An office relocation can be disruptive and stressful for employees. Prioritizing their well-being is essential throughout the process. By focusing on employee needs and fostering a positive, supportive environment, businesses can ensure a smoother relocation and a more engaged, resilient workforce during the transition.
Here are eight tips for managing your team during an office relocation.
1. Communicate
Communication is the key to maintaining employee morale and well-being during a move. Tell employees about the move as soon as you know it will happen; hearing about an employer’s move through the grapevine can be stressful. Allow time for employees to ask questions and express concerns.
If the move is long-distance, develop relocation packages for those employees you hope to keep ahead of the announcement, then meet with each of them to communicate how much you value their skills.
Communicate throughout the relocation process. Use various methods, including one-on-one, face-to-face meetings between managers and employees, general meetings, the Intranet, and written communications. Communicate the timeline so employees know what to expect.
Keep your communications employee-focused. Tell them what they will most want to know about the move, such as how it will affect their lives and the lives of their families. Also, communicate all the benefits of the move for employees.
2. Ask Employees’ Opinions
Allowing employees to participate in the move process can be an excellent way to reduce stress. Use surveys or focus groups to determine employee concerns you’ll address in your communications. Also, employees should be asked for feedback on the design of the new office. Often, employees have ideas about improving collaboration, creativity, and workflow that management wouldn’t think of on its own. Invite employees to decorate their workspace once you’re in the new space.
3. Be Flexible
An office relocation requires an adjustment. Management can help ease the stress of the adjustment by being flexible about hours or remote work during the process. If the move is long-distance, flexibility about when the employee must report to work at the new site can help with family adjustment issues.
4. Be Supportive
Employees require support in several areas to reduce office move stress. One way to help employees prepare for the move is to provide clear directions and personalized packing options. Another is to provide information on services in the new neighborhood, such as child care, gyms, and banks. A company might develop partnerships with businesses near its new location to offer discounts to employees for the first month. If most employees will spend more commuting to the new facility, consider providing credits toward bus or subway tickets.
If the move is long-distance, companies will offer a relocation package. The package could include transportation of the employee’s furnishings and belongings and job search help for a spouse. It also includes assistance in selling and buying a home and registering children in school.
Regardless of the relocation distance, continue to provide support after the move. Keep communication open and offer any further resources they or their families need to settle in comfortably.
5. Design A Healthy Workplace
Moving to a new office offers opportunities to design a workplace from scratch. Workplace design can significantly impact employee health.
- Consider ergonomics when buying new furniture and equipment; ergonomics creates happier employees and reduces work injuries.
- Use natural light when possible because it improves workers’ moods. It is also environmentally friendly.
- Design a flexible workspace with quiet, collaborative, and recreational spaces.
- Consider offering yoga or meditation to improve concentration and overall health.
- Investigate advanced technologies that give employees control over their environment.
- Use wall and accessory colors appropriately. Studies show that warm tones like orange, yellow, and red evoke excitement. However, if they are overused, they can cause aggression. Blues and greens promote calm and relaxation.
Air quality also impacts worker health. To promote good air quality, ensure proper ventilation, change air filters regularly, and add indoor plants to purify the air.
6. Focus on Work-Life Balance
A proper balance between work and personal life is critical to employee health. Developing policies that support a work-life balance also shows employees that management cares about them. Employees are more loyal to companies they perceive have their interests at heart.
7. Promote Healthy Strategies
Employees are stressed and busy during an office relocation and may neglect self-care. Offer programs such as fitness challenges or nutrition workshops to remind them to care for themselves. Provide mental health support through an Employee Assistance Program.
8. Allow Time to Celebrate
Establish milestones throughout the process and celebrate with free food and time to enjoy it. When the relocation is complete, plan a large celebration with food, games, and prizes for employees and their families.
Key Takeaways
- An office relocation can be stressful for employees. However, companies can take steps to ensure their teams remain healthy.
- Transparent communication throughout the process is one of the most critical requirements for employee well-being.
- Focusing on employees and their families is also important for health. Let employees have a say, be supportive and flexible, and encourage work-life balance.
- A new office is an excellent opportunity to redesign your workspace. Research shows that how you design your new space can impact worker health.
- Encourage employees to adopt healthy strategies.
- Create time and space to celebrate relocation milestones with your team.