Moving Your Office? How to Make the Transition Smoother for Your Employees

[This article was written by Anita Ginsburg.]

Moving your place of business is always something of an undertaking. You’re not just moving furniture, after all; you’re uprooting your entire business and transplanting it in a new setting. If you’re looking to make this transition, there are some steps that you can take to make it easier on all of your employees.

Give Them Lead Time

The best place to start is with time. Give your employees as much advance time as possible to get ready for the move. This kind of information can be sensitive in some fields but you don’t want to surprise anyone on the morning of the move. Advanced notice gives your employees not only more time to prepare, but more time to ask the questions that might have an impact on how the move occurs.

Explain Their Responsibilities

Every employee should be briefed on their responsibilities during the move. Employees need to know when personal items need to be taken off your current property, what they might expect to take with them to the new property, and what steps they’ll need to do to help their departments make the transition successfully. This is obviously going to vary by department and level of seniority, but taking the time to communicate can be extremely helpful.

Hire Corporate Movers

Corporate movers can be a very important part of helping you make this transition. Experienced movers are going to make your move go more smoothly not just because they’re skilled at getting your office supplies from point A to point B, but rather because they understand the time pressures under which businesses operate when moving. Working with such a company is a good way to ensure that you’ll be able to move forward without any unexpected surprises.

Give “Phase-In” Time

If at all possible, you should give your employees a set amount of time to get used to the new space. This might include allowing them a bit more time to organize their spaces or to bring in necessary supplies. It’s vital that you acknowledge the difficulties that can come with a move. Try to be understanding of the fact that your employees may need some time to adapt to the new location even as you try to resume business as usual.

Information is the key to a good move. Let your employees know when the move is occurring and what they need to do, even if their biggest responsibility is staying out of the way of the movers. Once you’re moved, you can all start the process of adjusting to your new space.

Author Bio:

Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.