Moving workplaces-- much like moving your house-- is a huge choice, replete with mistakes and headaches that can sap the resources of even the most prepared business.
We need to understand. Assemble just recently moved our home office from 2 offices in Midtown Manhattan to a brand-new flagship location in Lower Manhattan. It's a move of only four miles, but moving over 100 people, spread across multiple locations, is never a simple task.
To facilitate this move, and guarantee a smooth transition, the team here at Convene designated a relocation committee: a group of professionals, chose for their specific knowledge around issues we understood would develop with the huge relocation. Think of them as our moving dream team-- the Office Move Avengers.
4 of these specialists were kind sufficient to share their ideas on the relocation-- 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 important consideration our specialists shared was the significance of "Why?".
" Why are we moving workplaces?".
" Ensure everyone understands the 'why' of the move," states Slater. "Individuals respect openness. You need to lay out whether it's going to be much better or worse for them.".
Let's face it, companies move for lots of factors-- often great and in some cases not-so-good. Even if you have to move for a negative reason, it's important to transparently interact why the move is needed.
We moved into our old workplace back in 2010-- when the team was substantially smaller.
Naturally, plenty of relocations come with great deals of good news too-- growing groups, expanding profits, and new opportunities. Even when things are looking sunny and intense for your company, don't take the 'why' for approved. You're still asking individuals to alter their regimens, which in lots of methods is more challenging in great times than bad.
" All interactions relating to the move should always end and start with the key vision of why we're moving workplaces and why this is essential," states Wollemann. "Even when it's simply an email about logistics and timeline, it is necessary to remember the 'why' when you're asking individuals to change a significant part of their regimen.".
" What remains in It for Me?".
Even the most selfless group player will have one huge concern about any office moving: "What remains in it for me?".
Shifts and regular changes are hard for everybody, and a few of the changes might make life harder for a part of your group (longer commute, less familiar neighborhood). While you should not belittle or ignore those issues, make sure you're framing the move around the individual advantages people can anticipate from the new digs.
Moving workplaces 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," says Slater. "Whatever the benefit of your brand-new space is, hype that up for the team: more space, much better facilities, much better community, anything that frames up the critical 'What's in it for me?'".
Pick Your Move Group Wisely.
Moving workplaces is a huge choice-- an extremely costly choice. Make sure you're selecting members of your relocation group sensibly, and not simply tossing any willing volunteer into the mix.
Each person had a role to play, and that role was crucial to an effective move. "Plan people's roles ahead of time on the move group," states Vassallo.
Despite the accumulated skill, there were a couple of locations our team could've used some extra aid with (operations being a big one). "Certain things I managed may have been much better dealt with by an operations expert. Hiring the mover, collaborating all the boxes, what groups need what, and what kind of things they own.".
" Having the right group of individuals to coordinate the relocation and divvying up duty is truly important," states Christophe. "We had a truly great group, which made it much easier.".
Communicate Early and Typically.
" Step one is producing a communications strategy, where you detail the in the past, throughout, and after the move, and make certain everyone knows about key dates," suggests Wollemann. The team set out a detailed timeline, with matching dates for when important products would require to be communicated to the business-- junk 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 workplaces, make sure to thank those who made it happen!
Communicating early and frequently uses beyond just your own business too-- make certain to confirm with outdoors suppliers like the moving company months ahead of time. "Start the relocation a minimum of six months ahead of time, not 4 weeks like we did!" states Vassallo. "When I called the moving company, they thought I was crazy.".
That opts for the building (really structures) included too. The majority of business office buildings aren't going to let movers ruin their good elevators with moving carts and heavy furniture. "You likewise require to collaborate with the structure (both structures) a lot," says Vassallo. "What time individuals can come, using freight elevators, what time individuals can use the freight elevators, extra cost for moving after hours, then collaborating with the brand-new structure 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 team has their own needs and devices. Designers need unique screens and locations to sketch. Sales individuals need a peaceful office for making calls to customers. The HR team requires a room with some privacy for interviews and other sensitive conferences. And the finance team requires filing cabinets for accounting documents. "We did interviews with each department to discover what they need and how they work," advises Vassallo. "That went a long method in being ready for the first day.".
Besides knowing what they'll need in the brand-new area, be prepared to deal with equipment and other various products that go unclaimed at the old workplace. "I discovered that a great deal of things weren't claimed by anyone, and someone needed to choose what to do with it. All the workplace products in the workplace that technically didn't belong to any one person. Someone needed to choose what gets tossed and what needs to come with us.".
Nail Day One.
You never get a second opportunity to make an impression. Day one of a move will be chaotic no matter what, however do whatever you can to make it a smooth transition and a celebratory atmosphere.
Developing a celebratory environment on the first day was an important component of our workplace move.
" It's simple to get lost in the logistics but when it comes down to it, people appreciate a few things that will affect them on the very first day-- how do I get in the building and where am I sitting?" states Wollemann.
The moving committee developed a welcome package that had directions on all the basics of arriving to deal with the first day and paired that package with a live presentation a couple of weeks prior to the move letting individuals know what to anticipate-- where they would be sitting, how to get in and out, public transportation alternatives, and more.
" You need to instruct people on how to prepare, and how to be effective in the new environment-- how to set up their desk, their tech, their chair, whatever," says Slater. "Take time to resolve even the smallest of problems and look after the needs (not the wants) of individuals, either through education, design, or innovation.".
There were a few products the moving team, in retrospect, dreams were handled in a different way. Moving to a brand-new office, for us, implied great deals of new IT systems to execute-- brand-new printers, new docking stations for laptops, new structure security, and more. The IT team set-up a war room where people might drop by for support on the area, however lots of issues might've been avoided by perhaps a team-by-team technology orientation.
In spite of that small trouble, the group nailed the very first day experience. "We had a really celebratory very first day (and week) at the brand-new workplace," says Wollemann.
The Lunch Crunch.
One of the most surprising aspects of our move is just how invested people would be in exploring the lunch spots in our brand-new community. Of all the regimens being altered for the folks in our office, lunch unequivocally elicited the most excitement and anguish.
" We put together an actually great welcome package that included information about the area, however I want we included more choices for lunch," says Christophe. "The alternatives we put in there were more unique event type of locations (i.e.-- more pricey), and not every day lunch choices.".
Prepare individuals for their new cooking environments. Scour Yelp for the finest sandwiches, salads, tacos, and ramen, and make certain you interact that info to the team. Food is a huge deal, and you 'd be well served to set minds at ease about where your group can eat in their brand-new digs.
This response did generate a fun and imaginative solution-- our group has now begun a shared spreadsheet where people can get in fun, cost effective lunch spots they have actually discovered with a short evaluation that anyone on the group can browse for some brand-new alternatives to attempt.
The Work's Not Done After The first day.
At 5PM on day one, it's simple to breathe a sigh of relief and believe the move is over with.
Not so quickly, says our relocation group.
" People forget that the move and modification isn't over on day one," states Slater. You require to continuously iterate and deal with problems the very first month as people get used to the space and make modifications so that read more the space works efficiently.".
The day one breakfast spread. Stay vigilant, the work's not even close to finished!
" The greatest challenge is getting people to change their behavior," says Wollemann. "One way to encourage that is actually to focus the interactions. Even if the sole function is to interact the date of something or action they need to take, always bring that communication back to why this modification is going to be excellent for the future.".
Do Not Forget to Make It Fun.
Do not kid yourself-- moving workplaces can be a big old pain-in-the-ass. Everybody knows it.
But you can make things more manageable by operating in some enjoyable. One way our team did that was by hosting numerous "purge celebrations." After investing years in one workplace, we had all collected a lot of things that clearly didn't require to transfer to the new area. But considering that no one actually likes cleaning, the group made it fun. Time was shut out on everyone's calendars for a "purge celebration," complete with tacos, beer, and music.
Big garbage and recycling cans were generated and everyone in the business was encouraged to let go of all the junk they've collected throughout the years. Old documents was shredded, conference boodle contributed, and drawers full of napkins and plastic spoons from lunches previous were discarded.
Throughout the very first week in the new workplace, unique surprises were prepared, like afternoon cookies or catered lunch, together with unique welcome bags for each worker consisting of novelty chocolate service cards-- including the brand-new address, naturally.