Moving offices-- much like moving your house-- is a big decision, brimming with pitfalls and headaches that can sap the resources of even the most prepared business.
We must understand. Assemble recently moved our home office from 2 offices in Midtown Manhattan to a new flagship place in Lower Manhattan. It's a relocation of just 4 miles, but moving over 100 people, spread across multiple places, is never an easy job.
To facilitate this relocation, and ensure a smooth transition, the group here at Convene designated a relocation committee: a group of professionals, chose for their specific knowledge around problems we understood would occur with the big move. Think about them as our moving all-star team-- the Workplace Move Avengers.
Four of these specialists were kind adequate to share their ideas on the move-- what went well, what didn't, and how other companies need to prepare to transfer. Find out from our successes-- and mistakes.
Start with "Why?".
The most essential consideration our experts shared was the value of "Why?".
" Why are we moving workplaces?".
" Ensure everyone understands the 'why' of the relocation," says Slater. "Individuals respect openness. You require to describe whether it's going to be better or even worse for them.".
Let's face it, business move for great deals of reasons-- sometimes not-so-good and often great. Those not-so-good reasons (scaling down, minimizing realty expenses) can be difficult to navigate, but Slater worries that transparency is crucial. "Ultimately, you're relocating since you desire the experience to be better for everybody at the other end. Even if you need to move for an unfavorable reason, it is very important to transparently communicate why the relocation is needed. Cutting expenses can be hard, but eventually it's for the best.".
When the team was substantially smaller, we moved into our old workplace back in 2010--.
Of course, lots of relocations featured great deals of good news too-- growing teams, expanding earnings, and new opportunities. Even when things are looking warm and brilliant for your business, do not take the 'why' for granted. You're still asking people to change their routines, which in many ways is more difficult in great times than bad.
" All communications concerning the move ought to always start and end with the essential vision of why we're moving offices and why this is necessary," says Wollemann. "Even when it's just an e-mail about logistics and timeline, it is very important to keep in mind the 'why' when you're asking individuals to alter a significant part of their routine.".
" What remains in It for Me?".
Even the most generous team player will have one big issue about any workplace relocation: "What's in it for me?".
Transitions and regular modifications are difficult for everyone, and some of the modifications might make life more tough for a portion of your team (longer commute, less familiar area). While you should not belittle or overlook those issues, make sure you're framing the walk around the specific benefits individuals can anticipate from the new digs.
Moving offices is a huge (and expensive) choice.
" If you're moving someplace with excellent features, it's a big message to individuals that our talent is the most crucial for us and we're going to look after you," states Slater. "Whatever the benefit of your brand-new area is, hype that up for the group: more space, much better amenities, better area, anything that frames up the necessary 'What remains in it for me?'".
Choose Your Move Group Sensibly.
Moving offices is a huge decision-- an extremely expensive decision. Make certain you're choosing members of your relocation group sensibly, and not just throwing any ready volunteer into the mix.
Each person had a role to play, and that role was important to an effective relocation. "Strategy individuals's functions ahead of time on the relocation group," says Vassallo.
In spite of the accumulated skill, there were a couple of locations our group could've used some additional assist with (operations being a huge one). "Particular things I managed may have been much better handled by an operations specialist. For example, hiring the mover, coordinating all packages, what groups require what, and what example they own.".
" Having the right team of individuals to collaborate the move and divvying up responsibility is really important," says Christophe. "We had an actually great group, which made it easier.".
Communicate Early and Typically.
" Step one is producing a communications plan, where you lay out the previously, during, and after the relocation, and ensure everyone has details about crucial dates," advises Wollemann. The group laid out an in-depth timeline, with corresponding dates for when important items would require to be communicated to the company-- scrap cleaning days, last day to load your box, last day in the old office, very first day in the new workplace, and more.
When moving offices, ensure to thank those who made it happen!
Communicating early and typically applies beyond simply your own company too-- make sure to verify with outdoors vendors like the moving business months in advance. "Start the move a minimum of six months ahead of time, not 4 weeks like we did!" says Vassallo. "When I got in touch with the moving business, they thought I was crazy.".
That opts for the structure (actually buildings) involved too. The majority of commercial office complex aren't going to let movers screw up their nice elevators with moving carts and heavy furniture. "You also need to coordinate with the building (both buildings) a lot," says Vassallo. "What time individuals can come, utilizing freight elevators, what time individuals can utilize the freight elevators, extra expense for moving after hours, then collaborating with the new building to have that all happen on the same day.".
Know Your Workers ... and Their 'Stuff'.
Not all departments in your company are created equivalent-- each team has their own needs and equipment. The HR team needs a room with some personal privacy for interviews and other delicate conferences. And the financing group requires filing cabinets for accounting documentation.
Besides knowing what they'll need in the brand-new place, be prepared to deal with equipment and other various products that go unclaimed at the old workplace. "I discovered that a lot of things weren't declared by anybody, and someone had to choose what to do with it. All the office materials in the workplace that technically didn't belong to any one individual. Somebody had to decide what gets tossed and what requires to come with us.".
Nail Day One.
You never ever get a 2nd chance to make a first impression. Day one of a move will be busy no matter what, however do whatever you can to make it a smooth shift and a celebratory environment.
Developing a celebratory environment on the first day was an important component of our office relocation.
" It's simple to get lost in the logistics but when it comes down to it, people care about a couple of things that will affect them on the very first day-- how do I get in the structure and where am I sitting?" states Wollemann.
The moving committee developed a welcome package that had directions on all the fundamentals of showing up to work on the first day and paired that packet with a live presentation a couple of weeks prior to the move letting people understand what to anticipate-- where they would be sitting, how to get in and out, public transport options, and more.
" You require to advise people on how to prepare, and how to be effective in the brand-new environment-- how here to set up their desk, their tech, their chair, whatever," states Slater. "Take time to solve even the tiniest of issues and look after the requirements (not the wants) of individuals, either through education, innovation, or design.".
There were a couple of items the moving group, in retrospect, dreams were dealt with differently. Relocating to a new workplace, for us, implied great deals of new IT systems to carry out-- new printers, brand-new docking stations for laptops, new structure security, and more. The IT team set-up a war room where individuals might visit for assistance on the spot, however lots of issues might've been avoided by perhaps a team-by-team technology orientation.
Despite that minor inconvenience, the team nailed the very first day experience. "We had an actually celebratory first day (and week) at the new office," states Wollemann.
The Lunch click here Crunch.
Among the most surprising aspects of our move is just how invested individuals would remain in checking out the lunch areas in our brand-new area. Of all the regimens being altered for the folks in our workplace, lunch unquestionably generated the a lot of enjoyment and suffering.
" We put together a really good welcome package that included info about the community, but I wish we consisted of more alternatives for lunch," states Christophe. "The alternatives we put in there were more special occasion type of locations (i.e.-- more pricey), and not every day lunch choices.".
Prepare people for their new cooking environments. Scour Yelp for the very best sandwiches, salads, tacos, and ramen, and make certain you interact that info to the team. Food is a big offer, and you 'd be well served to set minds at ease about where your team can eat in their new digs.
This reaction did elicit a fun and imaginative option-- our team has actually now begun a shared spreadsheet where people can enter enjoyable, budget friendly lunch areas they've found with a short evaluation that anyone on the group can browse for some brand-new choices to attempt.
The Work's Refrained from doing After Day One.
At 5PM on day one, it's easy to breathe a sigh of relief and believe the move is over with.
Not so quick, states our move team.
" People forget that the move and change isn't over on day one," says Slater. You need to continuously repeat and address problems the very first month as individuals get utilized to the space and make modifications so that the space works successfully.".
The day one breakfast spread. But stay watchful, the work's not even near finished!
" The greatest obstacle is getting people to change their behavior," states Wollemann. "One method to encourage that is really to focus the communications. Even if the sole purpose is to interact the date of something or action they need to take, always bring that communication back to why this change is going to be fantastic for the future.".
Don't Forget to Make It Fun.
Don't kid yourself-- moving offices can be a big old pain-in-the-ass. Everyone understands it.
However you can make things more manageable by working in some fun. One way our team did that was by hosting several "purge celebrations." After investing years in one office, we had all collected a great deal of stuff that clearly didn't require to transfer to the new area. Given that no one actually likes cleaning, the group made it fun. Time was blocked out on everybody's calendars for a "purge celebration," total with tacos, beer, and music.
Big trash and recycling cans were generated and everyone in the company was motivated to let go of all the junk they have actually collected throughout the years. Old paperwork was shredded, conference swag contributed, and drawers full of napkins and plastic spoons from lunches previous were gotten rid of.
Throughout the first week in the brand-new office, special surprises were planned, like afternoon cookies or catered lunch, along with special welcome bags for every single employee including novelty chocolate organisation cards-- featuring the new address, obviously.