Planning a Company Move: Checklist and 3 Tips from a Workplace Manager Who Just Moved

Search for office moving or moving company Berlin and almost every result is written by someone selling the move. You'll read a lot about boxes, trucks and insurance. All of that matters – and so does having a reliable handyman in Berlin for the shelves, lamps and small fixes once everything has arrived. But there's one question those pages rarely ask: what should the move actually change for your team?

This guide is written from the other side of the table. It's for workplace and office managers who own an upcoming move or consolidation – and who want the new office to work better, not just look new.

All quotes come from video interviews with Officeguru and have been lightly edited for clarity. This article is part of our series featuring five voices from Berlin offices.

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Why most office moving guides miss the point

A moving company's checklist is built around the moving day. That makes sense – it's their job. But for you, the moving day is only one step in a much longer project. Before it come the questions of why you're moving, what your teams need and what the new space should feel like. After it comes the part nobody plans for: settling in, fixing what doesn't work and making the office your own.

The move at Circula: from three floors to one

Salah is Workplace Experience Manager at Circula in Berlin and recently led the company's office move.

"It was my project from zero, like from A to Z – from scouting different offices and choosing this one, to the whole concept of it, to the move."

The interesting part is why Circula moved. It wasn't about space. The new office is about the same size as the old one. The difference: the team used to sit on three different floors. Now everyone is on one.

The old office wasn't bad at all. Salah describes it as "a very nice office, super cool location." Something else was missing:

"What was missing was this collaboration. People who sit on different floors used to almost never see each other unless they have a meeting."

Even lunch followed the floor plan. People from the second floor went to lunch with people from the second floor. That bothered everyone – and it became the real brief for the move: one space for all of us, and a space that fits the company better.

So the concept went beyond square metres. Salah's team chose furniture and a colour concept that reflected the company. The reward came when colleagues started using the new space:

"It's really cool to see it all come together, and people enjoying it and saying: 'Oh, I see us as a company in this.'"

Salah's summary of the result: "Everyone is quite satisfied with it." And, honestly: "It's of course still a work in progress."

Salah's 3 tips for a successful office move

Asked for the three most important lessons, Salah didn't mention a single box.

1. Gather feedback before you start

"Gather as much feedback before you start the project. Understand the needs of your teams and what would make the new office a greater place to come into."

At Circula, the feedback pointed at one thing: collaboration. At your company, it might be quiet space, better meeting rooms, or a kitchen people actually want to sit in. You won't know until you ask.

2. Work with people whose job it is – and trust them

"Work with people who – it's their job. So trust them."

You don't need to become a moving expert. Your job is to know what the team needs and to pick partners you can rely on. Then let them do their work, instead of checking every step twice.

3. Keep the big picture in mind

"Don't lose too much energy and time on very small details, like what piece of furniture. Just the big picture: what would make this a very nice space for people to come in and be able to work and collaborate and enjoy."

A move produces hundreds of small decisions. Each one feels important in the moment. Most of them aren't.

Bonus: talk to someone who has done it before

Salah also recommends a community of other office managers. Especially for a big one-off project like a move, it helps to hear what others did right, what they did wrong and what they learned – instead of being thrown into cold water.

What are the key steps to plan a smooth office relocation with minimal downtime?

Planning an office move gets easier when you separate it into phases. Here's a framework based on Salah's approach:

1. Define the why. What should be better after the move? Collaboration, space, location, cost? Write it down in one or two sentences. It's your compass for every later decision.
2. Collect feedback. Short survey, team conversations, a few honest questions. What works today? What doesn't?
3. Scout and choose the space. Compare options against your why, not just against price and location.
4. Develop the concept. This is where office planning happens: zones for focus and collaboration, meeting rooms, kitchen, furniture, colours.
5. Choose your partners. Movers, furniture assembly, IT setup, cleaning, handyman. Decide early who does what.
6. Plan the moving window. Choose a time that disrupts work the least, such as a weekend or a quiet period. Make sure IT and internet work before people arrive.
7. Communicate early and often. When is the move, what do people need to pack, where do they sit, what changes for them?
8. Move – and fix fast. Keep a list of everything that doesn't work yet and close it quickly.
9. Ask for feedback again. A few weeks after the move, check whether the new space delivers on your why.

Minimal downtime mostly comes from steps 5 and 6: partners who know their job, and a moving window that doesn't collide with busy weeks.

How long does an average office move take from packing to setup in the new space?

It depends on team size, how much furniture moves with you and whether the new space needs work first. But one thing holds for almost every move: the moving day is short, and the project around it is long.

Salah's project started with scouting offices – long before anything was packed. That's typical. Use this timeline as a starting point for planning, not as a rule:

The last phase is the one most plans forget. As Salah says, the new office is "still a work in progress" – and that's normal.

Are there common hidden costs or pitfalls to watch out for during an office move?

Office move costs rarely come from the move itself. They come from everything around it. Watch out for:

• Overlapping rent. Old and new leases often run in parallel for a while.
• Handing back the old space. Check what your lease requires – repairs, repainting or removing installations can add up.
• IT and internet. A new connection can take time. Plan it early, so people can work from day one.
• Furniture that doesn't fit. Measure before you move, not after.
• Cleaning. Both the old and the new office usually need it.
• Small fixes after the move. Shelves, lamps, whiteboards, doors that stick. They always come, so budget for them.
• Address changes. Contracts, suppliers, registrations and mail forwarding. Morena, Member Success Manager at Lukso, already names checking the mail as the task she'd most like to drop from her to-do list – "especially in Germany." A move doesn't make it easier.
• Lost focus. The weeks around a move are rarely productive. Plan big deadlines elsewhere.

And the biggest pitfall isn't a cost at all: losing too much time on small details, as Salah warns. The second biggest is unclear ownership. Salah points out how much it helps when one person fully owns a topic. A move is the clearest example.

What should you look for when selecting an office moving service or logistics partner?

Moving companies will tell you why they're the best choice. From the buyer's side, these are the questions that matter:

• Do they know office moves? Moving desks, servers and meeting rooms is different from moving a flat.
• Is the quote clear? What's included – packing material, disassembly, assembly, disposal? What costs extra?
• Can they work in your moving window? Weekends and evenings are often the key to minimal downtime.
• Who's your contact? One person who answers is worth more than a long list of services.
• What happens after the move? You'll need someone for the fixes, the extra shelves and the things that break. With more than 120 people in the office, Jay, Workplace Experience Manager at Almedia, puts it simply: things "get used a lot more, and so things break a lot more often."
• Can you rely on them? Reliability beats the lowest price. Lidia, Senior Workplace & Culture Manager at Tourlane, has used Officeguru for handyman services and catering – and names exactly this: "I could always rely on you."

Your office move checklist

Before the move

• Write down your why in one or two sentences
• Collect feedback from all teams
• Check the lease: notice period, handover requirements, overlap
• Plan the layout: focus zones, collaboration spaces, kitchen
• Choose movers, handyman, cleaning and IT partners
• Order the internet connection early
• Measure furniture and plan what moves, what goes and what's new
• Share a clear timeline with the whole team

Moving week

• Label boxes and desks by zone
• Check that IT and internet work in the new space
• Have one contact person on site
• Keep a list of everything that's broken or missing

After the move

• Close the fix list quickly
• Update your address everywhere, including mail forwarding
• Clean and hand back the old office
• Ask the team for feedback a few weeks later
• Celebrate – a first lunch or small get-together helps the new space feel like home

After the move: the office is never really finished

A move is a moment when people suddenly see how much work goes into an office. Polina, People & Culture Specialist at Vay, noticed this after her company's move: colleagues became much more aware of the effort behind a well-running office.

Use that moment. Show what changed and why. And keep going – because the new office will keep evolving with your team.

Conclusion: move for your people, not for your boxes

A good office move isn't measured by how smoothly the trucks arrive. It's measured by what happens afterwards: whether people meet, work together and recognise their company in the space. Circula moved from three floors to one because collaboration was missing. That's a good reason to move – and a good reason to plan the whole project around people, not logistics.

Planning a move, or simply want to improve how your current office works for your team? Book a call with us – no strings attached. Pick a time below that suits you, and let's talk about your office, your employees, and where Officeguru can take something off your plate.