5 Commercial Moving Challenges That Differ From Residential Moves

While moving your business and your home may feel like the same task, they have very different challenges. Understanding the specific hurdles you face during a commercial move helps you to prepare better for it, suffer fewer setbacks, and keep your business operating well. Learn about five of the top challenges during a commercial move and how you can beat them.

1. Productivity 

Perhaps the biggest difference between commercial and residential moves is that you have to keep doing business during a commercial move. You need to not only exist, but be productive, satisfy customers, and manage operations.

One of the most important decisions to help this work is to outsource as much of the move as possible. Let employees focus on their regular jobs, hiring assistance with packing, organizing, purging, getting rid of old equipment, transporting, and setting up new workspaces.

2. Morale

Employees may or may not be on board with the move. If it's a local move, such as to a bigger or newer facility, employees are more likely to be excited. However, a more distant move may inconvenience them. They may also resent the disruption in their work life. How can you help them?

First, hire sufficient outside professional movers so you don’t need to on employees for the workload. If employees feel that they must handle their regular workload while also doing the labor for a move, their morale can quickly fall. Second, tailor their moving needs to their work style and concerns. Some employees may appreciate more help while others would prefer to pack their own work space. 

3. Communication

Your business move should communicate well to many different parties. The first is employees. Accomplish this by creating and using a moving committee of people from every level and department of the company. Have an open-door policy for concerns, suggestions, and questions.

Then, assign individuals to focus on communication with vendors, customers, business partners, and other stakeholders. Be early, be proactive, and be friendly when communicating your change of business operation.

4. Coordination

Most residential moves involve packing up everything at once, transferring it to a new home, and then spending time setting up that home. A commercial move may have very different time frames and methodologies.

You might, for example, opt to move departments at different times to allow some to keep running while others transfer. Perhaps you need to do the majority of moving on a weekend to minimize the impact on productivity or customers. Or a company might move into the new facility long before it finalizes moving out of the old one. Whatever the challenge, stay on top of coordinating everyone's efforts.

5. Safety

Anyone moving should take the safety first approach. But, while still hazardous, a residential move is often much less risky than a commercial one. Think about what you need to move and the atmosphere or environment you're working in. Equipment is often more dangerous, larger, heavier, and more specialized. You likely have a lot more furniture. And the area might be much more dangerous than a home.

Hiring skilled professionals to do as much of the labor as possible goes a long way toward ensuring the safety of all. In addition, try to avoid last-minute rushes. The more you plan ahead and stick to your timeline, the fewer times people will feel compelled to cut corners on safe practices.
 

Ready to begin meeting these challenges and others that face your business during your upcoming move? Start by meeting with the experienced commercial moving team at Azalea City Moving Co. We'll provide as many or as few services as you and your employees need for a safe and successful move. Call today to make an appointment.