Handling An Office Move

There may be a temptation to think that the process can be managed by someone dedicating a few hours to thinking about how desks will be positioned within new premises. This is, however, something of a classic mistake. What's happening here is that the overall process is being under-estimated.

If you want to keep your commercial move on track, then it's really important that you should spend time and effort in this area. As a starting point, this means that you need to treat the relocation as a serious project.

As with any project, that will certainly mean assigning someone the task of being the project manager. Who should you select for this task? Within your own organisation, you may end up being the individual who is best placed to manage the process. You'll certainly need something who is organised and is also a great communicator.

Why are those communication skills so important? To find the answer to this question, it's important to think about the concerns that other people are likely to have. Employees may have worries about all sorts of areas, including the location of the new office, the facilities that will be available and the layout of the workplace environment.

Suppliers will want to be assured that the change won't make things more difficult. They'll still need to deliver to your premises and will also want to know that they will be paid on time. How about your customers? For them, the priority will be to see that service levels are maintained.

In all cases, your project plan will need to take account of these requirements. Nothing works quite as well, however, as having an open conversation with interested parties about what's going on. This should reduce the scope for misunderstandings and you can take the opportunity to demonstrate that everything is under control.

There is no reason why the commercial move that you are about to undertake should cause you problems. By taking the right approach, you should be able to handle everything in a perfectly effective manner that keeps your business heading in the right direction.