Category: Moving Preparation

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.

 

 

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.

 

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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.

 

Tips and Tricks to make Your Office Move Even Easier

Posted on June 30, 2015 by - 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.

BeforeMovingBusiness_Moving

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.

 

BeforeMovingBusiness_StressFree

 

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: Move into Your First Office

Posted on May 18, 2015 by - Moving Preparation

You’ve been running a successful business from home, but you’re starting to outgrow your home office. Whether you’re trying to hire new employees, need more space for operations, or want to bring in bigger clients, a brick and mortar office could be a great next step for your business.

 

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Research the Market

Check out the commercial real estate market in your area to get an idea of rent prices and operational costs. Check out offices of different sizes and in different locations to make the smartest investment for your business.

 

Check Your Cash Flow

If your business can’t sustain the operational costs that come with an office, now is not the time to move. Make sure you are bringing in enough revenue to support your office long-term. You can also start saving rent money before you move once you know what rentals in your target area cost.

 

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Find the Right Office

There are plenty of affordable options for a legitimate commercial office. There are stand-alone buildings, office parks and even co-working offices. Research each option to find out which meets your needs and your budget.

 

Moving into your first office can seem chaotic, especially if you don’t know what to expect. Call The Quality Group, and we can talk you through the entire commercial moving process. From planning to setting up your new office, we take care of everything so you can focus on making your business even more successful.

 

For more helpful intel about getting your own office, check out Grasshopper’s blog.

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.

 

The Perks of Working with The Quality Group

Posted on April 27, 2015 by - 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.

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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.

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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

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.

 

10 Tips to Keep Your Commercial Move on Track

Posted on April 20, 2015 by - Moving Preparation

Whether your company is expanding or restructuring, moving your business can be a challenge. Planning, communicating, and working with experienced movers can ensure a smooth transition and successful relocation.

Plan Your Space

Once you choose your new location, begin planning your space. With the help of a space planner or architectural firm, plan your furniture arrangement to optimize your new office for accessibility and productivity.

Establish a Move Budget

Prepare for both expected and unexpected costs during your commercial move. Click here for your budget planning guide.

Ask for a Firm Price

So there won’t be any surprises after the move. “Not-to-Exceed” pricing is a good phrase to look out for.

Put the Right Person in Charge

The ideal candidate? Someone who is very detail- oriented and has a take-charge personality.

Hire a Professional Moving Company

CoordinateWVendors

Make sure to hire a company that specializes in office relocation – call their references and ask about the on-site project team managing your relocation.

Coordinate Vendors

Bring all of your vendors together to identify the time for their part of the move and outline the move schedule.

Label Property for Location

PlanYourSpace

Removable color-coded labels will help distinguish between departments and speed up both removal and installation.

Coordinate Packing of Personnel Items

State very clearly your expectations for your employees. Do they need to pack their own things, or will the moving company take care of it? Give employees notice of their responsibilities as soon as possible, and read more about how to help your employees through the move here.

Purge before You Pack

Now is the time to reduce the things you’ve accumulated over the years, and with an electronic data plan for scanning and storage, you can communicate well in advance to your staff what is staying and going.

Finalize Your Plan

Schedule a walk-through with your office moving company to finalize details and make sure your staff is ready for the move.

Print this Helpful Guide to Keep Everyone on the Same Page during Your Commercial 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.