An office move can be a huge upheaval for your team, especially if it involves changing their commute – and let’s be honest, unless you’re moving up the road, it’s going to impact their journey in.
Even if you’re not moving far, there will be an upheaval, with people having become attached to their current space. It’s a process, that comes with a lot of feelings, so it’s worth managing it properly.
If you choose an office that doesn’t suit your team, their morale will be damaged, as will how much work they do for you. It could even cause people to leave. This is why it’s important to ensure everyone is involved with your next steps.
How to get feedback from your team
You could approach your team for feedback through in-person meetings, or there are lots of online tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform which could give those with the quietest voices in a meeting an equal platform to be heard.
Potential questions include:
- What are would you like to be based in?
- Is there anywhere you would not be able to reach or would not like to be based?
- How do you feel about office layouts? Would you like to work open plan or have smaller, private offices?
- What do you like about our current office?
- Is there anything you think could be improved here? Anything that is lacking?
- Which office facilities are the most important, in your opinion? Pick 5…
Reception
Meeting rooms
Breakout space
Storage
Secure access
Trading address
Secure access
Phone booths
24-hour access
Fast internet
Printing facilities
- Which of these nice-to-haves are most important to you?
Fruit and snacks
Bike storage
Showers
Coffee/tea
Parking
Lockers
Childcare
Roof terrace
Onsite canteen
Kitchen
Event space
- What five words would you use to describe your ideal office environment?
- Do you have any other comments?
Once you’ve collated your team’s responses, you can use this data to refine your search for your future office, ensuring you tick as many boxes as possible for the must-haves, and that it’s in a location which will keep most of your team happy.
Communication is key, at every stage, so it’s best to have your HR department working with your internal comms department to make sure that you’re speaking to your team in a way which will encourage more of them to engage with your questions. And don’t forget to keep them updated on what will happen next and when. The questions will create uncertainty, so it’s worth trying to reassure people as much as you can.
When you’re ready
Once you’re ready to move, get in touch with us. We’d be more than happy to help.