Editor’s Note: Here at Dispatches, we are always looking for ways to help our readers do things. For some of our readers, that means helping navigate the working world, for others, it means assisting in the ever challenging question, “what’s for dinner?” For still others, it means figuring out how to balance family life with everything else. In an effort to aid in all of these endeavors, we have collaborated on this article written specifically for our readers.
Moving home for one family can be stressful enough. An office serves as a home for all your employees for up to eight hours a day. Moving office locations is often the stress of moving one family times each employee. While this can be an extremely stressful time, there are several things you can do to keep the stress levels in check.
Know the plan
Rather than looking at the old first, start by looking at everything you’re going to need out of the new location. The new office checklist is going to make sure that you identify whether the essentials are in place such as internet access and working power throughout the whole space. It’s also important to come up with your furniture arrangement well in advance. Know the dimensions, know the placement and you’ll spend a lot less time reconfiguring the setup when moving day actually comes.
Offer some flexible work in the meantime
Moving the employees can be as much of a hassle itself. When you have a whole team of new people trying to move between the old and the new alongside the furniture and resources, you have a very disorganized team. Don’t let them get in the way of it all. Expect lower levels of productivity and offer them the opportunity to work remotely from home instead. Phase them out of the old office and phase them into the new one slowly but surely. Test out how the workplace works with less demand as opposed to getting the whole team in. That way, if there’s an issue with the power that you didn’t notice beforehand, it’s not going to negate the productivity of the whole team.
Prep all your goods in advance
Remember the furniture plan? That’s going to come in handy when it comes time to call the moving company. Make sure that all your possessions are organized with those closest to the door being those that have to go further in the back of the new office. Have a team setting up the new office on the other end at the same time that the old office team is helping the moving company empty the place. That way, there’s a much greater chance of having the space prepared for when the furniture and equipment reaches the new office instead of having to arrange everything at once.
Consider using this time to audit
You don’t have to look for an excuse to reduce the amount of work it takes to move, but if you have some equipment or furniture that you’ve been considering purging or purchasing, then do it in advance of the move. There are a lot of places to sell second-hand office furniture and computing equipment. It will lighten the load of the move, making it easier to install new furniture and equipment as it arrives via delivery once the move itself is complete.
Preparation is the key. Try to handle too much on the fly and you’ll have employees with no internet, no furniture, and no understanding of the new workplace.