Category: Commercial Relocation

Three Common Mistakes Made During a Commercial Move

Posted on October 6, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Moving Preparation

You may not think there are things that you can do wrong when it comes to an office move, but believe us, there are. And, these mistakes could cost your business time, money and lots of headaches. We don’t want you to get caught up and fall into the trap of these mistakes, so we’ve put together a few common mistakes that you should be aware of before your office decides to relocate.

 

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  1. Not choosing professional commercial relocation specialists for the move. Your goal is to move from one location to another. You don’t think it would be a big deal to have each employee move their designated station over to the new office. Well, let’s think about it. If you have all of your employees move their computer monitors, laptops, printers, scanners and all other expensive IT equipment you run the risk of these items being damaged. Your employees could leave them in their hot cars, not wrap them properly and have the items break or even lose some of the materials needed to make the equipment function properly. By hiring a professional commercial moving company, you can ensure that all of your precious business materials will be properly packaged, properly stowed and carefully transported to your new location. If your employees damage the equipment, you lose that employee’s work time, and you have to eat the cost to replace or fix the damaged item. It’s worth the time, research and money to find a professional commercial moving company that will carefully move all of your businesses materials. Don’t make this mistake and risk losing or damaging your businesses important equipment. It’s not worth the headaches, or money wasted, we promise.

 

  1. Not enough time to plan your commercial move. To properly execute your move, a lot of time, effort and planning is needed to make sure everything runs smoothly. Don’t procrastinate. As soon as you know that your business is moving, begin taking the steps needed to plan each part of the moving process. When your business is left with little time to plan the move, it’s difficult to get everything seamlessly transitioned. What if there’s a hiccup and you don’t have enough time to properly mend the situation? Bottom line; plan ahead so that you can move your business with as little stress as possible.

3. Not realizing how much is involved in the commercial relocation process. The previous mistake and this mistake go hand in hand. You may think there’s not a lot of stuff to do before the move, but you need to think again. A lot more goes into it then you think. You have to get a new location, pick the best time to move, choose a moving company, contact your business’ vendors and your clients to let them know you’re moving, coordinate employees, order new furniture, purge the clutter in your old office, plan out your new office space, and more. There are so many details involved in this process that they’re easy to overlook. Don’t get caught up in the big picture so much that you forget about all you have to do to achieve the end goal of a successful move.

officespaceSo, if you’re planning a commercial move, begin thinking about the little things you need to do in order to make your office move as successful as possible. Remember, it’s better to be over prepared instead of under prepared.

 

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 to Pick Your Go-To Employee for Your Office Move

Posted on September 15, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation, Moving Preparation

A commercial move requires coordination from all employees. But, on moving day, and weeks before you move, you need to appoint someone in your office to coordinate with your commercial movers. You have a lot of options, but how do you know who will be best for the job? What are the responsibilities this person will have? Well, we have some tips so you can choose the right person to be your commercial movers’ “go-to” contact person. img_moving

At The Quality Group, we call our clients’ key contact person, the “Move Captain”. You can definitely have more than one contact person if you feel like you need to. But, one captain will definitely do the job. It’s all about what you prefer and feel comfortable with.

The person you appoint will be involved in all aspects of the move and will be involved in the planning, coordination and, of course, should be present at the time of the move. This person is helping to coordinate the entire move.

How do you know who to pick to lead the pack on moving day? We’ll make it easy for you. Here are some characteristics we think would be best for your key contact to have.

First, we suggest the person you choose to be your key contact for the move to be a leader. This person needs to know how to direct traffic, if traffic needs to be directed (hypothetically speaking, of course). They need to know what needs to happen, and convey that to your commeimg_clipboardrcial movers with confidence. If the movers have a question, the key contact needs to know how to answer it, or know who to contact in order to get the question answered.

Another quality this “go-to” employee should have is knowledge of all business operations. When the move is being planned, the key contact should be able to convey to the movers how the furniture needs to be set up in order for the office to be functional for its operations. Functionality is vital, and it’s important that your key contact can help plan out the best way for your new office to be set up so that your business operations will run smoothly. You don’t want someone who works in one department of your office, and has no idea what any of your other departments. If that’s the case, you may end up with a collaborative meeting room filled with computers and cubicles, when that’s not what your business operations need in that particular room.

Problem solving is another characteristic your key contact should have. If your movers have a question or concern, your “go-to” employee should be able to help solve the problem.

No matter what commercial relocation company you choose, you should always have a key contact for your business so your movers can easily coordinate and immediately ask any questionsimg_plan. You want your move to go smoothly, so appoint an employee who has great leadership skills, knows your business inside and out and who is a great problem solver.

Now that you know what it takes to be the key contact for moving day, go scope out your office and decide who will be your “go-to” for your office 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.

 

 

Finding the Right Office Furniture for Your New Space

Posted on August 25, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation, Office Furniture

When you move, you and your business get a fresh start. New office, new surroundings and a new feel to go along with it. As you look around your current office space, you begin to contemplate where you’re going to put things. You’re not sure if your furniture will fit and look best in your new location. So, where should you begin to solve this problem?

rightoffice_furnitureFirst, start with your moving company. You should ask your commercial movers what furniture they suggest, if they can recommend a furniture brand/style to best fit your new office and business operations and if they can install it.

If your commercial movers do not provide these services, then we have some tips for you to remember. When you shop for your new office furniture make sure your shopping not only for a reasonable price, but also for functionality. You don’t want to buy hundreds of cubicles when your business operations require employee collaboration. If you buy office furniture that isn’t functional for your business operations, it could also lead to unproductive employees. You need to foster a productive work environment for your business and your employees. So, if you’re shopping for new office furniture make sure to keep functionality, operations and employee productivity in the forefront of your mind.

QG_rightofficeThe next thing you want to think about is furniture storage. You need to be prepared if either some of your new furniture, or some of the old furniture doesn’t work in your new space. If you find yourself in this situation, we recommend you ask your commercial mover about any solutions they might have. They should be able to either store it, or dispose the unwanted office furniture. If they have storing capabilities, make sure the storage facility is secure so that all of your office furniture is safe and sound.

You spend a lot of time in your office and at your desk, so you need to ensure that both you and your employees have functional office furniture. You don’t want to find yourself with too much furniture for your new space, or with furniture that doesn’t flow properly in your new office. Take some time to consult with your commercial movers, think about the best way to organize your office to streamline your business productions and then shop for that perfect office furniture that will make your new office the office of your dreams!

 

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.

 

 

 

Maximizing Your Small Office Space

Posted on August 18, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Office Furniture

You started a small business and are about to move into a new space. You’re wondering how you can make the most of your new office space. You want it to be practical and functional, but you don’t know where to start. We’ve compiled a few tips so that you can make the most out of your small office space.

First things first, assess your new office space. What are the sizes of each room? Are there large open spaces? Big windows? Does the space have any restrictions from the landlord? Ask these questions and get answers so that you can best smalloffice_modernplan out your new space.

If you have a commercial moving company helping you out with your office move, they may be able to help you answer some of these questions. Your space needs to function for you and your business operations. So, think about what you want each room in your space to be functional for. Do you want a collaboration room? Break room? Individual offices? After you figure out how you want your space to function, talk to your commercial mover. They should be able to help you plan out where your furniture and equipment should go so that you can maximize office productivity and make use of your space.

We also suggest looking into modular furniture as an option for your small office. With this type of furniture, you can easily take apart, put together and rearrange workstations to fit your particular need. Modular furniture is good for small spaces because it can help you optimize your space. If you decide to look into this type of furniture, make sure to talk to your commercial movers to see if they are able to install it.

Storage is another thing you’ll need to think about when trying to maximize your small offices’ space. You’re going to have a lot of office supplies, maybe extra furniture and other items that you’ll need to store. If you don’t need these items in-house, consider putting the items in storage, especially if it’s furniture. For the items you do need to have in your office on a daily basis, make sure to have the items organized. Disorganization will only lead to clutter that will take up space. Purchasing decorative storage bins or purchasing office furniture with a lot of storage capabilities will help keep your office organized, and help you maximize your office space.

smalloffice_paintYou also need to think about the visual impact you want your office to have. Do you want your employees and visitors to be wowed when they walk in? Of course you do. Consider painting some walls to add a little character to your space. Painting is an easy and great way to make your small space stand out.

Just because you have a small office space doesn’t mean it won’t be functional. You just have to make sure to plan everything out so you’re using your space to its full advantage. Talk to your commercial mover and come up with a strategy to help you configure your space into the office of your dreams.

 

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.

 

Curious About The Commercial Moving Process? Here’s How The Quality Group Does Commercial Relocation.

Posted on August 11, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Facility Installation, Moving Preparation

When your company decides to move, you may think it’s going to be complete chaos. But, we’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be. We’re going to take you through our commercial move process step-by-step so you can see how The Quality Group does relocation.

movingday_QGstagesThe truth is, a move isn’t a one day process. There are multiple steps involved so we can seamlessly move your business. We start about three to four weeks out from your desired moving date and have a planning meeting. At this meeting, we get to know you, your business and what’s important to you in the moving process.

One to two weeks before your scheduled move, we have another meeting. At this meeting, we bring our finalized moving strategy to you. We go over this strategy, answer your questions and solve any problems you may have. Getting feedback and solving any issues regarding the move is important to us. After all, this is your business’ move.

The next step is to prep your office for moving day. The day before, our crew will come to your office to put up signage and room numbers around the building. By doing this, we can streamline our moving process so that our crew can easily flow through your building without confusion.

When moving day arrives, we’ll come to your office and meet with your designated move captain. The move captain or captains are put in charge of the business move. When we meet with the move captains, we check and see if they have any last minute questions or problems.

At the same time, our crew will protect the walls and floors of your office building. After your office is protected, we have a team meeting and split our crew into two groups. One crew will help breakdown and pack computer stations, and the other half of the crew will be in charge of breaking down your office furniture.

Once we’re ready to take a truck load to your new office, we split our crew again. One crew we call the destination crew, and the other we call the origin crew. The destination crew will go over to your new office and begin protecting the walls and floors and then begin to move in your furniture. The origin crew will stay at your old office and continue to breakdown your furniture and clean up. The origin and destination crews stay at their locations until final loads and clean up. The only thing moving throughout this process is our truck and your office items.

When your old office is cleaned up and all of your furniture is at your new location, the origin crew moves to your new destination and helps to tie up any lose ends. Our crew makes sure your office furniture is set up correctly; your computers are fully functioning and makes sure no moving supplies are lying around your new office.

After the move, we like to make sure everything in your office is perfectly set up and fully functioning. A few days (or the next day, depending on when your move is) after your move, we schedule a post move meeting with you. We come and answer any questions or solve any problems you may have.

By streamlining our moving processes and making your move our top priority, we help you get to your new location so you can get back to business as soon as possible.

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.

 

So, You’re Moving Your Business. Here’s How to Decide What Size Office You’ll Need.

Posted on August 5, 2015 by - Commercial Relocation, Moving Preparation

So, you’re thinking about moving your business to a new location. You need more space than you currently have, but you want to make sure you don’t have too much either. You’re looking for that perfect fit. But, how do you know what size office will fit your business perfectly? What things do you need to take in account when looking for new spaces? Choosing the right office space for your business is important, so we’ve got those much needed answers so that you can get the perfect office to suit your business’ wants and needs.

 

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First, you should think about where your business is now, and where you want it to go. Will you hire more sales or administrative employees? When will you hire these employees? Do your business operations require more collaborative or more individualized work spaces?

After getting the answers to these questions you’ll have a better idea of what kind of office space you’ll need to best fit your business. If you plan to hire more employees within the next six months or so, you should think about having a few extra offices in your building to suit the new hires. Usually, the square footage per employee is about 150-350 square feet. Based on the square footage per employee, you can do some calculations to find out how many square feet you’ll need in order to accommodate the number of employees you currently have or will have in the near future.

When you determine the adequate square footage needed, you’ll need to think about each of your employees’ jobs and what type of atmosphere they need in order to successfully complete their jobs. Will they need to talk to different departments? Will they be crunching numbers, writing reports and generating spread sheets? Or, will they be out making sales calls?

If a lot of collaboration happens in your office, then choose a space that allows you and your employees to hash out large projects and bounce ideas off each other. If your work requires peace and quiet to get tedious work done, then choose an office space that has individual offices.

It’s important to always look for spaces that are just big enough to fit all of your employees comfortably without wasting space. So, do the math on the square footage per employee, and that should give you a solid guideline of what size building to search for. Additionally, finding a one size fits all solution is unrealistic, but, you should try to find an office space that will streamline your business processes. If collaboration is needed sometimes, but individual client meetings are needed as well, find a building with private offices, and a large conference room for collaboration.

When you’re ready to begin your new office hunt take these tips, put them into practice and get ready to move into a perfect office fit for your business.

 

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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.

 

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

Posted on July 21, 2015 by - 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.

 

PackingUpOffice_Coordinate

 

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.

 

PackingUpOffice_FurnitureInstallation

 

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 - 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.

 

CostOfMyMove_distance

 

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.

 

CostOfMyMove_Space

 

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.

 

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.

 

Finding the Right Moving Company.

Posted on July 7, 2015 by - 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.

 

SettingUp_Software

 

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.

 

SettingUp_Organization

 

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.

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.