Moving is widely considered one of life's most stressful events — and that's just going from one residence to another. Imagine moving an entire company! Yet, every so often, it must be done.
For both owners and employees, moving is difficult. There's packing and unpacking while your staff tries to carry on with business as usual — all the while facing the prospect of losing documents, digital files or, worst of all, customers. Lost time and productivity are usually inevitable, but they can be minimized.
To do so, you've got to prepare carefully and keep your staff in the loop as much as possible during the moving process. When a company communicates with its employees about a move to a new location, workers are more apt to feel like they're part of the plan — and less likely to feel resentful and that the move is an imposition on them.
Here are a few tips to help make the transition as stress-free as possible:
Plan far ahead. Involve your employees in making a list of the pros and cons of relocation to help everyone understand the need for the move and what it'll accomplish. Consider seasonal factors that may affect your business and the timing of the move.
Generally, the optimal time to move is over a weekend so you have time to install and troubleshoot the technology, and make sure essential equipment is in place and functioning properly, before your next business day. Any downtime would then occur over Saturday and Sunday and, thus, minimally affect employees, customers and vendors. (This is all assuming your business isn't typically operational on weekends, of course.)
Consider the expense of the move and whether employees will be involved in physically moving any equipment or documentation. Employees may be able to help transport certain items, potentially lessening the expense of a moving company. However, you must put safety first and not risk injuries. You'll also need to think about whether you want to make unusual demands on employees' schedules, such as asking them to come in on a weekend to move stuff. Address these questions during the earliest planning phases.
Consider upgrades. Relocating is a good opportunity to upgrade equipment. If you're still using old monitors, for example, donate them and buy better screens. Consider the possibility of new or upgraded software. Maybe you may want to rent some laptops while your new surroundings are renovated or setup.
Create move teams. Choose employees to lead teams to manage specific areas involved in the move, such as:
Many businesses put department managers in charge of their own moving budgets and subsequently funnel each one's expenses through a budget manager. However you decide to handle it, tracking and managing costs is critical. If spending starts to get out of control, you need to be able to step in and stop the bleeding.
Schedule field trips. If your staff is small enough, take groups of employees to the new site so they can get a feel for the new digs. Doing so will make the ultimate move much easier because staff members will be able to envision where they'll be. You can do field trips in groups of five or six employees at a time so there's an opportunity for them to ask questions and for you to mitigate problems as early as possible. More than likely, everyone will want to know exactly where they'll be located and what amenities will be offered at the new location.
Take photographs. If you're building or renovating the space, share pictures of the project on the company intranet, via email or on physical bulletin boards around the office so employees can keep track of progress. If the facility has yet to be built, post an architectural rendering instead.
Start a countdown. As the project nears completion, give employees a firm idea of when the move will take place. Send weekly e-mails to let them know that moving day is coming. Let them know about any delays as soon as possible. Doing so helps employees prepare mentally, physically and professionally for the move. They can begin cleaning, packing, finishing up projects, and contacting customers and vendors (more on this below).
Anticipate downtime. Moving often involves an element of unpredictability; delays can happen and often do. Notify all the people you do business with — from customers to vendors to professional advisors to consultants — that your business activity may be somewhat limited or slower than usual for a day or two.
With solid planning and ample employee involvement, a business relocation can be relatively painless and some modicum of productivity can be maintained. As mentioned, don't expect perfection but, if you're well-prepared, you'll likely be rewarded.
Get in touch today and find out how we can help you meet your objectives.
