Move happens to be one of those things that, as organized as you are, you can get everything logistically sorted and it still goes wrong. If you have staff members that feel as though you haven’t communicated with them, everything can go downhill quickly. The relocation of your staff and clients will determine how smoothly the entire process can go. Getting the removal van there is not as important as getting the communication right.
Be as prepared as you can, even before the details have been finalized. One of the biggest mistakes is having no staff communication until each detail is confirmed. Without proper communication, staff will fill the time of no communication with speculation. No one likes rumors, and when it comes to business most of the time it is worse than the truth. The minute you know you will be moving, and you do not have a location or a confirmed date, make sure to let your staff know you are thinking about a move.
Explain all of the important factors and the thinking behind your staff movements. Taking the time to give a reason for each change will be important when growth, cost savings, or location and customer proximity changes are made.
Make sure all of your staff communication is clear and concise. You have to have a unified space for information related to the physical movement. It could be a dedicated page in your company’s intranet. It could be a weekly email. It could be a ten minute meeting in the staff cafeteria. Anything other than this is cumbersome to you, your staff, and your business.
To avoid employees piecing information together from multiple sources, they must clearly understand where to find the information.
Early in the decision making process, provide employees with the details they need to begin planning their personal lives e.g., exact dates and time of move, details regarding the new address, and the transportation and parking information at the new location. Staff with longer and more complex commutes will need more advanced notice in order to plan for child care, alter their schedules and routine, and/or consider alternate travel routes.
To the extend allowable, staff should be given some control of decisions regarding the new work environment e.g., new layout of the work space, seating arrangements, break out areas within the workspace, etc. This process helps staff ‘feel’ more ownership of the workspace and helps control some of the anxiety caused by the unknown.
While clients and employees get the most attention with communications planning, partners and suppliers also deserve the same considerate thought and clear communication planning. Update your website and email and letterhead templates prior to the move and personally notify key clients and suppliers. A personal email and/or phone call from the assigned key account manager to clients assures the service does not suffer from the move.
Make sure employees know their role for the move e.g., do employees report to the new or old location, or work from home during the move.
Giving a briefing a day or two prior to moving day, to communicate logistical information and to set expectations, creates an efficient use of time and minimizes confusion.
Follow Up After the Move
Checking in on staff to see how they’re settling in to the new space and alerting management to any new issues is a nice gesture of management that shows your organization really cares about how the transition will go, and not just the physical moving of items.
Communication is Part of the Move
The best relocation strategies take people into account just as much as logistics. The businesses that plan their external and internal communication along with their physical relocation experience much less of an impact on their relationships with their staff and clients.
If you’re planning a move for your office in London and you’re looking for a moving partner who has an understanding of the logistics and people of moving, contact our team for a free quote.
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