A clear sign that your business is thriving is when you’ve outgrown your space. This makes relocating a really exciting milestone for any business, allowing you to provide better opportunities to your team and offer even better service to your customers and clients. However, one challenge faced by rapidly growing businesses is the question of how to retain the company culture. Company culture takes time to build, but can be snuffed in an instant during rapid expansion. If your move is not managed properly, you may find that you’ve lost the spirit and values of your company along the way.
So how can you retain your company culture and keep your team happy during and after the relocation process?
Communication
Keeping an open door policy during and after your move is critical to its success. This is an incredibly uncertain time for your employees, so they will require guidance and support from higher-ups like yourself throughout the process. Update your team of milestones in the relocation process to keep everyone engaged and informed, while also celebrating any little achievements along the way to show your employees that things are heading in the right direction. Similarly, you should always be ready to answer any questions or concerns that your employees may have during this period.
Take your past with you
Small, physical details could play a bigger role in your office landscape and company culture than you may realise. Is there a certain couch that your employees would always race to grab at break time? Are there certain mementos or decorative pieces that are treasured by your team? How about a ping pong table that everyone loves to crowd around during work drinks? While these may seem like little touches, they’re the kind of things that will create a sense of familiarity when your company moves into a new space, so make sure to take them along with you when you move.
Hire carefully at your new location
Once you’ve moved into your new location, you’ll of course need to hire new team members to support your expansion. However, make sure to be particularly selective in this round of recruiting, as this is a sensitive point in time for your company culture. Hiring new faces that don’t quite gel with the old team is a sure fire way to create a divide. Instead, opt for new hires that seem to get along with the rest of your team and align with your company values. You may even wish to introduce candidates to key team members to get their opinion as well.
Develop and maintain traditions
It can be easy to lose hold of your company traditions after a move, but do your best to keep things the same as they always were, or improve upon the way you used to do things. If Friday afternoon drinks or birthday surprises were an integral part of your old office culture, commit to making time for these activities so that your employees still feel at home. You may even wish to develop some new traditions to allow for placemaking within the new office.
Emphasise the company vision and mission statement
The backbone of a positive company culture is a clear vision and a robust mission statement. Tap into these sentiments during your move in the form of emails, social media updates or on all your relocation communication materials. This acts a constant reminder of what your team has in common, creating a sense of unity during an otherwise turbulent time.
Celebrate and explore the new space
When you’ve finally settled into your new office, it’s time to celebrate and explore! This can be in the form of a formally-organised party in your new office, or a function at a nearby bar to acclimatise everyone to the area. This allows employees to settle into their environment, as well as get to know any new hires. You can also make a concerted effort to check out the neighbourhood by arranging group coffee runs, lunches or happy hours. Soon, employees will decide on their favourite coffee spot or watering hole, and come to feel comfortable in their new area.
Business Relocations is here to help you
As one of the leading office moving companies, Business Relocations can ensure your office relocation goes without a hitch, keeping company culture intact while we’re at it. Contact us on 0800 800 247 or at info@www.businessrelocations.co.nz to ensure the smoothest office relocation. Our dedicated, fully licensed moving team are office moving specialists with over 15 years of experience in the industry. You can also read about the other specialist services that we provide.
