A couple of years ago there was some research conducted by E.ON into how small and medium size enterprises felt about moving premises.
The resounding response was “not good”.
Many were putting off moving due to the perceived stress of it all. SME owners and managers ranked it as the second most stressful thing to do after recruiting – even putting it ahead of managing finances and dealing with customer complaints.
This had led to more than three quarters staying put – despite being in working spaces which were no longer big enough, run down or just plain unsuitable.
More than a quarter said they worried about the time and the cost involved – and on average SMEs admitted they’d lost at least 7.5 working days due to moving business premises in the last five years. Twenty seven per cent said they just didn’t know where to start.
Well, when it comes to planning the physical move, after you’ve found your new premises and given notice on your old ones, we’re happy to share our 50 years of expertise and help make this move as stress-free as possible.
Ideally you want to give yourself as much time to plan as you can – we usually say three months is ideal – but don’t panic if it needs to happen quicker than that!
Make sure you choose a removal firm who is BAR registered, like ourselves. We always provide a designated move manager as a point of contact so you can feel reassured that someone is there on the end of the phone when you need them, keeping an eye over the whole process.
Of course, we understand it’s vital that downtime is kept to an absolute minimum, and we’ll work closely with you to make sure it’s avoided as much as possible. Giving yourself planning time means you can communicate your plans to customers and clients well in advance, giving them plenty of warning, and you can also consider ways staff can keep working whilst the move takes place – either from other premises or from home perhaps.
Moving is a great reason to have a proper declutter – there’s no point moving things you don’t need to the new premises. Things you don’t need in the short term, consider putting in self storage ahead of the move. Our facility allows 24-hour access, so you can always get things back if you realise you need them.
Consider what to do with confidential materials and paperwork. If you no longer need them, we can provide a shredding service to safely destroy them and recycle them into something new. Which also keeps on top of your requirements when it comes to GDPR. If you do need to keep them, but want them out of the way for the move, self storage could be the answer, or we can also offer a document management service.
When it comes to move day itself, it’s sometimes best to ensure individual staff have packed up their immediate workspace, and then we can help provide a packing service for wider office equipment and materials. We’re the experts in making sure things are packed quickly, efficiently, but most importantly safely, so everything is in one piece and easy to find at the other end. We can also help with things like sequential packing of files and stock, room plans and corresponding labelling systems so everything ends up in the right place in your new building. Thinking ahead and planning can save huge amounts of time and stress when it comes to getting up and running again.
For most businesses nowadays IT is the one thing they definitely need, and so it’s vital that proper thought is given to the moving of the necessary equipment and technology. At McCarthy’s we’ll carefully label and package individual component parts and ensure they’re transported with maximum protection. On arrival at your new site getting the IT reconnected and tested can be the first priority.
So, if a business move is on the cards, have no fear – McCarthy’s is here! With five decades of experience moving businesses in Leeds, Harrogate, Wakefield, Yorkshire and across the whole of the UK, there’s not much we haven’t seen. Expect the unexpected and you can’t go too far wrong. But with us you, your business and your belongings are all in safe hands.
