How to make office relocation easier on your employees

There are two most common scenarios involving the relocation of your employees. First, you are planning to move your entire office with employees to another place. Second, you need a specific employee to move to another office for whatever reasons. In both cases, the best thing to do would be to research how to make office relocation easier on your employees. Nobody likes changing their life that much without having a very good reason to do so.

How to make office relocation easier on your employees

Moving for any reason is hard enough. You have to change your daily routine and change your habits. Not to mention how stressful it can be on family members, and especially kids. Asking from your employee to move to another place needs to be backed up with a willingness to help them on every step of the way. That is particularly important when it’s about long-distance moving. For example, if you are asking of your employee to move to your New York office, offer him help by hiring one of the professional moving companies like DA Moving NYC to deal with his belongings. Willingness to help is the core of good relationships, especially between employer and employees.

Some of the most important thing in this moving process are:

• Communication above all
• Involving the staff in moving and decision making
• Careful planning for everything
• The transition of the equipment if required
• Long-distance particulars for making office relocation easier
• Prepare your employees for a new place

Communication above all

Like with everything, good communication is the key to success. Provide your employees with all the information on time. Explain what it means for the company in detail and explain what it will mean for them. Give them enough time to think about it. However, while doing so, make a well-organized plan which you will present them as soon as possible. Show them you are expecting feedback and show them you are willing to cooperate so the things will go smooth. Provide them with a timetable of events prior to the moving and ask them if they are willing to go with it. They are not moving only office possessions, consider they will need time to organize and deal with private matters.

Involving the staff in moving and decision making

Another important thing is to deeply involve your staff in the whole process. If you are moving the whole office, make teams where everyone will be responsible for a certain part of moving. That can be a team dealing with clients, all the way to the team that will be in the order of logistics of your move. Also, even if it’s just one employee that’s moving to another office, making teams that will help him in his relocation is an additional sign of professional courtesy. Not to mention the appreciation your employee will feel for that kind of help. A happy employee is the most valuable employee, don’t ever forget that.

Careful planning for everything

Even though you might already have a developed plan for every step of the moving, stay open for suggestions. Even planning to consider things from a different angle is good planning. For that matter, when you are looking at the office relocation, it doesn’t have to be a pure physical move to another place. It is a perfect chance to reorganize your office, office equipment, and to replace the old tech. Just like every move, this kind of relocation will bring packing, labeling, sorting out, and many similar things in. If it’s one person move, then organize the transport of his personal belongings. Don’t wait for your employee to do everything himself. Offer help because it means a lot.

The transition of the equipment if required

Depending on the type of business you are doing, some businesses will be hit harder by moving than others. Talk to your employees about the expected delays and downtime during the move. Make sure that you all join strength in order to make it the most efficient, so the workflow is not suffering much. Chances are, you are dealing with a lot of clients. So, you will need to think about different deadlines and projects you are currently working on. Make sure all your IT equipment is ready and operable from the first day in your new office. Also, for one-employee-move, provide multiple backups of his work in case something goes wrong with his move. As well as provide him with any assistance he needs with his personal belongings.

Long-distance particulars for making office relocation easier

In case you are facing the long-distance relocation, you absolutely must understand that not everyone will be willing to follow that. For that matter, provide your employees with enough time to think about everything. Plan in advance, even make a couple of suggestions and offers if you see they are having doubts. If they still can’t accept to move then offer them recommendations for new jobs, or any kind of help you can provide. After all, being a human being is something that will never ruin your reputation as a respected employer.

Prepare your employees for a new place

Let’s say you are moving your office with your employees from Boston to New York. Knowing the local way and becoming a New Yorker requires preparation. Give your employees time and chance to know their new working place first hand. Organize a couple of trips to New York before moving, just for the sake of it. You will need time to know all the good restaurants, professional service companies, to feel the atmosphere of the place, and see what neighborhoods have to offer. Get to know the culture of the place and make sure your employees know it too.

Making your office relocation easy on your employees is not an easy task. However, it can be a great opportunity to have a breath of fresh air flowing through you working surrounding. It is a huge amount of effort and will you will need, and a lot of time to spend. But in the long run, it is a beneficial thing to both you and your staff members. Having satisfied employees improves the working atmosphere and improves business results.