How to Make Your Office Relocation as Painless as Possible
Change is always a tricky thing to navigate. Most of the time, it’s for the best. But in the moment, it can be stressful and unsettling. And there is perhaps no change more disrupting than relocating. Whether you’re changing apartments, or moving to a new office space, this transition is going to be a challenge.
But don’t worry. There are ways to make the move much less painless. If you take a moment to think about what’s needed most for a smooth transition, then you’ll be able to prepare in a way that makes the change seem like much less of a big deal.
Overall, to make sure any change goes smoothly, aim for the following:
Continuity. The more things that stay the same during the change, the easier it will be for people to adapt to what’s new.
Clarity. It’s important everyone knows what’s going to change and how. This way there are few surprises, and people will be better able to deal with anything unexpected that comes their way.
Communication. Make sure everyone knows where to go to when there’s a question, and also ensure everyone knows what to tell customers and other external people that are going to be affected by the change.
Knowing this, here are some things you need to do to make sure your office relocation is as painless as possible.
Inform Everyone of Your Change of Address
Nowadays, most people communicate by email or some other digital platform. However, traditional mail still has a place. As a result, make sure to let all important vendors know you’ve changed addresses, and you may also want to let your customers know. Another smart thing to do is to go to the Post Office and set up mail forwarding. This ensures that anything sent to you ends up at the right place.
This could also be a good opportunity to touch base with your customers. A quick phone call or basic email campaign informing people of the new address could be a great way to get a conversation going or to get people thinking about you again. But more importantly, doing all of this ahead of time keeps people focused on the task at hand, helping to reduce some of the stress and anxiety that could come from the move.
Set Up Internet and Other Services The Day Before
For most of us, our ability to do our jobs depends on the internet. Without it, we might be able to work on a few things, but generally speaking, we’d be stopped in our tracks. As a result, you need to make sure everything is set up before you move.
Most phone and internet providers will have systems in place for making sure the switch occurs on the exact day of the move. But follow up with them, as these companies are notoriously unreliable. And don’t forget to make sure other services are set up, too. For example, call to make sure the electricity, water and heat are all turned on in the office. That would be a pretty easy way to make the first day in a new office a disaster!
Relocating your office is a good time to also consider changing up some of your service providers. Many businesses don’t look much at these bills because they don’t think they have a lot of options. But it’s a competitive market out there, and you can almost always find better value. Consider changing internet providers, or automating some functions, such as payroll, to help you cut costs and get better service. Theoretically, you can do this anytime. But a move is a great chance to take stock of everything and make changes where they will be most beneficial.
Close the Office During the Move
Hopefully, when moving does finally arrive, you’re planning to hire some professionals to come and help you. And if this is the case, then why bother having people to come in? Instead, ask them to take their personal stuff with them, and then close the office for a few days. This way, when people come back from their break, all of their things will have made it to the new office, meaning they just need to sit down and start working.
This immediate return to the routine will help ease some of the stress of the move. Of course there will be an adjustment period, but this will be much easier if your staff goes into this transition after having a few days to disconnect and recoup.
Moving Doesn’t Need to Be Painful
They keys to a painless move are communicating clearly what’s going to change, and also being sensitive to employee needs by giving them what they need to do their jobs as they normally would. This will make for a short adjustment period, and it will allow people to move on quickly and stay focused on running and growing the business.
Kevin is an expert in running internet based businesses. He’s the founder of Vast Bridges, a customer acquisition and lead generation service plus he and some business partners launched Broadband Search, a website designed to help identify the best and most affordable broadband internet service providers in their area.