The 5 Phases of End to End Project Management
When an office move approaches, stakes rise fast. You need continuity, protected assets, and a team who stays productive through change. Professional office relocation services give you a single plan, one point of accountability, and the confidence that day one in the new space works as expected.
Here’s what’s included, how to keep people working through the move, and how we coordinate it across Design → Create → Build.
What do professional office relocation services include?
Office relocation services are a coordinated set of planning, packing, IT, furniture, transport, setup, testing, and aftercare tasks delivered by specialists so your team can keep working through the move.
A complete service covers the survey and move plan with risk and method statements, a practical packing approach with crate hire and colour‑coded labels tied to an asset register, and furniture disassembly and reassembly so desks are rebuilt to spec with tidy cable management and the right floor‑box alignment. Label crates using a simple code (e.g., A-3-12-Monitor) and keep a chain‑of‑custody log; scan items at uplift and again at destination.
It also covers secure IT decommission/recommission, transport booked with lifts and loading bays (with Goods in Transit cover), RAMS for move‑night, set‑up and testing of the internet uplink, Wi‑Fi, print and AV, and waste/storage or WEEE disposal. Keep day‑one hypercare on site to close issues quickly.
If you are reshaping the workspace as part of the move, bring the design team in early. Explore workplace consultancy and office design to lock the brief, adjacencies, and space standards before you lift a single crate.
How early should you book office relocation services?
Start planning three to nine months ahead, depending on headcount, number of floors, fit‑out scope, and landlord approvals. Single‑floor moves with no building works often sit at the shorter end. Multi‑floor programmes or Cat A/B changes need more time for surveys, furniture lead times, and IT preparation. As a guide, lock furniture and IT sequencing by T‑12 weeks, confirm crate counts and lift slots by T‑4, start the change freeze at T‑2, and wrap hypercare by T+2. If furniture sign-off slips a week, crate counts, lift slots, and IT desk maps all move with it.
How do professional office relocation services keep your team working during the move?
Downtime costs more than the move itself. A professional approach uses phasing and swing space to decant one zone at a time, schedules out‑of‑hours and weekend works to protect trading hours and sets a sensible IT change freeze from T-2 days to T+2 days, so nothing shifts under your feet at the worst moment.
Clear staff communications tell people what to pack and where to go. Issue a one-page staff brief: what to pack, what not to pack, where to collect access cards, and how to log day-one issues. Acceptance criteria define what “ready” means for day one, and a named hypercare team walks the floor to fix issues on the spot so small problems stay small. For many organisations, furniture decisions sit on the critical path, and our furniture and interior solutions help you lock choices before move‑night.
For IT leads: Confirm WAN cutover Friday 18:00, run DHCP/DNS reachability checks at 20:30, print a sample at 21:00, then join a test VC at 21:30.
For Operations/Facilities: Book the loading bay in 30‑minute slots, confirm the lift max load, and add the out‑of‑hours security contact to the run‑sheet.
For Office Managers: Issue a one‑page staff brief at T‑3 days covering what to pack and what not to pack, where to collect access cards, and how to log day‑one issues.
What documents and approvals do you need for an office move?
Have the essentials ready: RAMS for move‑night; insurance certificates for Goods in Transit, Public Liability, and Professional Indemnity; lift and loading‑bay booking confirmations; a run‑sheet with named owners and out‑of‑hours security contacts; an asset register and chain‑of‑custody log for IT; and, when alterations are part of the scope, a Licence to Alter with the related drawings. Make copies available to building management and keep them on site on the night.
What risks do you remove by using professional office relocation services?
Relocation is a chain of dependencies. Professional office relocation services shift risk onto specialists: carriers hold Goods in Transit cover; contractors carry Public Liability and Professional Indemnity; RAMS and access are agreed in advance; and assets are protected with anti‑static packing, monitor sleeves, and secure logging.
Handle data securely with WEEE for end‑of‑life kit and certified erasure where needed. If works are included, plan landlord coordination and submit a Licence to Alter alongside RAMS and programme notes. Every supplier works to one schedule, so movers, IT, furniture, cleaning, and waste arrive in the right order. Common mistakes we prevent: unlabelled crates, missing lift slots, late furniture sign‑off, and printers left unmapped. If the move includes Cat A or Cat B works, align build and relocation programmes early via our Cat A & Cat B fit‑out.
DIY vs professional coordination: the hidden cost is downtime: staff × hourly rate × hours offline + lost trading. That number often dwarfs any saving from self-managing a move. For practical timing and approvals, see our relocation timing and approvals checklist.
What does success look like on move‑night and day one?
On move‑night the team works to a timed run‑sheet. Owners sign off tasks as they complete them, crews follow RAMS and keep access routes clear, crates scan to destination zones, and IT reconnects in the right order, so core services come up cleanly.
Day one should feel normal. Staff log in with SSO at a sample of desks; default printers appear without a driver hunt; Teams/Zoom join from two meeting rooms; room-booking screens sync with your calendar system (e.g., Microsoft 365); the guest Wi‑Fi splash page loads. Staff find their desks, lockers, and meeting rooms without asking, Wi‑Fi, printing, and AV pass the test scripts, clear signage guides people to new zones, and first‑48‑hours support on site resolves issues within minutes while logging snags for quick closure. Outcome when the plan runs well: by 08:30 Monday, staff log in, printers run, and AV connects in first meetings without delay.
See how we delivered for clients across sectors on our case studies page.
How does Bates Studio coordinate an office relocation?
Bates Studio coordinates the move as a single point of accountability. We bring your brief together across Design → Create → Build, then manage specialist relocation and IT partners to deliver the plan.
Who owns what? One named project manager owns risks, dependencies, and communications, so decisions move quickly and nothing falls between teams. During the move window we run a daily stand‑up at 08:30, keep one risk log and one comms channel, and name an owner on every task.
- Design. We lock the brief, adjacencies, and standards through workplace consultancy. We provide visuals and walkthroughs so teams can sign off decisions with confidence.
- Create. We specify and supply furniture and finishes that support collaboration, privacy, and wellbeing, then schedule delivery in line with the move.
- Build. We manage Cat A and Cat B works and align the fit‑out with the relocation programme. The goal is simple: walk in, log on, carry on.
If you need a coordinator who protects continuity and owns the dependencies from survey to hypercare, speak to the team.
What’s a simple move‑night checklist to follow?
Use this 8‑point checklist to keep the programme tight and predictable. Keep it on the run‑sheet so everyone can see the plan at a glance.
- Run‑sheet with owners and timings
- Lift and loading‑bay bookings confirmed
- Crates and colour‑coded labels by zone
- Asset register shared and up to date
- IT change freeze in place
- RAMS briefed to all crews
- Test scripts ready (WAN, Wi‑Fi, print, AV)
- Hypercare team on site for the first 24–48 hours
Make your move predictable
A well-run office move isn’t luck. It’s a programme. With professional office relocation services, you lock the brief, protect assets and data, and keep people productive while spaces change.
Bates Studio coordinates Design → Create → Build with trusted relocation and IT partners, so you get a single plan with one risk log, plus day‑one hyper care that closes snags quickly. If fit‑out or furniture changes sit on the path, we align them with the move so Monday feels normal.
Plan your next move with our office relocation services! Speak to the team.