Don’t Let Your Commercial Mover Take Charge of You!

If you are planning a company relocation — whether it’s in Dallas, Austin or across the country – you would be well-advised to know about a few best practices that will smooth your move and help you avoid becoming a victim.

In the 30+ years we have been in the commercial moving business, Move Solutions has helped more than 200,000 firms of all shapes and sizes relocate their offices. And while it may sound like a plain, straightforward process, moving can be riddled with snags and pitfalls that can make your life miserable. Here are five things to keep in mind to avoid any such heartache.

1) If you don’t read and understand the commercial moving company’s Certificate of Insurance (COI, also known as Accord Form 25) you risk becoming a victim. This is insurance that describes how you and your property manager are protected if a mishap occurs. General liability protection typically covers damages that are done to goods, property, buildings, and real estate, Auto liability attends to vehicle mishaps, Workers Compensation to injured or deceases employees. It is important in Texas, the only state in the country who does not require Workers Compensation insurance, to have Texas Subscription Workers Comp or you lose the legal right to the “normal defenses” within the law.

Say, for example, your mover forgets to disconnect the water line after the office refrigerator has been removed. The next day the tenants below arrive at work and find their offices flooded. If it is not covered by the mover’s insurance, a lot of heartache will follow. So, before you agree to hire a commercial mover, make sure you carefully read the COI and know what it covers.

2) If you don’t provide your commercial office mover with a detailed Scope of Work, you risk becoming a victim.  Basically, the Scope of Work lays out the exact tasks that you require done and the exact services you are buying. It must be accurate and detailed. It should include a complete description (inventory) of what is being moved and where it will be placed at its new destination. Commercial moving companies use a numbering system and corresponding labels that are applied to each item. At the receiving end, Instructions should be posted in several high-profile locations so movers know exactly where to place furniture, computers, printers, and servers.

A move plan also should include things that may not be obvious. Typically, office movers schedule their work after hours and on weekends. Will the building’s freight elevators be available at these times? Or, for example, will the elevators be busy hauling remodeling contractors to the top floor?  The project manager will bring these kinds of issues up so they can be addressed ahead of time.

3) If you don’t hire a commercial mover with expertise in moving office technology, you risk becoming a victim.  Think about all the technology your company relies on to power its day-to-day operations: voice and data cabling, PCs, servers, printers, and workstations.  Do you want unskilled workers handling it?  Probably not. Technology equipment is a huge investment with special requirements. Hire a mover that has deep and broad expertise in relocating IT equipment and reconnecting it at its new home.

Move Solutions recently helped a Austin, Texas firm relocate more than 500 employees across town. It involved disconnecting and then reconnecting 500+ computer setups. In addition to movers and drivers, 30 electronic technicians helped execute the move.

4) It you don’t require the right kind of proposal, including a detailed itemization of costs, you risk becoming a victim.  When two or more commercial moving companies are asked to submit a bid, ask each of them to submit a Project Proposal that includes:

• A detailed timeline, including a schedule, milestones and when tasks will be completed.
• A comprehensive cost breakdown mapped to different phases/stages of the move
• A list of potential extra costs that may be incurred and why
• A list of risks and what strategies/contingencies would be implemented to mitigate/avoid them
• An overview of the complete office relocation team, including movers, project managers, furniture installers, etc.
• A list of vehicles, equipment and tools that will be used for the office relocation
• A Certificate of Insurance
• Company history, including years in business and references/testimonials
• If applicable, a list of third-party vendors who will play a role in the office relocation

5) If you don’t understand how to prepare for the move, you WILL become a victim.  There are three basic steps to any commercial move. After planning is complete, preparation and execution follow. A word to the wise: Skimping on preparation leads to poor execution. Ask your mover for a complete and detailed task list of what your employees need to do before moving day. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Lots of them.

Doing everything that’s possible beforehand  — so when the movers show up you can simply step out of the way and let them do their work — is a key to success. You don’t want to figure things out on the fly. Nor do you want to make spur-of-the-moment changes, which can come with steep costs. One company we worked with had failed to apply moving labels to its assets beforehand, having ignored our training and handouts, and, not surprisingly, the cost of the move jumped several thousand dollars.

Nobody ever said a corporate move would be easy. But without exception companies are glad they did. A carefully thought-out roadmap, coupled with the expertise of a first-rate commercial mover, will make for a hassle-free move that quickly puts your employees back to work in their new location.

When you choose a commercial office moving company like Move Solutions, trust our team of experts to guide you for a hassle-free move.