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No Nightmare Office Moves Here!

by Jaclyn Reid••0 Comments

You found out your office is moving, exciting news!


At least those were your initial thoughts until your agenda and checklists keep filling up and you haven’t even hired a mover yet!  Never fear!  Not only because I’m here to help you look like the professional, but because using these introductory straightforward tips when orchestrating an office move will aid in making your office move as smooth and efficient as possible!

My suggestion is simple: find a moving company that offers comprehensive move management services!  You’ll be laughing with joy throughout the entire move process, and well beyond move-in day!

Moving forward using these tips as a starting point will help alleviate undue stress and potential wasted energy when hunting for a competent mover.

  • Let’s Talk Insurance – Your mover should be able to meet, if not exceed, your building(s)’s minimum requirements; make sure of this even before asking for an estimate!  RUN, far and fast, if your mover cannot produce a current Certificate of Insurance listing required coverage amounts.  Also make sure your moving company has the ability to add, not only your company, but the building ownership entities as additional insured on the certificate.
  • Safety #1 – Obtaining a Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Clearance Letter from your mover will identify if the company (a) has a valid WCB account, (b) whether it is in good standing with the WCB, which includes (c) having their premiums paid to-date.

WOWZER FACT: did you know that if you hire a company, moving or otherwise operating within your workplace, and their premiums are not paid up-to-date, the possibility exists to hold YOUR company liable for not only the owed premiums, but also the associated claim costs should an injury occur on your site!  The WCB even suggests requesting another Clearance Letter prior to releasing final payment!

Thoroughly check your vendors’ references and credentials.

  • Full-service moving company or just the movers?  Hiring a company that performs more than just the physical moving of your office furnishings is crucial!  For instance, levelling the file cabinets, bookcases and desks when moved, more often than not is completely overlooked by “just movers”.  Any uneven furnishing can be a safety hazard!  And omitting this step can actually cause permanent damage to your furnishings!  It will also lead to reduced drawer functionality over time, lock mechanism wear, etc.

Also consider this, does the moving company provide after-move services, such as hanging artwork, adjusting keyboard trays and work surface heights to each worker’s preference?  Do they move file rooms including the shelving too?

  • Furnished?  Move with Furniture?  Do you move with your office furniture, get new furniture, or are you moving into a space already furnished?  Your moving company should be able to provide you with pricing options for all scenarios to help give you a realistic perspective on the decision at hand.
  • Got supplies?  Plastic moving bins/lids with security ties, labels, computer or map bags, packing materials, bubble wrap covers for monitors, various sized cardboard boxes, Masonite to protect the flooring, walls and door trim – your moving company should be able to supply all of these materials and so much more!  What about the moving company’s equipment they’re going to be using – are they stocked well enough for your move and is it maintained in a respectable, safe condition?  Are their trucks up to date with the annual inspections as part of Alberta’s CVIP (Commercial Vehicle Inspection Program)?

Plan ahead whenever and wherever possible!  For instance, booking of the elevators and loading docks can get very sparse depending on what else is happening in your office building.  As soon as you know anticipated dates, lock of the elevators and book the
loading dock at all required buildings (or if you have an awesome full-service moving company like CSS, we’ll take care of this entirely for you).

Bottom line is this: ensure you’re hiring a full-service moving company offering comprehensive move services, a company that know what they’re doing with your office furniture, files and assets.  These are important to you and your company and should be even more of a priority when being relocated by your movers!

These tips are merely tiny specks of sand out of the entire desert on guidelines to coordinate a streamlined office move.  I could write a book on tips on how to properly choose an office mover, so please feel free to contact CSS Office Solutions by phone or email to speak with one of our Account Managers directly if you have any questions regarding your office move.

A Clients’ Magical Experience with Office Moves

by Jennifer Eriksson••0 Comments

Does your office furniture magically appear or set itself up?  The short answer, no!

Picture it: you walk into your place of work – it could be an office/bank/school etc.  You sit down at your desk and begin your day: answering e-mails at your desk, working on projects, whatever your day entails.  After about an hour or so, you raise your standing desk so you can stretch your legs while you continue working.  You return to sitting in your comfy chair.  You collaborate with team members on the white board or around the boardroom table.

Do you ever wonder how those items got there?  Did they magically appear?  It seems like they do.  Like the fairy tale – the Shoemaker and the Elves.  These elves though, are the members of the office furniture moving industry.  These hardworking people of all genders make your office space as comfortable, clean and appealing as possible.  Paying attention to the smallest details.

While it seems these office transformations happen overnight, there are many days, weeks or even months that go into the planning and execution of an office move or set up.  The first contact comes through to CSS via a Google search, a referral, or by someone clicking the “contact us” area on our website www.cssoffice.com.  Our diligent Account Mangers ask all the questions to understand what you require.  They ask the details of where you are moving, what’s moving and gather all the details in between!  They measure, then measure again, to be sure they know the fit and space requirements.  They assist you in the design of your new or rearranged space.  They help plan out what your space will look like, including assisting with individual office layouts.  They plan out the route and finally, they help you plan the day or days of the move (and the days leading up to the move and days after your move too!).  Your team will have filled, labeled, sturdy, and strong moving bins with their personal items, and their specific office chair – because we are all very particular about our chairs and of course that’s important to us, because it is important to you!

Then the real magic happens.  This is where CSS shines and brings life to your office space!

The CSS team of installers and movers arrive on scene.  The installers begin to disassemble the desks for easier transport, because you likely know the famous “PIVOT” scene from Friends, the smaller the surface to move, the better (but CSS could have moved that couch, no problem).  They take down whiteboards, artwork, wall-hung overheads and anything else on the walls that’s moving with you.

Meanwhile the movers are organizing the bins by person, moving the chairs out of the space, manoeuvring the filing cabinets onto dollies for easier transport, wrapping computers and monitors with all the cables and cords in special computer bags with your name.  They load all the other effects of the office – bulletin boards, artwork, white boards, fridges, coffee makers, you name it! – onto dollies, panel carts, tubs or file carts, taking care to wrap items with moving blankets when needed to prevent damage.  On to the trucks we go!  In, one, two, ten trips, your office is off to the new location.  Then the reverse happens.  All the items that came out, go back in.  When you and your team come back to the office on your next workday, it will be like you’ve always been at that location.  

Keeping in mind that the above is a simplified high-level overview of what steps could take place to get your office space set up properly and entail only a few of the moving pieces as seen by our clients and/or their staff.

We pride ourselves on making our clients’ moving requirements, service needs or furniture purchases as simplified as possible.  We know first-hand that what the client sees is not always the whole picture.  If you’re every wondering all the steps that are taken care of by CSS, don’t be shy to ask one of our Account Managers or qualified staff about all the coordinated steps necessary to ensure a seamless and uninterrupted moving/service/furniture experience.

Moving an entire office is one of the more intricate services we provide, but it is just one of the many services offered by our company.  To see the full list of the services CSS offers, check out this link to our services page!

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but your office sure could be!

At the end of the day, if you arrive at your new office space without skipping a beat in your workday, we call that a success and a move gone well!  If you’re interested in knowing what that feels like, call or email our office today!