Hiring a Relocation Project Manager vs. Using Internal Staff: Which Is Right for Your Move?

Are you planning a corporate move and wondering if you really need to hire a professional project manager? Are you thinking that someone on your team could handle the coordination and save you the expense?

It is a reasonable question. You already have capable people on staff. Why pay for outside help if you do not have to? But the answer depends on what your team actually knows about relocations and what you are willing to risk if things go sideways.

I am Joseph Plott, Supervisor of the Logistics Administration group at Interstate. I help coordinate between sales and operations on the full scope of every project, from start to finish. Over that time, I have worked on easily over 500 relocations and installations. I have seen companies handle moves internally with great success, and I have seen companies struggle because they underestimated what was involved.

In this article, I will walk you through what internal staff typically struggle with, what a professional project manager brings to the table, when it makes sense to handle things yourself, and when you should bring in outside help. By the end, you will be able to make an informed decision about what is right for your move.

What Internal Staff Typically Struggle With

When companies try to manage a relocation internally, they usually run into problems they did not anticipate. The issues are not about competence. Your team may be excellent at their jobs. The problem is that corporate relocations have their own set of challenges that most people have never dealt with before.

Here are the most common areas where internal staff get caught off guard:

The Logistics of Moving Large or Specialized Items

One thing internal teams often overlook is the logistics of actually moving large items from one floor to another or one building to another. How is that conference table going to get through the doorway? How is it going to be transported?

Oftentimes you will have nice, custom-built conference room furniture that needs to be disassembled before it can be moved. And here is the thing: if it was custom-built, more likely than not, only the person who built it knows how to take it apart. That does not occur to most clients until they are already in the middle of the move.

I will give you a real example. We had a project that involved moving a 500-pound bronze statue of a military service member. It was 79 inches tall, sitting in the front lot of the building. The client did not realize it needed to be fully crated and protected for transport. They also did not realize it had been assembled in two parts, which meant it had to be carefully disassembled before it could be moved out the door.

That one piece alone took an extra week and a half to relocate. We had to bring in a professional to help the crew disassemble it, crate it, transport it, and reassemble it at the new location. All of this happened after the regular office equipment had already been moved. The statue was the last thing holding up the project.

Without someone who has seen these situations before, you do not know to plan for them.

The Things People Forget to Mention

Another challenge is that employees often do not know what to tell you about their own space. If you have ten employees in an office and you ask them what needs to be moved, they will give you a list. But that list is almost never complete.

They forget to mention the artwork on the wall. They overlook the smaller items they have been looking at for years and no longer notice. They have been in that office so long that they do not see half of what is actually there.

When those things get discovered on move day, they add time and cost. You end up paying for additional labor, additional materials, and potentially delays.

What a Professional Project Manager Brings

• They have seen it before. We have done almost every type of project. Custom furniture that needs to be disassembled by the original builder? We have dealt with it. Massive statues that were built in two pieces? We have moved them. Equipment that will not fit through the door? We know how to plan for it.
• They know what questions to ask. A professional PM will walk the site and notice things your employees will not think to mention. They will ask about the artwork, the specialty items, the things that have been sitting there so long nobody sees them anymore.
• They focus on the timeline. Your moving crew is focused on actually moving equipment and furniture. A project manager is focused on the timeline, making sure everything stays on track and deadlines get met.
• They can jump between sites. If you have multiple projects happening at once, a PM can check in on different jobs, make sure everything is going smoothly, and address problems before they snowball.
• They give you a more accurate quote upfront. Because they know what to look for, they can scope the project accurately from the beginning. That means fewer surprises and a more reliable budget.

When Does It Make Sense to Use Internal Staff?

There are absolutely situations where you do not need a professional project manager. Here is when using internal staff makes sense:

You have done this before. If your company has been doing these types of moves for years, your team probably already knows what to expect. You have the experience in-house. You do not need us to hold your hand through the planning process.

I will give you a real example. One of the clients we work with regularly does their own rack relocations consistently and have a full team of their own techs and coordinators who handle the planning. They create the plan, and they simply reach out to us for the loading, transit, and unloading services.

In a case like that, we would not suggest a project manager. We would suggest a crew and maybe a crew lead, but not a PM. They are the experts in their own equipment and processes. They have that capability themselves.

You have specialized internal knowledge. If you have a team of specialized workers who understand exactly what you are moving, whether that is data center equipment, lab equipment, or anything else technical, you may already have the expertise you need.

You have someone with managerial experience on these types of jobs. It does not have to be data center work. It could be as simple as office moves. But if you have someone internally who has coordinated moves before and knows what to watch out for, you may be able to handle it yourselves.

When Should You Bring in a Professional Project Manager?

On the other hand, here is when you should seriously consider professional project management:

• This is new territory for you. If your company is not familiar with the type of move you are requesting, you probably do not know what you do not know. That is when we step in and handle the planning.
• The scope is large or complex. Large office relocations, multi-phase moves, projects with lots of specialized equipment. The bigger and more complicated it gets, the more you need someone whose entire job is to keep it on track.
• You have custom or specialized items. Custom-built furniture, large artwork, heavy equipment, anything that requires special handling. If you are not sure how it is going to get out the door, you need someone who does.
• Things keep changing. If your inventory list keeps shifting, new items keep showing up, and the plan keeps getting revised, you need someone dedicated to managing those changes. When things get out of hand, and on large projects they almost always do, that is when our PMs go to work.
• Your team does not have time. Your employees have day jobs. Coordinating a move on top of their regular responsibilities is a lot to ask. A professional PM lets your team focus on their actual work while we handle the relocation.

Internal Staff vs. Professional Project Manager: A Comparison

An Interesting Pattern: Smaller Companies Often Need More Help

Here is something that might seem counterintuitive: the smaller the company, the more likely they are to need a professional project manager.

Why? Because the smaller the company, the less likely they have ever done a move like this before. Large enterprises have entire teams dedicated to this. Smaller companies are often doing it for the first time, which means they are more likely to underestimate what is involved and run into problems they did not see coming.

If you are a smaller company planning your first major move, that is actually when professional project management delivers the most value.

Conclusion

The decision to use internal staff or hire a professional project manager comes down to experience and risk tolerance. If your team has done this before and knows what to watch out for, you may be able to handle it yourselves. If this is new territory, the project is complex, or you simply do not have the bandwidth, professional project management is worth the investment.

The hidden cost of skipping professional help is not just the money you spend when things go wrong. It is the time, the stress, and the disruption to your business operations. A professional PM catches problems before they happen and gives you a reliable plan from the start.

If you are not sure which approach is right for your move, ask us. We can help you figure out whether you need a project manager or whether your internal team can handle it.