Category: Commercial Relocation

Make Moving Easy and Find Movers That Help you From Start to Finish

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Moving Preparation

When figuring out what commercial relocation company you’re going to choose for your business’ move, you have a lot of questions. How long will it take? What if it rains? What if my furniture doesn’t fit in my new space? But, the ultimate question may be “how much work do I have to do?”

When you move your business, there are so many things that you need to get done. After choosing your commercial relocation company, you have to coordinate employees, coordinate vendors and decide how you want your new office to be set up. You shouldn’t have to worry about what item goes in what box and how this piece of furniture breaks down.

While choosing a commercial moving company, we always suggest that you ask them a lot of questions, just so you know what exactly you’re getting yourself (and your business) into. After all, you don’t want to be stuck with another unexpected thing to do.

So, in our opinion, the most important question you need to ask your commercial mover is: “do I have to pack up my office, or can you help?” And the answer should be, “no problem, we can help, that’s our job.” If it’s not, you might want to look for a company that can help with that process. You don’t want to be stuck coordinating all the moving parts of the relocation and packing up at the same time. That will only create a recipe for chaos and confusion.

At The Quality Group, we invest our time not only in your commercial relocation, but in your business. Our team is qualified to strategically and safely help you pack your business’ furniture, computers and everything else business-related so that you don’t have to lift a finger.

We’re familiar with most major furniture brands, and in addition, we’re certified to install equipment from Allsteele, Knoll, Haworth, HON, JSI, Kimbal, Herman Milller, and more. So, when we’re packing up your furniture and other office equipment, we know exactly how it works and the best way to safely and effectively transport it to your new location.

So, when it’s time for your business to relocate, ask your commercial movers what your job during the move needs to be. Use this information to help you decide on who your commercial mover should be, and to help better prepare yourself and your business for your upcoming move.

Work with The Quality Group

At The Quality Group, we’re your commercial relocation specialists. Founded in 1987 in New Orleans, LA, The Quality Group serves the Gulf States with comprehensive commercial moving services from move planning to furniture installation. No other company puts in the time or preparation that we do to make your move stress and hassle-free.

How Movers Determine the Price of Your Office Move

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation

We’ve all been there. Reviewing your final bill for a service and noticing some extra charges you weren’t aware of. You get frustrated and call the company and ask about these extra charges. The time spent and the frustration you felt just isn’t worth putting yourself through.

We want to walk you through how moves are priced because we want to make sure at the end of your move, when you get the final bill, there are no unexpected charges. You need to be told what you’re paying for up front, no questions asked.

The pricing for commercial moves is affected by distance. If you’re moving right around the corner, your commercial move won’t be as expensive as moving from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, for instance.

In addition to charging by distance, there are a few more things that can affect your final bill. Usually, local movers will charge you by the hour. So, you need to think about how far you and your company is moving, and also take into account how much time it will take to move your business’ furniture, computers and everything else into your new office building and out of your old one.

Something else you probably haven’t thought about is the weight of the items your moving having an effect on the cost. Well, it does. Long distance movers will charge you per pound. If you’re a heavy machinery distributor, expect your move to cost a little extra because of the materials the movers will have to transport. It’s something you don’t necessarily think about, but it does make sense. It wouldn’t be fair to consumers if the heavy machinery distributor’s move cost the same as a company with your typical office furniture. Don’t get me wrong, office furniture can be heavy, but compared to heavy machinery, it’s like lifting and moving feathers.

Lastly, if you’re moving internationally, expect to be charged by cubic foot. So what exactly does this mean? Basically, this means that your international moving company will charge by volume of a three-dimensional space. They’ll charge you for the capacity that your moving boxes, appliances, furniture, and anything else you move will take up.

You shouldn’t be left in the dark when it comes to paying for a service. You deserve to know what you’ll be charged and how you’ll be charged. So, ask the questions to your moving company about their pricing and that will help you determine how much your total move will cost. Don’t let there be any surprises, ask questions and get answers.

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Finding the Right Moving Company.

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation, Office Furniture

When My Business Moves, Can You Set Everything Up in the Right Place?

When planning your commercial move, there are a lot of things you have to worry about. But, walking into your office with boxes and cords everywhere, and furniture in the wrong places, shouldn’t be one of them. So, how do you know if your commercial mover will set your office up correctly? Well, we’re going to give you some insight on what questions to ask and how to know if your office will be fully-functioning on Monday when you walk into work.

Make sure your commercial movers are familiar with your office furniture brand. Knowing a lot about a furniture brand, how to move it and how to put it back together can help make the moving process a lot easier. You wouldn’t want a mechanic that knows nothing about Corvette’s to work on yours, would you? Same goes for office furniture. Talk to your commercial moving company to make sure they know the ins and outs of your furniture. You want to make sure they know how to safely move it, and effectively set it up with no hiccups.

Additionally, ask your movers if they’re going to set up your computers to be fully-functioning when you get back to your office after the move. If they are, make sure you ask them if they’re familiar with the software your company uses and the types of computers you use. Your computers are vital to your business operations, so making sure your commercial moving company knows how your technology works is very important. You wouldn’t want to walk into your office and see computers unplugged and not turning on. Moving is stressful enough, and you shouldn’t have to worry about your computers not functioning properly.

Moving offices is a time to refresh and change things up. So, if you want to switch up your offices’ furniture arrangement, make sure your commercial mover specializes in space optimization. You may not think about it, but the way your furniture is arranged can affect the productivity of your employees. Make sure you’re able to sit down with your movers and discuss the floor plan of your new office space so that they can map out how to best optimize your office for maximum space and productivity.

If you really want to refresh your office with some new furniture, you also need to talk to your commercial movers to see what furniture they suggest. Your commercial movers should be experts in all things related to relocation. So, talk to your movers about what office furniture they suggest for your business operations and they should be able to get you in touch with a reputable office furniture company. If you find yourself with too much furniture, then talk to your movers about storage options for those pieces that just can’t fit. Ask if they have storage capabilities, or if they know a reputable storage facility.

Moving your business is made up of a lot of moving pieces, literally. You deserve to know what your commercial moving company does and doesn’t do so that you can be best prepared for your move. So, take these simple tips and put them into practice so that you can ease your mind of any moving stresses you may have.

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Tips and Tricks to make Your Office Move Even Easier

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Moving Preparation

Moving can be tough, but it shouldn’t have to be. We want to help you have a stress and worry-free move. So, we’ve compiled a list of some tips you should follow when you’re relocating. After all, this should be an exciting time of new adventures for your business, so leave the stress behind and get excited for what’s to come.

First things first: create your commercial moving timeline. When do you have to be out of your current office space? When are you going to start packing? What are you going to start packing up first? When should I cancel my Internet and transfer it to my new office? You need to answer these questions to help you get organized. We suggest doing this a few months before your scheduled move so that you have ample time to really think about what needs to happen to make your move flawless.

After you make your moving timeline, we suggest allocating duties to your employees. You don’t want to have to be in charge of everything that deals with the move, do you? After you make your commercial moving timeline, you’ll have a better idea of what needs to get done. From that, you can easily designate various duties to your employees. This will alleviate stress, and allow multiple tasks to get done without confusion and mayhem.

About one to three months before your commercial move, you need to make sure you update all necessary vendors your business deals with. If you need new furniture for instance, be sure to order that furniture in advance. The last thing you want is a beautiful, new office with no furniture in it because you didn’t allow enough time for delivery. If you already have your plate full of other tasks, designate this task to an employee. After all, you aren’t the only one that’s moving, so you shouldn’t be the only one with responsibilities.

When you move, your address will change (obviously). But, the reason we’re telling you that is so you don’t forget to change all business collateral with your current address on it, to your business’ new address. Contact your marketing company and tell them about your move a week or two before so they can make all necessary changes to any materials that have your old address on there. Business cards, letterhead, and any other printed materials.

Additionally, send out an email to your current clients and let them know your new address. You wouldn’t them showing up to your old address after you’ve moved. Your clients are what make your business operations possible, so keeping them in the know is imperative.

By taking these few steps to prepare yourself for your move, you can alleviate some stress and be more prepared for your relocation.

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Designing a Healthy Office Space to maximize employee happiness, productivity and communication.

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Office Furniture

Whether you’re moving your company to a new building, or just looking to refresh your office, we have some advice on what floor plans and designs will be best for your company and your employees.

Open floor plans were popular in the 1990’s, and they were designed to help your company boost communication among your employees. But, communication and collaboration may be distracting and cause employees to become less productive. So, we’re here to help you decide how you should layout your new office space, and how you can get a healthy mix of collaboration and productivity all under one roof.

The Huffington Post wrote an article about offices rethinking the open floor plan design for businesses. “People have different needs throughout their day—times they want to collaborate and times where they just need to think by themselves,” said Ethan Griffin, CEO of Groove, a marketing company.

When Griffin was planning his business’ new office space he wanted to incorporate an open floor plan that included a library with books, couches and a fireplace. This space also has an unwritten rule of “no talking” in case someone needs quiet time to relax. Additionally, Griffin added private workspaces for those who require solitude and silence in order to get work done.

According to the International Facilities Management Association, 70 percent of American employees work at an office that has an open floor plan. Some companies are realizing that this open work environment creates less productive employees.

Twenty-five years ago, the open-office floor plan began trending, but today, building private work spaces is trending, according to Sonya Dufner, a director of workplace strategy at Gensler, a design firm.

However, evidence suggests that even though it may cause some distractions, knocking down your offices’ cubical walls can generate good, productive conversation and promote a sense of community.

Environmental psychologists and designers who have studied this workplace dilemma said there’s “no one-size-fits-all solution.” Different workplaces have different needs and methods of functioning. More specifically, different departments within your company have different needs. Some may need communication to occur sporadically throughout the day, and others may not.

“Workspace should be designed as carefully as you would design the cockpit of the Dreamliner,” said Jennifer Veitch, an environmental psychologist with the National Research Council of Canada. Veitch also preached that not giving your employees a suitable work environment can deter from productivity.

When you design your new office space, be sure to keep your employees in mind. Note which departments will need more quiet time, more quick communication or which ones will need a mix of both. So, explore your office and employee needs and come up with your perfect office floor plan.

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How Your New Office Can Make Your Employees More Happy, Motivated and Productive

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Office Furniture

Moving is exciting for your business. You look forward to things like bigger office spaces, more storage areas, and maybe a better location. But, along with these things, we’re going to give you something else to look forward to: improved employee productivity.

Maybe your new office has bigger offices for employees. With more space, come more areas for storage and organization. If your employees have bigger offices and more places to put important files, documents and office supplies, then desk clutter can be quickly eliminated.

A cluttered desk may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Let’s put it this way, if your employee is on the phone with a client and the client asks for information that’s located in a particular file, time spent searching for the file will increase if your employee is searching through mounds of disorganized papers. Not only does this lead to wasted time, it also leads to a stressed out employee. With more space and organization, your employee will be able to quickly locate the client file (without stress) and get the information needed to the customer. If files and other important documents are organized and easily accessible in the new larger office space, your employees will spend less time searching for the file, less time stressing and more time engaging with the customer and getting what needs to be done, done.

In an article by Forbes, they write about ways a disorganized workplace leads to stress and not a lot of productivity. “80% of what we perceive or experience is based upon the visual sense of our environment,” said Sherry Burton Ways, interior designer, color therapist and author. If our environment is cluttered and disorganized, Ways said this can slow down mental energy and make work even more difficult.

A new office also gives your employees a chance to refresh, redecorate and redesign their spaces. Believe it or not, doing these things adds more productivity to your employees’ workday.

Forbes suggests reworking office layouts, changing out lighting and adding personal touches to your office reduces workplace stress. And reducing stress makes for a happier and more productive office.

When your business moves, your employees have a chance to redesign their offices to create more organized and stress free spaces. By making small changes in your new office, a stressful work environment is eliminated, and a more productive environment is implemented.

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Leasing or Buying office space. Which is best for my business? The answer is: It depends.

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation

When you’re in the market for a new office space, there are a lot of decisions to be made. Where should you move? How should you design the office layout? Will you take your existing furniture or buy new furniture? But most importantly, you need to ask yourself if leasing or buying your new office space is best for you and your company.

As with anything, there are pros and cons to leasing vs. buying office spaces. We’re going to take you through some pros and cons so that you can decide what will be your business’ best option.

Leasing

Pros

No down payment. Cash is king, so the longer you keep money in your pocket and business, the better.
No expenses regarding the upkeep of the office. So, whenever a light bulb goes out, no problem. Call your landlord and they’ll replace it at no expense to you.
You can sign a short-term lease, which gives you some flexibility. If you’re expanding, no problem. You can stay in a short-term lease for a few months and then move to a bigger facility.

Cons

Leasing is an expense that doesn’t go towards ownership of property, in fact, you can sometimes spend more renting.
You can’t fix things as you see fit because the landlord owns the property, not you.
A lease means that the landlord is in charge. And with that, comes uncertainty because the landlord could potentially make you move as soon as your lease is up. Even if you want to stay on the property, your landlord could also substantially increase your rent. This increase is especially possible if the landlord decides to sell the property.

Buying

Pros

Buying office space can end up being cheaper than renting, and your monthly note goes toward the ownership of property, not into your landlord’s pocket.
When you own the property, you can paint the building or hang anything on the walls without asking for permission, or getting a “no” from the landlord.
When you own property, you have control over when you move out. Nobody will force you to move out on short notice when you’re the one in charge.

Cons

Along with buying property, you also obtain the expenses that go along with the ownership. Any liability that goes along with the property is also put on you, the owner.
Replacing AC units or leaks in the roof can be pricey, and if you own the property, all costs fall on you.
If you find that your business is struggling in its new location, and you own the property, you don’t have the freedom to pick up and move out when your lease is up. You’re bound to the building, until you sell it at least.

As you can see, there are many options to weigh when deciding whether to buy or lease your new office space. There is no right choice because both have advantages and disadvantages. Whatever choice you make, The Quality Group will be there to help you seamlessly move your office to your new location.

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Don’t lose your data or computers when moving your office.

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation

Having movers physically move your companies’ computer equipment makes you cringe. To ease your mind about having movers handle your precious cargo, you want your own employees to move their own computer stations. You may want to have employees move their computers instead because you’ve been thinking, “What if the movers drop my computers? What the movers just throw my computers in the back of their truck like it’s an empty box?”

I’ll give you another “what if” situation. What if your employee accidentally drops their monitor on the way to their car, or what if the computer gets left in their car for the weekend and gets overheated? Now your business has another set of problems because you have to replace that computer so that employee can work Monday morning.

But remember, your employees specialize in your business operations, not in moving computer equipment. Always remember to back up your data before allowing anyone to start moving your computer equipment, servers or workstations. At the Quality Group, we know that your computer equipment and data are the lifeline of your business, so we treat it with the greatest care. We’re going to take you step by step and explain to you how we would move your business’ computer equipment. If moved properly you won’t have to worry. You should expect when hiring any moving company to follow the same same steps in order to safely transport your computers.

We believe that any moving company should have special equipment carts that are designed to safely transport all of your computer equipment. You can see a picture of one of our carts below. But before we put your equipment on one of these strategically designed carts we bubble wrap the monitors. Second, we take all computer accessories such as your mouse, keyboard and wiring and pack them neatly in our computer accessories bag. Next, we begin to load the computer equipment carts. We put all the bubble-wrapped monitors on the bottom shelf of the cart, and then load all of your computer accessories onto the cart. Our final step before transport is to stretch wrap the computer equipment carts. This ensures a secure transport for all of your precious computer equipment. Again see a picture of a properly loaded, wrapped and protected computer equipment on the cart below.

When the Quality Group arrives at your new location with all of your business’ computer equipment, you can be sure that no computer will be without a mouse, keyboard or monitor cable. We strategically pack each of your offices’ computer stations so each computer equipment cart contains every item needed for each computer station to be fully functional.

We then unpack each computer station. But, that’s not all. We make sure every computer is in its correct place and functioning smoothly. You and your employees shouldn’t have to go through any hassle during your office move. That’s why we make this process as easy, quick and safe as possible.

You should expect the same service from any moving company you hire to move your office equipment. If you choose to move the equipment yourself, make sure that you follow the same steps.

If you have questions the Quality Group would be glad to assist you on your move.

The Perks of Working with The Quality Group

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Joe DiGiovanni - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation, Moving Preparation, Office Furniture

Our value-added commercial moving services give you the most bang for your buck and keep you calm and comfortable during your office move.

PROBLEM: I can NOT afford to close up shop for a week to get everything moved.

Our Solution: We’re happy to move your business at night or on weekends. We can coordinate every facet of your relocation outside of office hours, so you don’t lose any business. Our mission is to complete your commercial move while minimizing your business’ operational downtime. We usually eliminate it altogether, so you can move your office without missing a single phone call or turning away a single customer.

PROBLEM: I have too much/not enough/old/broken office furniture.

Our Solution: At The Quality Group,our professional movers:

– Safely dispose of or recycle your old, broken or unwanted furniture

– Work with brands like Steelcase to bring you high-quality, durable office furniture

– Provide safe, secure warehouse space for extra furniture you might need later

Just tell us what you want to do with your office furniture, and we will take care of the rest.

PROBLEM: I need to move, but I have no idea where to start.

Our Solution: Call us. Right now. There’s no pressure or obligation. We can just talk. We make moving plans every day, so we can guide you through yours no matter where you are in the process. Whether you’ve just realized you need more space or you’ve got a new office and a move date, we can make sure your move goes smoothly. Don’t let anything stand in the way of growing your business. Give us a call, or give us your contact info and we’ll call you (link to contact page).

Work with The Quality Group

Category: Commercial Relocation

Make Moving Easy and Find Movers That Help you From Start to Finish

How Movers Determine the Price of Your Office Move

Finding the Right Moving Company.

When My Business Moves, Can You Set Everything Up in the Right Place?

Tips and Tricks to make Your Office Move Even Easier

Designing a Healthy Office Space to maximize employee happiness, productivity and communication.

How Your New Office Can Make Your Employees More Happy, Motivated and Productive

Leasing or Buying office space. Which is best for my business? The answer is: It depends.

Don’t lose your data or computers when moving your office.

The Perks of Working with The Quality Group

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