Planning an office move: How moving in stages becomes faster, more precise, and more affordable
Alessandro Nicotra
Workplace Intelligence
In short
— The greatest costs of a phased move do not lie in transport, but in interim rent, double rent, delays, and lost productivity.
— Those who calculate different scenarios early on can see which sequence costs the least, is the fastest, or causes the least disruption to operations, and can make informed decisions.
— A shared, detailed plan for executive management, facility management, IT, and the moving company prevents the most costly mistakes: wrong assumptions, missed deadlines, and duplicated efforts.
An office move costs more than just the moving company. Things get expensive with interim rent that runs longer than planned, teams that have to move twice, furniture that arrives late, and weeks in which nobody can work properly. Those who plan precisely and early save on all four counts: time, mistakes, rent, and productivity.
The most expensive part of a move is not listed in any quote.
Where are money and time lost during an office move?
In four places that are missing from many budgets.
Interim rent and double rent. Every week an implementation phase takes longer extends the rent for temporary facilities or the old space. Planning the sequence so that spaces become available quickly reduces this time.
Multiple moves. Every team that moves twice instead of once costs double: transport, IT, setup, and the hours during which no work is done.
Delays. Furniture and IT have delivery times. Ordering too late postpones the move, and with it, the rent.
Productivity. Performance often drops noticeably after a move. A study from Sweden found a decrease in self-assessed productivity that was still measurable after 18 months. In a study from Finland, nearly half of employees spent at least six minutes a day looking for a workstation one year after the move, and those who had to search rated their own productivity significantly lower. With hundreds of employees, this adds up to a cost factor that exceeds any moving invoice.
How does a phased move become faster?
By creating variants in conversations rather than over weeks. Previously, every new sequence meant new plans, new lists, and new coordination rounds. In Workplace Intelligence, we plan backwards from the target state: for the final state, the software suggests an allocation of departments, complete with a rationale for each team. The intermediate phases are calculated from this and can be played out along a timeline.
This allows multiple variants to be compared side by side in a short time, each with a different priority: operations first, costs first, keeping teams together, or as few individual moves as possible. Executive management can see what each variant costs and how many people move how often, and can make decisions within the same workshop.
Kanadevia Inova, Zurich
How does a move become more precise?
With a single database for everyone involved. Errors occur when lists diverge: Facility Management plans with a different headcount than IT, and the moving company works with an older plan than the teams. In our planning, there is one source of truth for everyone: who is moving where and when, which space is available when, and which elevator and delivery windows apply. Facility Management and the moving company receive their own access, including checklists and a countdown.
At the end, you have a planning dossier with a schedule, phase plans, a list of people, costs, and risks. It serves as the basis for quotes, contracts, and communication with the team.
How does a move become more cost-effective?
By knowing the costs for each option before making a commitment. For each stage, we break down what it will cost: moving and IT, interim rent and temporary solutions, double rent, inventory, and the expected loss of productivity. Added to this are the deadlines for ordering furniture and IT, ensuring that no deadline falls through due to a delivery.
Whatever can be reused stays in the project. For each inventory item, we decide whether it will be moved, refurbished, or replaced. This saves procurement costs and embodied emissions. Learn more about the costs of a renovation in the article Office renovation: What companies should expect.
How do operations remain productive in the process?
By separating construction and work, and bringing the people along. The SECO specifies a guideline value of 40 dB(A) for background noise in offices. A construction site next door quickly exceeds that. That's why we plan construction phases in such a way that noisy work is separated from daily operations in terms of space or time.
And because acceptance means productivity, we survey the teams before the move, in the temporary space, and after moving in. A study from Finland shows: The strongest impact comes from whether employees share the reasons for the change. At Kanadevia Inova in Zurich, the new working environment for around 900 people is growing space by space, and change management accompanies every phase. Read more in the article Change that moves with you.
Kanadevia Inova, Zurich
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an office move cost?
Besides transport and IT, mainly interim and double rents, temporary solutions, inventory, and the time during which teams are less productive. How much depends heavily on the chosen phasing sequence. That is why it pays to compare options.
How can the time spent in temporary space be shortened?
With a sequence that vacates spaces quickly, with furniture and IT ordered on time, and with clear relocation windows. Every week less saves rent.
How often do teams have to move?
As rarely as possible. The planning shows which option requires the fewest staff relocations and what it costs in comparison.
How long does a phased renovation take?
That depends on the floor area, scope of works, and number of phases. A minor renovation takes a few weeks, while large spaces with several hundred workstations often take over a year.
How do you prevent productivity losses after the move?
With workstations that fit the way people work, clear orientation in the new office, and a team that understands the reasons for the move. A follow-up survey after a few months highlights where adjustments are needed.
Sources
Productivity, Satisfaction, Work Environment and Health after Relocation, Öhrn et al., IJERPH, 2021
Self-rated productivity and employee well-being in activity-based offices, Haapakangas et al., Building and Environment, 2018
Guidelines to the ArGV 3, Art. 22 Noise and Vibrations, SECO, 2021
Workplace change process and satisfaction with activity-based office, Sirola et al., Facilities, 2022
Accommodating new ways of working, Brunia, De Been and van der Voordt, TU Delft, 2016
A smooth relocation doesn't just save costs. It saves the weeks a team would otherwise spend dealing with the chaos itself.
Contact
Listening is our first draft.
Every project begins with a conversation. Tell us what you have in mind: a new working environment, a restaurant, a space for the future. We bring an open mind, curiosity, and experience in strategy, interior design, and lighting. We'd love to meet at our studio on Gutstrasse in Zurich. Or wherever your project is coming to life.