
• Software Security Information.

This data can include information like:

• Names.
• Addresses.
• Email Addresses.
• Passwords.
• Financial Information.

It is extremely important that you dispose of all this information if it is no longer required. If you are going to destroy hard drives, computers or other storage devices, (or even physical papers) you must ensure that choose a reputable place. Always make sure you get a receipt for the destruction of your property.

2 - Use Office Clearance to Dispose of Furniture

If you aren't taking your furniture to a new office, you will need to make sure you take advantage of complete clearance These essential services will collect your office furniture and ensure that it is disposed of. If your furniture is high-quality or undamaged, a reputable office clearance service will not want them to go to waste. They will normally ensure that undamaged office furniture finds a new home with another business.

For high-quality office furniture, an office clearance team will often knock money off the price of their services. This can be a great way of saving money, in addition to clearing your office space the professional way.

An effective office clearance service will be able to remove all kinds of office furniture, including:

• Desks and Tables.
• Office Chairs and Couches.
• Lobby Furniture.
• Storage, such as Cupboards and Personal Lockers.
• Break Room, Canteen and Cafeteria Furniture.
• Office Partitions and Screens.
• Book Cases.
• Monitor Arms and CPU Holders.

Having an experienced team clear your office furniture on your behalf can be a huge timesaver. Additionally, it can also prove that you have disposed of your furniture in an ethical, legal manner. With laws against fly-tipping continuing to get more and more serious, proving that your furniture has been removed ethically can be extremely important.

3 - Clear Communication is Essential!

Whether you are closing down, or simply moving offices, it is important that you do everything in your power to inform people. If the move has been planned for a while, you should have a strategy in place to keep your customers, business partners and landlord informed. Just some of the great ways you can keep the relevant people informed include:

• Sending Out Emails.
• Placing a Notification on Your Website.
• Add a P.S. Message to All Correspondence.
• Post on Social Media.
• Update a Range of Features with Your New Address, such as:

o Google My Business Listings.

o Office Stationery.

o Business Cards.

o Receipts and Invoices.

You need to make sure that everyone who needs to know about the move does so. This isn't just limited to customers, clients and business partners either. Other people you might ned to alert include:

• Employees Across Your Company.
• Service Providers, including:
• Water and Gas Suppliers.
• Internet Providers.
• Water Cooler Company.
• Coffee Machine Operators.
• New and Old Neighbours.
  
• Bank and Insurance Companies.

4 - The Legal Risks of Moving Offices

You need to make sure that, throughout your move, you stay on the right side of the law. If you aren't careful, you could easily fall into one of the many legal traps related to office moves. For example, you need to ensure that you inform your current landlord and aren't in breach of your contract. You always need to make sure that you are paid up to date, otherwise your landlord could pursue you legally.

It is important that you get receipts for any information you destroy. Failing to do so can leave you in hot water with regards to data protection laws. Similarly, failing to get a receipt for any furniture you dispose of can cause legal issues. Office clearance services will collect your furniture and dispose of it ethically, taking a great deal of stress out of your office move.

Don't Put Off Moving Your Office Space

It might seem like there's a lot to think about when you're moving your office space. More than 75% of business owners, according to the E.ON report, have put off moving for a variety of reasons. This means that they have left their employees in â?~cramped, dilapidated, expensive or inefficient buildings" for longer than they needed to.

Just some of the reasons that people have put off moving their business include:

• They Weren't Sure Where to Start.
• Reluctance to Deal with Service Providers and Landlords.
• They Were Concerned About the Costs and Time Involved in the Move.
• Reluctant to Inform Employees Regarding the Move.

Leaving your business in a space which is unpleasant, expensive or doesn't suit your needs can be extremely harmful. Once you've decided to move, you should start looking for a new property as soon as possible. You can't afford to rush into a decision, so giving yourself plenty of time to find the perfect office for your business" needs is extremely important. While you're looking for a new property, you can also start to get in touch with office clearance firms and discuss the terms of your exit with your landlord.

Article kindly provided by penningtons-office-furniture.co.uk