Just like moving house, relocating a business must rank as one of the most stressful events for any company owner or director.

There are many reasons why firms decide to relocate; if they are growing they may need more space, if they are downsizing, less space, or it could simply be a move away from prime city centre rental zones to more cost effective premises on the outskirts.

Whatever the reason, the relocation process can cause major disruption to the business, not to mention stress and anxiety to those charged with planning and executing a seamless move. The key lies in good planning, having realistic timescales, and engaging the services of one or more of the many business relocation specialists.

A spokesperson for the company says, ‘March tends to be a busy time of year due to the financial year-end. Normally, departments at this time have to accelerate their moving programme – so keep within their budget allocation, or they risk losing it. Companies which have downtime periods such as summer, Christmas and Bank Holiday closures also tend to plan their moving programmes around this time as staff downtime is at its lowest.’

This is an extreme example, but one that illustrates the importance of considering all factors: premises, staff relocation packages and operating costs in a new area.

Moving away from older style conventional offices to either brand-new offices or totally refurbished buildings is also extremely popular. Pickfords Business Moves’ spokesperson explains, ‘Moving to brand-new premises allows businesses to take full advantage of current computer and networking technologies, fit new workstations, and provide better workspace for individuals by making more efficient use of workspace per square metre.’

The actual space required will depend upon the nature of the company and any future plans for growth.

Richard Fenton, Managing Director of London-based chartered surveyors Richard Henry & Co, says, ‘As a rule of thumb, the British Council for Offices suggests an occupation density of 150 sq ft per employee as a benchmark, allowing for a workstation area of 75 to 95 sq ft per employee. This is the area taken up by the employee’s desk, chair and filing cabinet, plus circulation space, reception, kitchen and meeting rooms.’

A chartered surveyor can also advise on the best course of action concerning the current premises.

Richard Fenton adds, ‘If the premises are leased and the lease has a few years to run, you will need someone to take over, or you could end up paying double rent. If it has come to an end, there may be an obligation to reinstate the premises to their original layout at the end of the lease.’

‘Keeping staff on board is essential,’ says Stuart Mitchell. ‘Canvass them on their views and keep them informed of what is going on. If you don’t involve them, and they have objections or perceive problems relating to the move, you are more likely to lose them.’

Even firms with a small workforce, relocating just a short distance, requires detailed planning and the buy-in of every member of staff. It’s a principle that worked for marketing and public relations firm Golley Slater, and its team of eight staff, when it swapped its Manchester city centre base, to brand-new premises on the outskirts of the city 18 months ago.

Managing director Martin Mason says, ‘The two main reasons for the move were space and image. We are a growing company and the existing premises simply didn’t have the capacity that we needed. We also questioned whether our offices portrayed the right image for us.’

The move to a new development, Timber Wharf, just outside Manchester city centre was seen as radical, and initially raised concerns about accessibility.

‘The old office was very easy to get to, but for a number of our staff who drive in to work, parking was a nightmare and hugely expensive,’ says Mason. ‘Parking is free at the new offices, and staff have saved extra money by bringing prepared lunches from home. Before, it was too easy to eat out at lunchtime.’

The company hired a relocation firm and the move took place over a weekend. By Monday morning, the firm’s communication and IT systems were operational. However, Mason’s advice to businesses planning to relocate is not to be overly optimistic in drawing up a schedule.

He says, ‘If I had to do it again, I would add three weeks on to the timeline – no matter how carefully you plan, or what professional services you hire, there are always extra things to think about.
‘Be firm with suppliers about deadlines – make sure they come out to the site to see for themselves what is required. If you are renting try to negotiate a rent-free period – we had three months – and make sure that your relocation services are fully inclusive.’

Companies should also seek professional legal advice to check the wording of the lease, and that they aren’t in breach of employee contracts by moving. It is important to consider any individual cases of hardship or additional expense that may result from a move.

It is important that the person managing the process has the resources to handle this part of the operation. If not, the possibility of losing vital data is very real and can be costly.

Mark Jones, from IT relocation specialists ITMoves says that having an expert team on-site to disconnect and reconnect workstations, network servers and communications systems is the key to a seamless relocation.

He says, ‘Moving the IT equipment can be the most worrying aspect of a business move. Some companies have an in-house IT team who can handle the reconnection process quite easily. But those that don’t should consider calling in a specialist.’

Timing is even more crucial, so check that the IT team can facilitate the move over a weekend and have the systems up and running by Monday morning.

‘Telephones, email and internet access are central to most business operations. Paying to get it right can save you two weeks of IT hell doing it yourself,’ adds Jones.

Last year public relations firm NHPR decided to expand its national base to include East Anglia, and opened an office in Norwich. Although the move had been carefully planned, it still fell prey to unexpected IT problems.

Founder Nicola Hunt says, ‘This was largely a lifestyle choice as my husband and I had decided to relocate out of London. We also wanted to offer our staff the opportunity to move out of London for a better quality of life, while giving those who wanted to stay the option by retaining a London base.’

The main telecom problem was that the office service provider the company had hired in Norwich told them that they could accommodate the firm’s newly purchased voice over IP (voIP) telephone system. It transpired that they couldn’t.

Nicola Hunt explains, ‘There was a painful period of discovery when we realised that the systems we had so carefully tested in London were not going to work in the same way. This created substantial downtime and preoccupation while we put a back-up programme in place.’

Although the issue is in the process of being resolved, the company moved quickly in the interim to find a more reliable solution and as a result had to move the regional office twice in three months.

‘Luckily, the London office was able to step in immediately and take the pressure off the Norwich issue and as the transfer happened over the weekend there was very little downtime,’ she says. ‘Even so, it was a highly and unforeseen stressful situation, which only goes to show that even the best laid plans can go awry.’