Moving the office is an inevitable process for any growing business. The relocation can happen at any point due to numerous reasons, such as:

• Business running out of office space to host new equipment;
• Employee counts grow and the old office lacks enough free space;
• Location becomes inconvenient for most employees;
• Office rent rises and no longer fits the budget;
• Business grows to new markets and has to relocate.

Whenever a company schedules an office move, management must notify all employees of when, how, and what is planning to happen. To use a management system like HR Online can only aid you in such a hefty endeavour. Our outstanding product is also available on mobile.

It’s best to announce to all interested parties, not just employees. Business partners and clients have to be notified of your company relocating its office.

In this article, we focus on why you should emphasise on communication with all teams and how to make sure the announcement was delivered loud and clear.

It’s a very high priority to properly communicate the ongoing process of preparation of an actual office move. A good office relocation announcement to employees minimises the chances of mistakes and confusions.

A well-communicated process inevitably leads to a smooth and successful relocation. Any flaws in communication before, during or at the end of an office change could cost you thousands of pounds in funds, time, and effort.

We’ve asked the domestic and office removals relocation specialist at Fantastic Office Removals – Kate Hart for behind-the-scenes know-how and tips on how proper communication prior an office move should happen.

Proper Methods of Sending Notifications About the Office Move

Team meetings

Large companies with more than 500 employees will most-likely have multiple departments, each consisting of separate teams. The best way to keep everyone updated on ongoing and forthcoming internal procedures is to assign a dedicated person to coordinate the process.

The internal marketing team should gather all team leaders and inform them on all details about the forthcoming office move with information security in mind. On their turn, managers and team leaders have to forward the office move announcement to all employees.

Once briefed, each team leader should meet with their team and inform them through a face-to-face talk. This way, any team member will be able to ask and receive further information straight from their team leader.

Send out an office relocation email to all employees

In larger corporations teams are usually assigned in email groups. Trusting all teams is crucial but nevertheless, the person or team, responsible for all updates regarding the office move should make sure to add each email group as a recipient throughout the email chain and make sure everyone is up to date.

This way you will make sure that everybody in the company is aware of what, how and when things will happen.

If anyone sends a question, make sure to mention the question in your response. Otherwise, the recipients of the reply might not make the connection between question and answer.

Send a relocation letter to employees via the postal service

Seems like an outdated form of communication but in fact, it’s still one of the most reliable nowadays.

Employees who’re in a maternity or sick leave might not be able to keep track of all in-company forms of communication. And also clients or business partners who barely keep track of their emails receive a letter, you can be sure that nobody was left behind.

Make sure to create a list of people based in the office who might not read all emails received.

If you want a frictionless office move, make sure to send letters to those employees too so you can rest assured that all precautions are taken. Include all the information available. Let everybody know that they can ask and receive information and updates at any given moment.

Use email marketing campaigns to target subscribers and business partners

Regular customers and business partners should have subscribed to your newsletter.

These groups are absolutely crucial for the prosperity and well-being of your business. Make sure to notify each with a well-planned email marketing campaign, so everybody is in the loop and up to date.

Make it visually compelling and informative enough so people will spend enough time to thoroughly read it.

Use Google Forms and Send Those to Everyone in the Company

The process of relocating the office should involve everybody in the building. If all employees make a small contribution, there’s hardly anything that can go wrong with.

Google Forms is among the best tools for creating surveys and Q&A studies within the company. You can include as many questions you want and also change the way people respond. Such tools allow you to receive feedback on anything you need to improve regarding the move out process. After all, employee engagement is what helps putting fun back to the office.

We suggest you make replies within the submission form anonymous. 

Seek feedback from employees regarding:

• Which month would be best for relocation to happen
• Are people ready to help during the process
• Would people want to pack personal stuff in boxes on their own
• Would anybody insist to use the same desks and IT hardware after the relocation
• What is the office design that could boost productivity (light/dark, with more/less free space, short/tall ceiling etc.)
• Include questions about improvements to the current meeting and dining rooms, etc

Share details on storage & relocation

Depending on the size and scale of offices you need to move comments storage manager of Henfield Storage. The right logistics and distributed information are key to successfully get back on track, comments the expert.

Whatever you contact employees about, make sure it is as short and precise as possible. Always aim at acquiring feedback on the office move plan prior to execution. Dig deeper to find out if and what questions or worries people might have regarding the change.

Dimitar Karamarinov is an award-winning digital multi-instrumentalist of background and skill in a wide range of digital mediums and multimedia starting as early as 2006. With over a decade of experience in audio, graphic, and motion design, along with various forms of business and communication, he gains experience with Entrepreneur Franchise top 500, Inc 5000, and multi-continent companies, along with various charity initiatives under his belt.