Moving offices-- similar to moving your home-- is a huge decision, replete with risks and headaches that can sap the resources of even the most ready company.
We should understand. Convene recently moved our business headquarters from 2 workplaces in Midtown Manhattan to a new flagship location in Lower Manhattan. It's a relocation of only four miles, however moving over 100 people, spread out across multiple places, is never a basic task.
To facilitate this relocation, and guarantee a smooth transition, the group here at Convene designated a move committee: a group of experts, selected for their specific understanding around problems we understood would emerge with the big relocation. Think of them as our moving all-star team-- the Office Move Avengers.
4 of these professionals were kind adequate to share their thoughts on the relocation-- what went well, what didn't, and how other business ought to prepare to transfer. Find out from our successes-- and mistakes.
Start with "Why?".
The most crucial consideration our professionals shared was the importance of "Why?".
" Why are we moving workplaces?".
" Make certain everyone understands the 'why' of the move," states Slater. "Individuals respect openness. You need to describe whether it's going to be much better or worse for them.".
Let's face it, business move for great deals of reasons-- often not-so-good and often good. Those not-so-good reasons (scaling down, decreasing realty expenses) can be tough to browse, however Slater stresses that transparency is crucial. "Eventually, you're relocating due to the fact that you desire the experience to be better for everyone at the other end. Even if you need to move for an unfavorable reason, it's essential to transparently interact why the relocation is needed. Cutting costs can be hard, however eventually it's for the very best.".
When the team was significantly smaller, we moved into our old workplace back in 2010--.
Naturally, a lot of relocations come with lots of great news too-- growing groups, broadening revenue, and new opportunities. Even when things are looking warm and brilliant for your business, do not take the 'why' for approved. You're still asking individuals to alter their regimens, which in lots of methods is more tough in excellent times than bad.
" All interactions regarding the move should always start and end with the key vision of why we're moving offices and why this is essential," says Wollemann. "Even when it's just an email about logistics and timeline, it is necessary to remember the 'why' when you're asking individuals to alter a huge part of their regimen.".
" What remains in It for Me?".
Even the most generous team player will have one big concern about any office relocation: "What's in it for me?".
Transitions and routine modifications are tough for everybody, and a few of the modifications might make life harder for a portion of your team (longer commute, less familiar neighborhood). While you should not belittle or overlook those issues, ensure you're framing the move around the private benefits individuals can anticipate from the brand-new digs.
Moving offices is a big (and expensive) choice.
" If you're moving someplace with excellent amenities, it's a big message to people that our talent is the most important for us and we're going to take care of you," states Slater. "Whatever the advantage of your new space is, buzz that up for the group: more space, better amenities, much better area, anything that frames up the necessary 'What's in it for me?'".
Choose Your Move Group Carefully.
Moving offices is a big choice-- an extremely expensive choice. Make certain you're selecting members of your move group carefully, and not just tossing any prepared volunteer into the mix.
Each person had a function to play, and that role was essential to an effective move. "Plan individuals's functions ahead of time on the move group," states Vassallo.
In spite of the accrued talent, there were a few areas our group could've utilized some extra assist with (operations being a big one). "Particular things I dealt with may have been better managed by an operations expert. For example, employing the mover, coordinating all the boxes, what groups need what, and what example they own.".
" Having the ideal team of people to collaborate the move and divvying up duty is really crucial," says Christophe. "We had a truly excellent group, which made it much easier.".
Communicate Early and Frequently.
" Step one is developing an interactions plan, where you describe the in the past, during, and after the relocation, and ensure everyone has info about key dates," suggests Wollemann. The group laid out an in-depth timeline, with matching dates for when essential items would require to be interacted to the company-- junk cleansing days, last day to pack your box, last day in the old office, very first day in the brand-new office, and more.
When moving offices, ensure to thank those who made it take place!
Communicating early and frequently uses beyond simply your own company too-- ensure to verify with outdoors suppliers like the moving company months ahead of time. "Start the relocation a minimum of 6 months in advance, not four weeks like we did!" says Vassallo. "When I called the moving business, they thought I was crazy.".
That opts for the structure (in fact structures) included too. Most commercial office complex aren't going to let movers mess 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 people can come, using freight elevators, what time people can use the freight elevators, extra cost for moving after hours, then coordinating 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 equal-- each group has their own requirements and devices. Designers require special screens and areas to sketch. Sales individuals require a quiet office for making calls to clients. The HR group requires a room with some privacy for interviews and other sensitive meetings. And the financing group needs filing cabinets for accounting documents. "We did interviews with each department to discover what they need and how they work," encourages Vassallo. "That went a long method in being prepared for day one.".
Besides knowing what they'll require in the brand-new place, be prepared to handle devices and other various items that go unclaimed at the old workplace. "I found that a great deal of things weren't claimed by anyone, and somebody had to choose what to do with it. For instance, all the office products in the workplace that technically didn't belong to any a single person. Someone needed to decide what gets tossed and what requires to come with us.".
Nail Day One.
You never ever get a second possibility to make an impression. The first day of a move will be stressful no matter what, but do whatever you can to make it a smooth transition and a celebratory environment.
Producing a celebratory environment on day one was a vital component of our workplace move.
" It's easy to get lost in the logistics however when it comes down to it, individuals care about a couple of things that will affect them on the first day-- how do I get in the structure and where am I sitting?" says Wollemann.
The moving committee produced a welcome package that had directions on all the essentials of arriving to deal with the very first day and paired that packet with a live discussion a few weeks before the relocation letting people know what to anticipate-- where they would be sitting, how to get in and out, mass transit choices, and more.
" You require to instruct people on how to prepare, and how to be effective in the brand-new environment-- how to set up their desk, their tech, their chair, everything," states Slater. "Take time to resolve even the tiniest of concerns and take care of the requirements (not the desires) of people, either through design, innovation, or education.".
There were a few products the moving group, in retrospect, desires were dealt with in a different way. Moving to a new workplace, for us, suggested lots of new IT systems to execute-- brand-new printers, brand-new docking stations for laptop computers, new building security, and more. The IT team set-up a war room where individuals might come by for support on the spot, but numerous problems might've been prevented by maybe a team-by-team innovation orientation.
Regardless of that small trouble, the group nailed the very first day experience. "We had an actually celebratory very first day (and week) at the brand-new workplace," states Wollemann.
The Lunch Crunch.
Among the most unexpected elements of our relocation is just how invested people would be in exploring the lunch spots in our new community. Of all the routines being changed for the folks in our office, lunch unequivocally elicited the most excitement and anguish.
" We create an actually great welcome package that consisted of info about the community, but I wish we included more options for lunch," says Christophe. "The alternatives we put in there were more unique celebration kind of places (i.e.-- more costly), and not every day lunch options.".
Prepare people for their new cooking environments. Search Yelp for the very best sandwiches, salads, tacos, and ramen, and make sure you communicate that details to the group. Food is a huge deal, and you 'd be well served to set minds at ease about where your team can consume in their brand-new digs.
This action did generate a fun and creative solution-- our group has actually now started a shared spreadsheet where individuals can go into fun, cost effective lunch spots they've found with a brief review that anyone on the group can browse for some new alternatives to attempt.
The Work's Not Done After Day One.
At 5PM on the first day, it's easy to breathe a sigh of relief and think the relocation is over with.
Not so quick, says our relocation team.
" People forget that the relocation and change isn't over on day one," states Slater. You need to more info continuously iterate and resolve problems the very first month as people get used to the area and make modifications so that the area works efficiently.".
The day one breakfast spread. Remain vigilant, the work's not even close to end up!
" The biggest obstacle is getting people to alter their behavior," states Wollemann. "One method to encourage that is actually to focus the communications. Even if the sole function is to interact the date of something or action they need to take, constantly bring that communication back to why this modification is going to be excellent for the future.".
Don't Forget to Make It Enjoyable.
Don't kid yourself-- moving offices can be a huge old pain-in-the-ass. Everybody knows it.
However you can make things more bearable by operating in some enjoyable. One method our team did that was by hosting numerous "purge parties." After spending years in one workplace, we had actually all accumulated a great deal of things that clearly didn't need to relocate to the new space. However since no one truly likes cleansing, the team made it fun. Time was blocked out on everyone's calendars for a "purge celebration," total with tacos, beer, and music.
Big garbage and recycling cans were generated and everyone in the company was encouraged to let go of all the junk they've built up for many years. Old paperwork was shredded, conference swag donated, and drawers loaded with napkins and plastic spoons from lunches past were tossed away.
Throughout the very first week in the brand-new workplace, unique surprises were prepared, like afternoon cookies or catered lunch, along with special welcome bags for every worker including novelty chocolate service cards-- featuring the new address, obviously.