Are you planning an office move? It is easy to get swept up in all the planning meetings and logistics, but it is very easy to forget the crucial nature of mass communications during all the excitement.
Having just gone through the moving process ourselves and having supported many of our valued clients through the same process, it is fair to say we’ve learned a thing or two.
To support your next move, we have developed a step-by-step guide on what and when you need to communicate with your employees. Once you have developed your internal planning, most of your external communications and stakeholders groups will naturally become identifiable…Make note of them – and by this point you will have done the bulk of the comms heavy lifting!
- When you have agreed on ALL terms of the lease
This is where you get to build the anticipation of your stakeholders and where you can actively engage them in the process of moving. I would start with internal communications – start letting staff know and manage the process.
You can try something like this, “We are delighted to announce that we have secured a new office location in XX and anticipate that all staff will be fully operational within the new space by XX. Finer details will be communicated with you over the coming weeks but in the meantime, check out the area and see what your new neighbourhood looks like.”
- When your Projects team have move-in details
When you have a firm move-in date, times of access, site contact, parking options, it’s time to communicate the logistics. This might be a lot of information to include, so consider splitting into two pieces if you need to. Often businesses will need to move a lot of industrial or commercial equipment, and these processes will take time to communicate.
- Consider your HR opportunity
Talk with your HR team about how they plan to welcome staff into the new business site. Consider communicating a schedule for the first day. It could look something like:
10-11 find desk and setup your workstation
11-12 fire and safety briefing, welcome from CEO/HR
12-1 lunch provided
1-2 IT support on-site
- Thank you and follow up
This is just as important as every other communication you sent out. Consider issuing a survey asking for feedback on the project management side and how the team have felt since the move. It’s a great opportunity to reset culture or rebuild your culture if done right.
Clear communication to all internal and external stakeholders is essential to ensure both employees and your clients are aware of upcoming changes.
By making an effort to involve staff, they are more likely to offer help in organising different aspects of the move. This also provides ample time for staff to back up files, change email signatures and billing addresses.
We want your relocation experience to be a seamless and positive transition and with that in mind we have developed this PDF to support you and act as a checklist during this process.
Happy moving and if we can help you, you know where to find us.
