Change is inevitable. A growing business has to change, grow, adapt (and repeat) to stay alive. And yet, change is not easy to implement. In fact, getting the buy-in from employees can halt the growth of a company altogether or result in major turnover—and it’s no different when it comes to office relocations. In fact, some would argue that it is one of the more difficult changes to implement.
Think about it. Whether you are moving employees to a new office down the street, expanding the company to a new city or asking remote employees to relocate to a regional office, you are asking your employees to change their “home base”. And this, understandably, can result in a lot of negative feedback. Moving is stressful, no matter the distance.
As an HR professional, tackling this kind of organizational change while guaranteeing the happiness of your employees is a difficult task. However, there are certain steps you can take to help make this transition easier. In this article, we’ll cover the best ways to implement change as it relates to asking your employees to relocate.
Communicate Early and Often
First of all, transparent communication is key—above anything else. By nature, relocation is a stressful transition. As an HR professional, the worst possible thing you could do is announce an office relocation out of the blue and simply tell your employees to deal with it. They’ll feel blindsided and betrayed.
To avoid this, be sure to communicate with employees long before the final decision has been made. While it may be counter intuitive to disclose change before it has been finalized, it will give employees enough time to process and cope with the idea before deciding to pack up and move.
Encourage employees to think in the long term, and be sure to share the reasons why. Giving your employees all the information will reduce the risk of them making assumptions and leaving the company based on those assumptions.
Listen to Your Employees’ Grievances
Never shut your employees out. Listen to what they have to say. Collaborate with your employees to make the relocation as easy as possible for them, and compromise when possible. If the new office location adds an hour to their commute, offer to let them work from home once a week to make up for lost time. If you are moving offices across the country, make sure you communicate what relocation assistance the company will provide to help them move.
Listening to your new employees’ grievances will open up doors to better and more comfortable ways to relocate your office.
Start at the Top
It’s important to implement change from the top down. When the final decision and relocation plans have been made, don’t make a company-wide announcement right away. Instead, inform managers of the change first, and have them talk to their direct reports first. This is a more personal way to do things, and allows employees to ask questions and provide any feedback they have about the move to their managers.
Promote a Culture of Innovation
At growing companies, change is a constant. It drives innovation. That’s why it’s so important for your company to set the expectation to embrace change as a means of evolving and growing. You should hire talent who share the same outlook. When you highlight the importance of innovation and new ways of doing things, your employees will ultimately be better equipped to handle change (like the relocation of your office).
Try different ways to encourage and reward change. Some companies give out monthly, quarterly, or annual awards for employees who came up with an innovative idea. Other companies will host an internal hackathon. You can do this too. Group employees together in and give them a set amount of time (usually a day or two) to work together to solve a real company problem.
Moving Forward
Change is a good thing, but it’s never easy communicating it to your employees, especially when it means an office relocation. Remember, communication is essential to ensuring your employees feel respected and heard. If you follow these tips, you can tackle organizational head on.
About the Author
Michael Krasman is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded five high-growth businesses over his fifteen-year career. He is currently the CEO and Co-founder of UrbanBound, a cloud-based Relocation Management Software company that is reshaping the way employers offer and administer relocation benefits to their employees.