Moving Office Tips And Advice

Office relocations aren't always smooth or beneficial for your employees. There are situations when companies move to what they consider to be better areas, without thinking that their employees will need to spend a much longer time commuting to and from work. Such situations can easily turn into disasters, as the best employees may seriously consider finding a new job, closer to their homes.

 

Have you already been in this situation?

 

You are not the only one. Here are a few hopefully useful tips to help you make your office relocation less daunting.

 

Start Planning And Communicate Your Intentions Early

 

You can avoid situations like the above described one by considering the impact of the move on your employees from the very beginning. Crunching numbers is an easy thing to do, so there's no wonder CRE teams tend to overlook the humans involved in the move and their emotions.

 

The ideal relocation timeline should start with a thorough evaluation of your actual office and lease agreement about 18 months before its termination. You are going to need all this time to assess the advantages and the drawbacks of staying in your current location, to negotiate better lease terms, to adjust the size of your work space to match your needs, or to move your offices to a new location. If your decision is to move, your next step should be to seek for new locations and to assess different office buildings and geographic areas.

 

How An Evidence-Based Decision Making Process Can Help You Make Wiser Decisions

 

This is the right time to share your plans for the move with your teams, answer the questions of your employees and persuade them that this decision is for the better. You'll surely have to deal with negative opinions, so get ready to counteract them by serving some logical arguments.

 

Identify And Engage The Employees Who Want This Office Relocation The Most

 

Try to identify the employees who are happy about the move and try to get them to communicate their opinions with the other members of your team. Also, identify the individuals who are going to be most impacted by your decision and discuss with them as early in the process as possible.

 

Make sure you keep your business unit managers and team leaders in the loop throughout the entire planning process. They should share their own plans with the members of their departments, in order to ensure a smooth relocation of all important items and documents. Contact movecentral.com for a smooth office move.

 

The main point is to find the right balance between making sure your employees feel informed and listened to and keeping tabs on the schedule for the move. You don't need to have all stakeholders have their say in each and every meeting, but you should ensure you involve them at least in the key milestones of this relocation project.

 

Handle Objections

 

Don't overlook the nay-sayers, as they can play an important role in the process. You should try to identify these people as soon as possible, in order to have time to win them over with your arguments.

 

Invite these unhappy people to face-to-face meetings, listen to their pet peeves and try to understand their point of view. A little empathy can take you a long way when it comes to getting these employees to share your vision and to accept the change. Try to explain them the benefits of this move and the problems that led you to this decision.

 

While doing this, you'll notice that the people you manage to "turn" will become your biggest advocates, helping other people to jump on the office relocation bandwagon.

 

Design The Layout Of Your New Office With Your Employees In Mind

 

Analyze your current utilization data and try to identify the number of conference rooms you actually need, as well as the relaxation spaces, the work desks, and the collaborative areas. An office relocation is your best chance to improve the workflow and the comfort of your teams, hence being able to boost the productivity and the profitability of your business. Don't fall for fancy floor designs created by professionals who have never worked with your people. Always seek for function above everything else. Trendy designs are great only as long as they serve your workflow.