Have you thought of business relocation, but are overwhelmed with where to start, while attempting to continue with your day-job? Yes? Well you’re not alone … . Business relocation into a new and improved space is exciting. Until you get to the point of planning and executing your relocation. With so many variables to manage, many inter-dependencies and various industry vendors claiming that they’re the highest of priorities to get in and do their work, it can be hard to cut through all the confusion and determine where to start.
Engage an Business Relocation Consultant
While this is a great plan, the consultant’s common objective is to bring employee alignment and campaign the move – typically from a cultural and HR perspective. While they manage various areas of the relocation very well i.e. boxes, company communications around nearby facilities and transportation, timing, removalists etc.; Some, not all, can find that there can be significant lag with the IT component of the relocation, only to end up in the new facility with non-functional IT that then undoes all the hard work in ensuring that the team has the best experience possible with the move.
Have Your Existing IT Provider Take Care Of It
This is the most obvious thing to do right? You have brought in, or assigned, a Project Manager. You have your IT guys. They get their instructions from the Project Manager, and the IT guys will …well, do their thing, right? – Wrong! While the low-level detailed activities in an Office Relocation are no different to an IT professional’s day job, planning for all of these variables in a single event, while determining the inter-dependencies and sequence of activities, is another story. And we haven’t even begun to speak about the relationships and methods of engagement for the various industries i.e. cablers, builders, building managers, telecommunication providers/ISPs, removalists etc. and the associated lingo that they prefer to communicate with. Lingo may seem unimportant, but when it comes to negotiations and expediting timelines, knowing the lingo is a powerhouse ability. Cutting a long story short, planning and executing an IT relocation is not the same as doing your day-to-day IT activities, and not every person is cut-out for it. Relocations require unique skills and a personality that has the ability to push through the confusion and challenges to achieve a definite objective.
You Take It On Yourself
Well you did really well and enjoyed making the decision to move and finding your new home. It only makes sense that you take on the load of moving your business while managing it (or a department of it) … Some people may even take this on, purely for the purpose of protecting their team i.e. because it was their decision to move, they don’t want to put this burden on their team, they’d prefer to take it on themselves (guilt), and haven’t thought about external assistance that they can get. Throughout the process, the executive that has appointed themselves, will find them themselves working extensive hours and making compromises on their day-job or the relocation project. They will find themselves alternating the compromise, depending which wheel is squeaking the most at the time. Always finding themselves falling behind. Aside, and more importantly, from the workload and hours, they take this burden home – compromising on their time at home with family and friends, compromising on their sleep, compromising on activities they enjoy outside of work. This behaviour is obviously not limited to relocations. But why should you, as business executives, have this sense of guilt and not seek assistance?! Yes, you decided to move, you chose the location, and yes it was enjoyable – this is your job. So you should enjoy it. Seeking specialised assistance to ensure that all aspects of your business and projects are running well is your next step.
Bringing it all together
Office and Business Relocation are a great milestone in a business that should be celebrated and embraced by all – not an event used to build up anxiety and look back on as a dreaded memory. Engage people within your business, or external, to achieve these three main objectives;
- A plan, communication method and communication topics to achieve employee and company alignment.
- A well-coordinated relocation project, defined and supported with a detailed project plan, through a single source.
- A comprehensive snapshot of all your technology needs and a plan to relocate to your new location – with mitigation plans. Yes, you read that right, mitigation plans. While everyone is to work toward a definite date, no questions, you always need a mitigation plan. And Yes, they exist, even in the case that your new office isn’t ready.
Leave no stone unturned.
Click here for more details on creating and executing a relocation plan.