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Office Relocation Project Proposal

Paper Type: Free Assignment Study Level: University / Undergraduate
Wordcount: 5232 words Published: 1st Dec 2020

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INDEX

TERMS OF REFERENCE

SELECTION OF NEW LOCATION

HR CONSIDERATIONS

NEW OFFICE SPACE AND PLAN

RELOCATION OF PHYSICAL ITEMS

A- Assessment:

B- Records keeping rules

C- Arrange the physical move of affected records

IT MIGRATION PLAN AND CONSIDERATIONS

CONTRACTORS

DETAILED TIMELINE OF OFFICE RELOCATION AND MOVE

EQUIPMENT NEEDS FOR THE NEW LOCATION

BUDGET

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDIXES AND ADDENDUMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The lease of our current premises is coming to an end and a project plan for the office’s relocation was assigned to the Personal Assistant, Nathasna Jonnais. The Managing Director is keen to relocate the team into a bigger and more modern building and would like to determine all the necessities and conditions in order to have a successful outcome. The move should be done by the end of the year 2019.

We are aiming to have completed the move by the 21st of December 2018, before the winter break and to avoid disruption to our clients. The move would involve the whole team and all the departments: Reception, Sales, Administration, Executive Suite, Accounts and Human Resources.

The report presents the results of the research associated with the cost, time, limitations and requirements for such a move.

The team involved in the production of the report is the IT manager, the HR assistant and the Personal assistant. We have also used a specialised company on a consultancy basis for extra support when it was necessary. The budget allocated is £30,000.

SELECTION OF NEW LOCATION

We conducted, first, a survey for all employees to fill up and let us know their preferences in terms of commuting (see Appendix1). The survey gave the following results:

80% of the staff would only consider adding 10 minutes to their commute if when we move offices.

70% of the staff would like the offices to be nearby public transportation.

60% of the staff would prefer to have on-site parking facilities.

100% of our employees would like to be in bigger offices, with several mentions that they would like to avoid open plan offices.

100% of our employees would like access to green spaces

55% of the staff would like to have meeting rooms

The survey has also shown that it is very important to be able to work remotely and to have very new looking offices.

Of course, it is not in our interest to lose staff when relocating our offices, and we therefore focused on a 5miles radius from Botley when considering offices.

When selecting the options for the new workplaces, we have considered the following limitations and parameters:

  • The offices should be newly refurbished or require very little refurbishment (painting and socket fitting at most)
  • The offices should have on-site parking available for at least 20 staff members
  • The offices should be bigger than 350 square meters
  • The offices should have at least one meeting space available
  • The offices should have a secured front door with code or key card entry at a minimum
  • The offices should be fitted or be ready to be fitted with high speed internet
  • The offices should not have services included in the contract as we do prefer having the premises cleaned and maintained by a company of our choice.
  • The offices would ideally have some green space to support the mindfulness and well-being of our employees

After having contacted several commercial properties agencies and analysed local magazines, and after visiting 3 different locations, we have narrowed down the following locations:

Frieze Farm House (12 miles from our current offices)

West Way (5 miles from our current offices)

Seacourt Tower (3miles from our current offices)

With budget considerations, and bearing in mind the survey, we have decided to opt for the offices in Seacourt Tower.

HR Considerations

We have primarily focused on actively supporting wellbeing and health in our workplace.

As mentioned above we have done a survey in order to make sure that we would not relocate in an area that would negatively affect their travelling patterns.

The communications sent to all employees (see appendix 4) has been done in a view to provide support before and after the relocation. We have also conducted individual meetings with each members of staff to make them aware of the following:

  • The dismissal of employees because they do not wish to move to new business premises will still normally constitute a redundancy dismissal, however this will not be our case as the new premises are in reasonable distance from our previous location.
  • A valid and applicable mobility clause can be invoked at the outset to implement a business relocation, they would only concern employees currently living more than 30 miles from our current offices.
  • If an employee refuses to move to the new business premises, it has been made clear that no redundancy payment will be offered, considering the new premises are in acceptable distance from the previous offices’ location. We should however be able to provide support (time off when necessary) if employees want to look for another employment.
  • We are aware of the possibility of an indirect sex discrimination claim from a woman who refuses to move to the new premises and therefore will provide extra support (flexible working offers) for women or men with families
  • We have ensured that all employees are aware of the flexible working policy and home working policy, which will be useful to slowly bring on board the most reluctant employees.

We have not received any formal grievances or redundancy requests because of the move itself and we attribute that to the amount of support we have offered. We had less than 20 employees affected and decided to undertake a collective consultation even though it was not necessary.

NEW OFFICE SPACE AND PLAN

We have considered the following when visiting premises:

  • The offices should be newly refurbished or require very little refurbishment (painting and socket fitting at most)
  • The offices should have on-site parking available for at least 20 staff members
  • The offices should be bigger than 350 square meters
  • The offices should have at least one meeting space available
  • The offices should have a secured front door with code or key card entry at a minimum
  • The offices should be fitted or be ready to be fitted with high speed internet
  • The offices should have at least one break room and at least one small kitchen to accommodate all employees

The previous office plan was as follow:

We will have to split some office space in two in order to accommodate all employees but there will be no open space, which we believe will lead to a better physical and mental well-being for the team.

We would also like to try the introduction of hot desks to make sure that our employees are moving around.

RELOCATION OF PHYSICAL ITEMS

A-     We have asked the administrators to carry the following assessment:

  • Identify what records will be affected by the move
  • Identify how the affected records are controlled and whether they are covered by a current disposal authority (new GDPR law)
  • Identify where the records are physically located
  • Interview staff to find out what records they have, where they are kept, and what tools they use to keep track of them (registers or spreadsheets)
  • Do an inventory.
  • Design forms for easy use before, during and after the move
  • Identify which equipment will be needed on the new facilities once the records are moved there
  • Whether temporary staff will be required for the sole purpose of boxing and moving the physical records

It was suggested that the use of a scanning company would be greatly beneficial for the cases of confidential documents which would need to be kept for legal reason but not necessarily need to be acceded to once the move was done. We have asked 3 companies for a quotation (Appendix 2), and have settled on the company BlueSky, who will come to collect documents prior to the move.

B-     The following rules were applied when deciding which records to keep:

If the records are..

then..

in active use

Transfer to the new premises

used fairly regularly

Transfer the records to storage. As use declines, transfer to off-site storage. Our senior administrator has been tasked with carrying this task.

inactive but NOT eligible for destruction

Transfer the records to our off-site storage.

Not in active use AND eligible for destruction

Destroy the records securely and document destruction.

C-     Arrange the physical move of affected records

Once we have identified which records will need to be moved to our new facilities, we will ask a temporary worker to assist with the following:

  • labelling the boxes
  • maintaining location information in our records
  • preparing storage areas and equipment in the destination office.

The senior administrator should be checking that all records have been moved and are undamaged. In case of any missing or damaged records, it is recommended to keep the temporary worker for the checking phase, so that we can follow this up with them.

IT MIGRATION PLAN AND CONSIDERATIONS

Network infrastructure tends to age fast and the office move is a good time to update our equipment. We are planning to move, update and review the IT equipment.

The following has been done:

  • An inventory of all equipment to determine whether it still meets our needs and will be suitable in the new location.
  • We have listed any equipment that needs upgrading or replacing and ordered the necessary equipment for the new offices (Appendix 3).
  • We have a planned a date to return any leased IT and phone equipment that is no longer needed or cost effective.
  • We have planned for recycling of old and/or broken equipment.
  • We have conducted a visit of the new site to evaluate IT requirements.

Our current IT provider, Office IT+, has accepted to provide us with IT services during and after the move. They will also take care of the following:

  • Ensure the ideal locations for workstations, power jacks, and network cabling points are found.
  • Decide prime location for the printer and the router.
  • Add more internet sockets and providing us with a fast Internet connection
  • Review line capacity to determine whether we need to order new phone lines.
  • Set up call forwarding when we will be changing your phone number.
  • Establish and order the type of internet access required for the new location.
  • Consider what kind of phone system is best for the new office.

In order to make sure that no loss of data occurs during the office move, we have ensured that we made backup copies of all company data systems including firewalls and servers.

For the moving day, we have instructed that:

  • Copies of data backup to the new location should be separate from the main system and each other.
  • All wiring and data cables should be labelled correctly and indicate to which piece of equipment it belongs.
  • A contact list of everyone involved in the move is to be shared with Office IT+
  • A training session is to be organised for staff on how to shut down all equipment properly before leaving on the final day before the move.

We have asked Office IT+ to be present on the first day of the move to help staff with any questions or network issues.

They should also:

  • Verify all cabling, equipment, and phones are in the right place.
  • Check all individual telephone numbers and their locations.
  • Test to see whether the call forwarding from the old number is working and being forwarded to the correct phone.
  • Test all features of the phone system.
  • Start all servers and test network capability and data migration.
  • Check incoming and outgoing emails.
  • Check the website, intranet, and extranet.
  • Test each network connection.

One IT professional will also be on the new premises for the week of the relocation to make sure that any “teething” issues are addressed promptly. Please see Appendix 4 for quotation on this work.

Contractors

The following contractors will be used for the office move. Please note that some of these contractors already work currently for us:

Contractor

Area of work

Office IT+(current supplier)

It equipment, Internet, Cabling and data migration

Oxford Office Cleaners(current supplier)

Cleaning

Fabulous Flowers(current supplier)

Florist

Reed

Temporary Administrative support

Bishops Move

Moving company

Fit Out

Provision of new office furniture

Fit Out will carry the measurement of the new offices and proceed (with our consultation and within the agreed budget) to replacing the old furniture and providing us with new office furniture.

For Health and Safety considerations we would strongly advise to only use professionals for moving of boxes, furniture and equipment. Each team will be asked to box their offices and should not need to be involved in the move itself. On this basis the three quotes provided by movers also take this into considerations (Appendix 5).

Detailed timeline of office relocation and move

Time

Action

By who?

4 months

Contact vendors, clients and other relevant entities to advise them of the move. Provide them with the new address

Personal Assistant

Consider where to sit all employees in the new premises

Human Resources

2 months

Communicate the date of the office move to all employees

Human Resources

Final order of office furniture and IT equipment

IT and Projects Manager

Advise the hygienic bins provider of our new address and moving date to make sure that there is a smooth transition

IT and Projects Manager

1 month

Make sure that all appropriate moving material has been provided to all employees

Human Resources

Start packing and sending to off-site storage all the records that will not be needed

Personal Assistant

Employ the temporary worker to start working on records as described above

Human Resources

Make sure that all office equipment has arrived in good condition and was delivered where it should be

Personal Assistant

Organise redecoration and florist

Personal Assistant

Organise stationary with new address

Personal Assistant

1 week before the move

All office records and equipment should be packed and organised

Personal Assistant

A detailed plan of the last day in our current office should be communicated

Human Resources

Organise for the new premises to be cleaned following redecoration

IT and Projects Manager

Moving day

All employees have vacated and security passes have been collected.

Human Resources

All equipment should be moved by the moving company.

IT and Projects Manager

All records to be scanned to be collected by BlueSky for scanning.

Personal Assistant

Day after the move

Ask moving company to clean the old premises

IT and Projects Manager

One week after the move

Make sure that an inventory is done and replace all equipment damaged during the move

IT and Projects Manager

Give back the keys of the previous premises

Human Resources

EQUIPMENT NEEDS FOR THE NEW LOCATION

We have identified the following equipment needs for the new premises. An emphasis has been put on finding ergonomic and modern equipment, to minimise work-related injuries in such a time of stress for our employees:

  • 20 ergonomic chairs
  • 12 desks
  • 2 stand-up desks
  • 5 notice boards
  • 2 filing cabinets

Out IT contractor has also identified the following needs:

  • 20 workstations
  • 1 projector for the conference room
  • 3 signal amplifiers
  • 12 additional desk computers
  • 20 professional laptops, to encourage staff members to work from home

We have identified the following miscelleanous needs:

  • 10 office plants
  • 2 entrance mats
  • 2 soap dispensers
  • 1 kettle
  • 3 small heaters

BUDGET

Please see below for a table compiling the costs of the office relocation:

IT (equipment and additional support)

£3500

Office equipment

£9180

Storage

Estimated at £750

Temporary worker

£1750

Moving company

£2250

Scanning company

£2700

   

TOTAL

£20,130

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

We strongly believe that with this organisation there will be minor disruptions on our staff and equally importantly, our clients.

With clear communication and anticipation of needs, we should be able to complete this move in less than a week.

We do not anticipate going above the budget and believe that the new premises will provide greater well-being for staff, and a create a great impression on clients when they come over to visit us.

We would advise conducting a survey three months after the move to make sure that there is no discontentment from employees about our new premises.

APPENDIXES AND ADDENDUMS

Appendix 1- Survey sent to all employees:

Please complete the following survey by selecting a number in the radio boxes. (1 is not important and 10 is very important).

1-      Please indicate the importance of our offices being located near to public transports

Choose an item.

2-      Indicate how much longer you would be ready to commute into new offices

Choose an item.

3-      Please indicate how important it is to have on site-parking

 Choose an item.

4-      Indicate how important it is to have bigger offices

 Choose an item.

5-      Indicate how important it is to have green spaces in or/and around offices

 Choose an item.

6-      Indicate how important it is to have access to a meeting room

 Choose an item.

7-      Indicate how important it is to have very new looking offices

 Choose an item.

8-      Would you consider working remotely (from home)(1 is not at all and 10 is absolutely)

 Choose an item.

Please use the space below for any comments you may have:

Thank you for your time,

Pamela Rose

HR Assistant

 

Appendix 2 – Quotations from Scanning companies

ScanEx

 

EditEx

Date: 5/31/2019

Invoice # 156

Expiration Date: 6/30/2019

To

Absent Company

3 Paradise road

Oxford

     

Qty

Item #

Description

Unit Price

Discount

Line Total

1

1

Moving approximately 30 boxes away from premises

550

Nil

£550

1500

2

Scanning

1200

Nil

£1200

1500

3

Indexing

55

Nil

£55

1

4

Creation of a secured platform where all documents are accessible

850

Nil

£850

Total Discount

 

Nil

Subtotal

£2555

Sales Tax

20%

Total

£3186

Quotation prepared by: James Biles________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a quotation on the goods named, subject to the conditions noted below: (Describe any conditions pertaining to these prices and any additional terms of the agreement. You may want to include contingencies that will affect the quotation.)

To accept this quotation, sign here and return: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ClearData

 

Clear Data

Date: 5/31/2019

Invoice # 200

Expiration Date: 6/30/2019

To

Absent Company

3 Paradise road

Oxford

     

Qty

Item #

Description

Unit Price

Discount

Line Total

1

1

Moving approximately 30 boxes away from premises

750

Nil

£750

1500

2

Scanning

1500

Nil

£1500

1500

3

Indexing

70

Nil

£70

1

4

Creation of a secured platform where all documents are accessible

1000

Nil

£1000

           
           
           
           
           
           
           
           

Total Discount

 

Nil

Subtotal

£3320

Sales Tax

20%

Total

£3984

SkyBlue

 

SkyBlue

Date: 5/31/2019

Invoice # 158

Expiration Date: 6/30/2019

To

Absent Company

3 Paradise road

Oxford

     

Qty

Item #

Description

Unit Price

Discount

Line Total

1

1

Moving approximately 30 boxes away from premises

350

Nil

£350

1500

2

Scanning

1000

Nil

£1000

1500

3

Indexing

Free of charge

Nil

£0

1

4

Creation of a secured platform where all documents

 

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