One of the most important pieces of your office move puzzle is a communication plan. And while this plan obviously needs to cover how you’ll spread the word to customers, vendors, suppliers, couriers and other external stakeholders, be sure to include your employees as well – especially since the change can trigger anxiety and worry.
To avoid this negativity from affecting your team and unfolding in your organization, here are 5 best practices for communicating an office move to employees:
1. Start Early
An office move should never be “sprung” on employees. Rather, as soon as the decision is made to change addresses – or possibly even before if it’s responsible and fair to do so – employees should be brought into the loop and regularly kept up-to-date on all pertinent details. And when the new office layout details are known, it’s helpful to let employees know where they’ll be working. Providing photos or renderings (if the space is being renovated) is also a good idea.
2. Use Multiple Communication Channels
Use all available communication channels to keep employees informed of the office move. These channels may include any or all of the following: staff intranet, email, internal newsletter, bulletin board, common folders, and of course, in-person meetings. If you have internal social media platforms (i.e. accessed by staff only), you can post updates there as well.
3. Offer Resources
Provide employees with practical resources to help them transition to the new location as smoothly and successfully as possible. For example, you can share information regarding public transportation, parking, child care options, etc. You can also share information to help employees through the transition, such as this excellent Forbes article that provides 12 tips for overcoming the fear of change at work.
4. Be Open to Feedback
Some employees will be excited about the office move – but others may be less enthusiastic. It’s important to provide a process for these employees to escalate their concerns without fear of being tagged as “being negative” or “not a team player”. For example, some employees may have to spend an hour more each day commuting to the new location, while others (such as field technicians and salespeople) may find that the new location is not conducive to their assigned territory. Parents may also be concerned about covering higher child care costs. Having a feedback process allows for these concerns to be raised, and ideally, for solutions to be brokered. These solutions might include allowing employees to work remotely at certain times in order to offset the additional time spent commuting, reassigning territories, providing subsidies for additional child care costs, and so on.
5. Work with the Precision team!
Last but not least: ensure that you work with an experienced and professional team here at Precision! We’ll help you coordinate and plan all of the above, and ensure that your employees have the packing timeline, instructions and materials (e.g. bins, boxes, etc.) they need. To learn more, contact us today. Your consultation with us is free.
For more information on how to move your office in five easy steps, download our FREE eBook:
