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Our plans for moving office are turning into a disaster. I’m worried about losing customers.
There are three rules to remember about moving office. The first is: Plan ahead.
What’s the second?
The second rule is: Plan ahead. And the third rule is…
…plan ahead?
Yes!
I get the message. It seems so obvious now. How much time should I have allowed?
Ideally try to get two months access to your new office before moving, even before signing the lease.
How come?
Because you can’t hurry the process of installing phone lines and internet connections. You need time to
install/change cabling, ensure suitable power and airconditioning for your equipment amongst other things.
Prepare for complications. You can’t rush BT engineers, and no one, including your staff, is going to give you
sympathy for lack of preparation. They will just want to get on with their jobs without interruption.
So where should I start?
Get the basics in place – telephone lines, internet (we can help take care of this for you)– and plan your office
layouts, so that you are ready for moving your staff and computers on a Friday evening to start work on Monday.
That’s a tough weekend!
It is, but a two day window can also be useful, especially if changing Internet Service Provider. Some changes
to email flow can take 24-48 hours.
What about staying in touch with customers? I’m sure we’re losing business!
Prioritise how your customers contact you. Is it mainly via phone, email, or your website? You must keep lines
of communication open and keep your customers aware that you are looking after them.
It’s difficult. Some of my staff are on their mobiles all the time because we’re changing landline numbers. Others
are having calls re-directed.
That’s both costly and inconvenient. It could have been easily avoided.
How?
You might want to consider 0845 numbers. They cost nothing to set up, are local rate to your customers, and
stay the same wherever you move. They may or may not be appropriate for your business, but we can help you
consider the right questions.
That would have been so easy. What else?
Make sure you have safe copies of your data before you start moving equipment around, and make sure your
backups don’t travel with the servers in case anything happens.
Talking of equipment, we’re planning to buy new computers when moving. It seems like the perfect time.
Not necessarily. You’ve got enough to deal with. Changing hardware can sometimes create double the
complications.
Maybe I’ll re-think that one. I’m nearly hoarse with shouting at the phone company, the moving company, and
everything seems to take so long!
Shouting gets you nowhere. Just plan ahead. And have contingencies if anything goes wrong.
And a bit of common sense?
You've got it. Moving office is less about IT, more about human beings.
You’re right there!
If you are thinking of moving office we can help you with the necessary planning – and take care of the
technology.
Contact us here to find out more. For more general advice about moving office, click here.
Also in this issue: Getting Your Website Noticed
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