Employee Communication Plan for Office Move

Office Move Employee Communication Plan

An office move involves a major change for any business and  its staff; a new environment, location, facilities and even processes. This process of change needs to be managed effectively in order to eliminate any disruption and maintain productivity throughout the office move and beyond. 

Having a clear Employee Communication Plan in place will help staff feel involved and supported and ensure the relocation is a seamless and positive transition.

Keep these points in mind when creating your own Employee Communication Plan:

• Decide your Method of Communication

Smaller companies may benefit from face-to-face meetings which are considered more personal.  Larger companies may wish to hold team / department relocation briefings with their team leader. Intranets are also an effective way to communicate with staff about the move with daily/weekly updates on the progress of the move, photographs and internal floor plans etc.

• Timing the Announcement

As soon as the decision has been made to move office, your staff need to be informed.  News gets around too quickly, and if staff hear about the relocation from other sources it can lead to confusion, negativity and even fears over redundancy.

• Define your Messages

Whatever your reasons are for relocating the business, make sure they are consistent and offer staff benefits.  Even if the reason is to lower costs and downsize, you can always emphasise the new office facilities, better location, improved communication etc.  

• Q & A

However you choose to inform your staff, they will always need opportunity to ask questions and voice any concerns.  A briefing with staff held with Senior Management is an effective way to emphasis the positives and giving your office relocation the "feelgood factor" for all involved.

Download the FREE HR Guide to Moving Office to help you handle the office move correctly as far as your staff are concerned and get best practice communication tips.