Moving Office in Hull? The Cleaning Jobs Businesses Often Forget

Last year, Hull had almost 8,800 registered business locations, according to the Inter Departmental Business Register (ONS). With thousands of workplaces across the city, office moves are a regular part of Hull’s changing business landscape.

For any business making a move, there are plenty of things to organise, from relocating IT and furniture to sorting contracts, preparing the new workspace and getting staff settled.

Cleaning is one task that can easily be overlooked, says Benjamin Hirst, Managing Director of Smart Cleaning, a commercial cleaning firm in Hull.

An office move can leave you responsible for two spaces at once: making sure your old premises are clean and ready to hand back, while getting your new office prepared for employees.

Why cleaning should be part of your office move plan

Cleaning isn’t a job you can do whenever it’s convenient. It needs to be scheduled around contractors and removals teams so that each space is cleaned at the right point in the move.

Get the timing wrong and you could find employees arriving while the new office is still dusty or have to arrange a second clean after movers have tracked dirt through the building.

Factoring cleaning into the office move from the start can also help you meet the handover requirements set out in your commercial lease and avoid any additional preventable costs.

Don’t forget the office you’re leaving

If you’re leaving a leased office space, your lease and handover requirements may set out the condition expected when the property is returned.

“Expectations vary between landlords, so we recommend checking your agreement before deciding what work is required,” says Ben.

A typical end-of-tenancy cleaning checklist for commercial premises includes:

• Deep-cleaning washrooms
• Cleaning kitchen surfaces and appliances
• Removing dust from desks, cabinets and any equipment being left behind
• Carpet and floor cleaning
• Cleaning marks left after furniture has been removed
• Internal glass and window cleaning
• A final once-over ahead of a landlord inspection

A new office isn’t always a clean office

Even refurbished or newly fitted-out offices can benefit from an initial clean. There may be construction dust, debris, fingerprints, packaging residue and dirt left behind by contractors and installation teams.

Older offices can face similar challenges. A space that has stood empty for a while can accumulate dust, and a recently vacated office may need additional cleaning after heavy use by previous occupants.

A pre-occupation clean can make sure a new office space is ready for your team to get to work on day one.

Clean after the movers, not before

There’s little point in booking the final clean before your removal team, furniture installers and contractors have finished, whether it’s the office you’re leaving or the one you’re moving to.

If movers or contractors track in dirt or leave debris behind afterwards, you could end up paying for a second clean.

A sensible cleaning sequence could look something like this:

1. Contractors finish construction work
2. Any necessary post-construction cleaning is completed
3. Furniture and IT equipment are installed
4. Removal teams finish bringing everything into the office
5. Final clean
6. Staff move in

At the old premises, the final clean should happen once furniture and equipment have been removed. At the new office, cleaners should come in after contractors, installers and removal teams have finished, but before employees arrive.

Eight areas to prioritise before employees arrive

Before opening the new office to employees, check the spaces they will use most frequently.

This includes:

• Reception and entrance areas
• Desks and workstations
• Kitchens
• Toilets and washrooms
• Meeting rooms
• Flooring
• Hight-touch surfaces such as door handles, light switches and lift buttons
• Internal glass and partitions

Prioritising these areas will help you spot anything that needs attention before the office is used by employees and visitors.

Setting up regular cleaning for the new office

Relocating is a good opportunity to reassess your cleaning schedule rather than simply carrying over what you had before.

A new building, more people in one space, or a hybrid working pattern that changes how busy the office is from day to day can all mean your previous cleaning plan doesn’t quite fit anymore.

Consider the size and layout of the new premises, how many people will use them, which facilities are shared and when the busiest days are. You can then create a cleaning schedule based on how the new office will actually operate.

If you’re planning an office move in Hull, Smart Cleaning can handle both ends of the move, leaving your old premises clean and ready to hand back and giving your new office a thorough clean before your team walks in.