Successfully relocating your office/business: More than just packing and unpacking boxes

When companies relocate their offices it involves significantly more than just packing and unpacking boxes. When well-planned, thought-out and organized properly, a relocation is the ideal time to implement a new strategy, refocus an established one, reinvigorate branding and even reorganize. Step one in enhancing your move is asking what your company is trying to accomplish. From there, a strategy and communication plan can be created. Are you trying to increase efficiency and functionality in your office? A move is a great chance to accomplish this without increasing the disruption. Floor plans, furniture, lighting and layout can set the tone. Have you considered an open floor plan with no or fewer offices, but with an increased number of teaming or conference rooms ("soft seating" areas) that allow for increased collaboration? A move is also the opportunity to incorporate more of your company's branding into your space - your logo, color palate, even a signature shape can make an office feel customized to both employees and visitors. The more unique the character of the space, the bigger the impact. After designing your new space, you need to consider the furniture that will fill those offices and open areas. Often times, bringing your old furniture will cost almost as much as buying new - taking into consideration move fees, assembling and even some re-design work as spacing and sizing is sure to vary from one space to the next. What are you doing with your old furniture? Most companies end up with a mix of old and new furniture in their new space. While it's hard to transport custom desks and cubicles, an office chair and filing systems are items that are fairly easy to move. Donating furniture is not always possible - there is a surplus of used furniture, and while charities are always in need of various furniture items the cost to facilitate this id often prohibitive liquidating furniture which is left behind should be handled as part of the movers contract. It can cost 50 cents to $1 per square foot to liquidate furniture. Moving can be stressful for employees. This stress can be mitigated by creating and implementing a detailed communication program that includes key dates, guidelines, and information about the new space. Working with HR to develop a floor plan that can be displayed, arranging for shredding, recycling and storage pick-ups, even arranging for seating and furniture trials will all help eliminate employee uneasiness. Putting together a welcome package for the first day with a list of building and neighborhood amenities can help mitigate any remaining consternation. . Setting up a communication plan for employee questions before, during and after the move is key to getting ahead of any issues. Creation of a help desk or hot line to field employee inquiries and complaints is an effective tool for managing employee expectations Create a problem resolution form which can be used to provide a single conduit for attending to minor space issues such as stuck drawers, missing keys or any number of first day issues. Most importantly, assign someone to follow up and insure that problems are quickly resolved Another integral part of the move is understanding what needs to be packed, what goes into storage and what should be disposed of Some of these decisions can be dictated by laws or company policy and these rules should be made clear. Purge days are always a very important part of the move - multiple days should be scheduled as the move nears where there are designated areas for additional recycling, shredding and garbage bins, as well as off-site storage pick-up. It's always less expensive and more efficient to get rid of items before the move. Have you planned your move staff? Moving can put a tremendous amount of pressure on key staff, especially IT departments. Companies need to consider if they should take on additional temporary IT staff to handle the increased workload, while continuing to manage day-to-day responsibilities. This is also a prime time to think about future technology initiatives. If the plan was to upgrade servers in two years, implementing these changes at move time can save not only money, but significant labor and time. Moving is complex and involves significant planning and complex logistics to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible - from packing to furniture and IT, even ordering new supplies like business cards and stationary. Open communication is paramount to success - it reduces stress and makes for a smooth transition. Making a move as easy as possible for your staff will help ensure the move is successful. Joseph Yacovone, LEED, AP is the senior managing director at Cassidy Turley, New York, N.Y.