During the lockdown – and now in “the new normal” – work-from-home mandates mean less need for commercial office space, and many large corporations have closed offices permanently in favor of working from home forever. Thousands of Manhattan-based offices have have tapped Eagle Transfer to move or close their offices. Eagle Transfer is highly skilled and experienced in the intricate process of office decommissioning, so we’re here to share some of the finer details.
5 Things You Should Know About Decommissioning:
1. What’s “broom swept”? Decommissioning is often referred to as “broom cleaning.” That simplifies it to a bare minimum – yes, the space must be clean and tidy. But what “broom swept” doesn’t take into consideration is that the space must be restored to its original condition. The way it was when you moved into the space. This includes removing voice and data cables, any electrical or mechanical installations, all fixtures and furniture, the list goes on. That big logo sign over the front desk? It’s gotta go, and the drywall behind it must be repaired. Light bulbs out in the kitchen? They’ve got to be replaced before you leave. Our licensed, bonded, and insured moving crews know exactly what to do.
2. Consult your contract. Your original contract or lease should have the exact details of what is expected of you during the decommissioning process. There should be a paragraph (or two… or five…) that outlines your obligations as a tenant and how the office space should be left when you vacate it. A copy of your contract will be very helpful to the project manager at Eagle who is overseeing your project. Our goal is to prevent you from forfeiting your deposit or incurring additional charges.
3. Inventory everything. Business owners and/or your operations team (depending on the size of your business) should do an inventory. Decide which pieces of furniture will be moved, stored or liquidated. Decide which pieces of technology equipment should be moved, stored or liquidated. (Do you really need to move those huge CRT monitors? No. Recycle them responsibly.) A commercial mover like Eagle Transfer can help with liquidations – even recycling the furniture or donating it to a worthy charity. Or, you can manage this process on your own to drive down costs – the fewer items our movers move, the lower the cost for you.
4. Purge and shred unnecessary paperwork/files/documents. If you have boxes and file cabinets filled with paperwork that’s now obsolete, you can either get rid of it yourself, or have your moving partner help. We can dispose of papers and documents that may have sensitive data… or you can shred them on site and then dispose of them. Remember, if our movers pack boxes into trucks – only for you to throw them away when you arrive at the new location – you’ve wasted money.
5. Work closely with IT. If your company has an IT department, they will be responsible for disconnecting and packing all technology – computers, printers, scanners, peripherals, server rooms and backups. This is also a smart time for your IT department to inventory e-waste: obsolete desktops, monitors and fax machines and send them for recycling. If you don’t have an in-house IT department, Eagle Transfer can disconnect, pack, move, and reconnect the equipment for you, as well as help with recycling.
Failure to decommission your office space properly before handing in the keys can result in the loss of your deposit or additional fines and fees. A well-planned decommissioning process will earn back the company’s deposit and avoid extra costs. As experts in corporate relocation and decommissioning, Eagle Transfer is here to prevent that from happening to you.
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