We have recently moved premises and wanted to reflect on the process. It’s useful for us to evaluate, and hope this will help other businesses who are looking into moving soon.
What did we do?
We moved from 37,790 square feet to 14,000 square feet. We were in such large premises before and had some concerns that this would be slightly too tight. With careful planning and design we fitted everything in; surprisingly we’re left with more space than we thought. As we are now over two floors, it means we are making best use of the space and ensuring the business is more efficient. Already we are seeing benefits from increased productivity and greater collaboration between departments. Our sister company USB2U have also moved into their own new building just across the road from us, still allowing for easy communication while giving both businesses independent space to grow.
The management team held regular meetings to ensure everything was covered and all were informed of progress. This included marketing so communications to customers and suppliers were clear, and to ensure building signage was added quickly for delivery companies and clients to find us easily.
Moving between buildings allowed us to review and assess all contracts and gave opportunities for improvement in some areas. This enabled us to change our waste provider and instigate new greener policies.
Giving back
Given the reduction in space, we had a substantial amount of furniture to donate and were delighted to provide local charities with the surplus. We donated desks and shelving to Cynthia Spencer Hospice, filing cabinets to the British Heart Foundation, and more filing cabinets and under-desk shelving to Age UK. We also donated old clothing stock to Cynthia Spencer along with sample products and gift items for their raffle hampers. More sample products went to two local special education schools, along with The Lewis Foundation for their gift packs which are given to cancer patients undergoing treatment.
We were really pleased these items could help out great causes and hopefully make a difference to them and the people they support. The huge added bonus is that it has all been saved from landfill and these products can be used again!
What did we learn?
Ensure you have a great contractor for your fit out, especially one who communicates with you regularly. This was essential as we had a fairly tight deadline from agreement of the works to move-in date. Our contractor proved to be exceptional and flexible; working with us removing obstacles rather than creating them. The firm had great testimonials that proved to be accurate and reliable. Spend your time doing research, as it will pay off in the end.
Expect there to be hiccups! It’s almost like a wedding day and as much as you prepare, issues will likely still occur that you can’t plan for. For example our dishwasher decided to leak everywhere on day one (it was already in situ and not tested). Our postcode was also changed after our first communication to suppliers had been distributed.
Have an organised schedule for the removal company. Everything happens so fast on move day, so ensuring we had a plan of what needs to go out the door first and where it is situated was a great benefit.
Plan production lines in advance to try and avoid any delays. Whilst we planned for this and knew we would be down for a couple of days, we did lose a little ground on the plan. We made this back up quickly and are now back running at normal speed. Allow a little extra time than you think you need to account for any further disruption.
It’s okay to wait on certain items! We were going to order new furniture for our reception area ahead of the move, but decided to wait. Now we are in, we know our original choice would have been wrong. Sometimes you need to get a feel for the building and start to settle in before you know what will work.
Arguably the most important point – be flexible. Our layout has altered slightly from the original plan, as once we started working in the new environment we could see where tweaks would improve processes.
Where are we at now?
We are still settling in, but the move gives us a greater scope to enhance our service offering to our clients. As the promotional products market evolves it gives us the opportunity to mirror that. In turn ensuring we can offer our clients exceptional creativity and service competitively.
A huge thank you to our amazing team and those we worked with on the move! We couldn’t have done it without your flexibility, support and expert advice.
