Owning and managing a business is never easy. There are many situations in which keeping your staff happy and keeping your business operating efficiently can be very challenging. One situation that can be extremely difficult to deal with is when you have to move offices. While there are usually very good reasons for the move, there are also some side effects that can be hard to deal with. One of the hardest parts of moving an office is managing employees that may be frustrated and inconvenienced by the move. Fortunately, several tips can be followed that can help you better break the news to your employees.
1. Inform in Advance
If you are planning on switching offices, it will make a major impact on the lives of all people that work in your office. Because of this, you need to make sure that you can tell your employees as soon as possible. In most situations, you will know that you will be switching offices at least three months in advance. While you may want to wait sometime, the sooner you can tell your employees, the better off you will be. This will give them more time to make necessary preparations.
2. Choose Good Communication Method
When you are looking to move offices, you also need to provide a very clear and concise way of informing your staff. The worst thing that you can do when looking to move offices is to tell some staff members but not tell others. This will lead to a significant amount of rumors circulating the office and can make people paranoid. Instead, you should look for a very clear method for telling people to ensure all people here at once. This can include hosting a full staff meeting or sending out an email to the entire team.
3. Explain Benefits
Employers that are looking to move offices and want to tell their employees as soon as possible should also make sure they can explain the reasons why. The reasons why a company will need to switch office space will vary significantly from one to the next. For some, it can include making room for future growth while others are looking for ways to cut costs. Regardless of what the reason is, you need to make sure that you are honest and open with your employees about why you are moving. This will help to make your employees more understanding and will likely keep them satisfied with your decision.
4. Expect Resistance
While there will be perfectly good reasons for why you should move your business, you should still expect to receive resistance from some employees. Many of your employees may have chosen homes and areas to live based on where your current office is. Because of this, many may protest and make demands based on this upcoming change. If at all possible, you should look for ways to make it more convenient. This can include allowing some employees to telecommute or offering more flexible hours to accommodate traffic.