Planning The Office Move

It is a fact of life that most people resist change and an office relocation can bring major change into the lives of your members of staff. People are suspicious of anything which they perceive will upset their established routines, methods of working or conditions of employment. They do not want to lose the security of what is familiar to them. They fear moving out of their comfort zone, the inconvenience that the move may cause, and anything that disrupts the customary social relationships with their friends and colleagues will be resisted. Also, dependant on the position within the company, people may not understand or have access to the full information concerning the need for the move. A major office relocation triggers all the above fears and unless handled with skill and care may cause considerable disruption and plummeting staff morale and motivation

The principles of overcoming resistance to change are well documented. The first step is to analyse the potential impact of the change by considering whom, and to what extent, the change will affect the people concerned. Then develop a vision of the future highlighting the benefits of the office relocation and sharing and communicating it to everyone. Explain the need for the relocation in easy to understand terms. Face to face communication, direct from managers to individuals or team briefing systems works well. The senior management team must be seen to be totally committed to the need to relocate and the visible support and involvement of the CEO is vital.
Involving people in the change process as early as possible gives people the chance to raise and resolve their concerns about the move and to make suggestions about how the move should be implemented. The aim is to get “ownership” and encourage “buy in” The evidence suggests that when people have been involved in the planning of the change its introduction normally runs more smoothly than when they are not

I recently ran a change management programme for a well known organization in the public sector and I asked the team involved to identify and analyse changes that the organization had been through which they thought had been implemented well and those which had been implemented with less success. They gave a detailed example of a major successful change that had occurred involving the creation of a new division and a major office relocation that had recently taken place. These real life observations represent the reasons why they felt that the change had been so successful and why they felt motivated by the whole process.

The planning was excellent. Many committees were established with frequent discussions with management whom were seen to clearly support the move and there were constant, ongoing constructive negotiations with the union concerning staff welfare.

People were involved in the process. Focus groups were established to establish concerns that the staff may have had. People were encouraged to contribute and contact persons who could liaise between staff and management were clearly identified .


Communication was first rate. The need for the move was openly stated backed up by facts and statistics with the objectives of the relocation spelt out. Management used briefing groups extensively and published F.A.Q’s which were widely distributed. The CEO personally spoke to many groups. People were informed what to expect and the benefits of the move were explained in detail. A detailed time table for the move was established and communicated to all .
“Buy in” was an integral part of the process. Everyone involved in the move was given time off work to visit the new location prior to the move, to explore the shops and food courts/hawker centres, to find the best transport system to get to work, and most importantly to be involve in choosing the design and colour schemes of their new work stations

Finally, there was appropriate closure. There was a final lunch at the old head office, farewell gifts were exchanged, thanks were made, people were made to feel good about the move.

Sure, time and concern were invested in this particular office relocation, but that investment paid the greatest dividend of all – a successful transition and a happy motivated workforce!

Article Contributed by Chris Fenney, Co-founder and Director of Training Edge International
Email : chris.fenney@trainingedgeasia.com
Website : www.trainingedgeasia.com