If you are moving office spaces there are a few days of hard work ahead of you. And while a moving company might be able to assist with all the heavy lifting, there are still a lot of other tasks to be completed before every employee finally feels back at the office.
Moving to a new location can seem like a daunting task for many businesses. But with a few simple concepts, it can be made a lot simpler and faster. The key is to make the transition as seamless as possible, and at the same time involving your employees in such a way that they are not confused or worried along the way.
In the weeks up to the moving date itself, you and your employees will be working in a dynamic environment, where items are no longer accessible in the place they used to be and so on. If this process is not running smoothly, there can be a lot of friction and productivity can drop significantly, not to mention employee satisfaction and morale can be tricky to maneuver.
In this article we are sharing some of our best tips on how to effectively communicate and relocate an office move, so enjoy!
Control the flow of information
First and foremost, it is important to establish channels for communication that everyone in the company can understand and use. This way you are sure not to leave anyone behind that wishes to learn more about the move and what changes are going to happen.
By using an online scheduling app, Google Calendar, or similar digital tools, you can effectively spread the message to everyone in the company, and ensure that updates are easy to add when needed. This is also a great way not to bother those few employees who are uninterested in the process, and who just wish to continue working.
But it is important not to go overboard with communications. The employees should only see relevant information for them, so that they don’t tune out over time and ignore potentially important messages down the line.
This can easily be achieved with online tools, by using different groups for different departments, making it easy for management to control the flow of information, and stay on top of everything.
Designate a contact person
For smaller businesses, it can be enough having just a single contact person for everyone in the company. Oftentimes this will be the same person responsible for overseeing the relocation, meaning they will be fully involved in the various processes, and thus have a great understanding of all the moving pieces, so to speak.
But for larger companies, it might be necessary to designate several contacts, possibly one for each major department. This way it becomes easy for everyone to get answers to their questions, and you will eliminate a lot of the normal hurdles people experience when moving offices.
Involve the team
From having employees come with suggestions, to making sure they all understand the many new benefits that come from a relocation, by involving your team it is possible to eliminate a lot of the friction associated with worries, concerns and at the same time motivate people to look forward to their new and improved conditions.
Keep them updated on the decisions and choices you make along the way, as this will ensure they know what to expect, and can share your enthusiasm and will make them look forward to the finished results.
Plan ahead
Planning ahead can make a big difference in the overall results of a relocation. This will help you remember all the little details, such as the coffee machine, table tops, the office supplies closet, and all those other areas that aren’t critical to operations themselves, but are essential to having a proper workplace.
Make sure to write down everything that needs to be moved to the new location, and categorize everything accordingly (especially writing names on office chairs). Also be sure to label all your boxes according to the room they need to be in, as this will make unpacking and setting up much easier.
Assign roles for moving day
Finally, by having prepared different roles for the employees helping with setting up the new office space, everybody will know their purpose and can thus begin working faster than if they would all have to ask where they are needed.
Not only will this help keep questions and other communication to a minimum during the actual days of moving, but it will also create some great opportunities for management to get valuable ideas about placement and utilization of the various furniture and equipment in the company.
