Transplanting your workforce from one office to another is a process riddled with potential problems and pain points, yet it can still be completely seamless so long as you plan properly.
To that end, here are a few tips and talking points to make your own office relocation less of a chore this year.
Calculate your budget carefully
One of the most important steps for a successful office relocation is to set a realistic budget and make sure that you factor in all of the costs and expenses that are likely to be incurred during this process.
For example, you not only need to consider the price of leasing new premises for your organization but also any fees you might have to pay to extricate yourself from your current rental agreement, especially if you are terminating it before the originally allocated term.
There are also costs for moving equipment and furniture and variables in terms of how much particular moving firms will charge to shift specific gear.
Be sure to tot up an accurate total of the costs and compare this against your budget to see if there are any savings to be made and to prevent nasty surprises from rearing their heads further down the line when it is too late to make changes.
Consider the needs of employees
Obviously, an office move is likely to be instigated because it will be beneficial to the business as a whole, perhaps to help it expand and grow, or perhaps to put it in a better location from a market penetration perspective.
However, when planning your move, you also need to factor in how this will affect your employees since unless you are attuned to their needs, morale could suffer, and you may even lose previously loyal team members along the way.
Because of this, you need to be actively supportive of workers at all levels, providing them with assistance and benefits to sweeten the deal of the relocation and listening to any feedback they might have, which could iron out issues before they arise.
Assess regional regulatory differences
If you are moving to a new office in an entirely different part of the country, another aspect to take on board is that regulations governing businesses may diverge significantly from what you are used to.
From lease rates and taxes to workers’ rights and other organizational obligations, unless you are clued in on these elements ahead of the move, you could make mistakes and fall foul of the authorities as a result.
As with any aspect of an office relocation, thorough research is crucial in this context, and getting expert guidance makes sense so that you do not have to do all of the legwork yourself.
Do not keep the move to yourself
When handling an office move, it is all too easy to forget that your employees and internal operations will not be the only thing affected and disrupted by this process.
Your customers, clients, partners and suppliers will all be deserving of being kept up to date about your plans and also informed if there will be any downtime associated with the move. Even something as simple as making sure that you update your address on your website and any correspondence you send out can significantly ease the transition.
In all, it makes sense to start preparations for an office relocation with as much time to spare as possible, as the more planning you put in, the smoother the process will be.
