You may move your business to reach a new market, gain more space or save costs. However, relocating can be a daunting task.

With sensitive documents, essential equipment and expensive inventory in transit, keep security top of mind. Here’s how to secure your business before, during and after a move.

Before the Move

Begin planning months in advance to reduce chaos, and lost time and materials on moving day. Consider these steps before the move:

  1. Create an interdepartmental moving committee. Bring people from all sides of the office together to ensure no moving details are missed. Educate employees on moving plans and security best practices during the process.
  2. Notify important business partners or vendors. The Postal Service, your bank, network security provider and financial affiliates should all be aware of your new address months in advance. Otherwise, sensitive mail could be intercepted or lapses in network security could occur.
  3. Do inventory, and dispose of waste safely. This is the perfect time to clear your office of excess materials. Dispose sensitive items with caution. Dumpster divers can intercept confidential information from documents and old computers. Shred unneeded documents and hard drives, and dispose unneeded materials with the help of a professional service.

During the Move

When moving day arrives, you should be prepared for a smooth transition to the new office space. Ensure everyone’s safety by keeping the following in mind:

  1. Put all eyes on the moving process. Employees should be trained to watch for suspicious activity amongst the movers. Keep video surveillance intact until the last possible moment so all moving activity is recorded.
  2. Trust a professional with migrating your security system. Contact your security vendor to have them professionally uninstall old security equipment and migrate your network security safeguards. This helps ensure sensitive information isn’t accessible to new tenants in your old building.
  3. Have a secure “drop-off point” at the new building. Have movers bring all inventory through a common entrance at your new location, ideally monitored with cameras and security personnel. If items turn up missing, you’ll know if they ever arrived at your new location.

After the Move

Once you’ve successfully relocated, a few actions must be taken right away.

  1. Do a walk-through and comprehensive security audit. Enlist the help of your security provider to conduct a security audit that reassesses physical and network security needs.
  2. Remind employees of security protocols. After the excitement of the move, retrain employees on your company’s standards for physical and cyber security, touching on any aspects that may be different thanks to a new location.
  3. Inform the public. While you may find it beneficial to tell some customers prior to the move, it’s best to wait until immediately after relocating to tell the general public about your new location. This way, criminals have no insight to the empty building you’ll soon inhabit, which they could outfit with listening devices or scope out for future robberies.

Moving is stressful for everyone in a business, but by thinking ahead and keeping safety a top priority, you’ll relocate successfully and securely.