Moving your headquarters from one corporate real estate location to another is a big task. It's easy to be overwhelmed, so making a list of all your responsibilities is important. Before you arrive at a new location, you should have looked into many potential options to ensure that your new office is exactly what you need. Moves are easier than first time locations because new businesses often end up adapting as they grow and they don't realize their true needs for some time. Older companies have the experience to be more informed, but in either case the decision should not be taken lightly. The following points are sometimes overlooked.
1. Addresses
Corporate information must be updated everywhere. Companies develop relationships with a staggering number of partners, all of whom should be informed about relocations. Emails may be sufficient, but in official cases, representatives may need to make changes documentation changes for you. Trade associations and publications shouldn't be overlooked, and, naturally, a mail forwarding service should be set up to send any stray packages to your new corporate real estate location.
2. Old Equipment & Furniture
You should be able to reuse the furniture from your old location, but if you plan to leave old equipment behind, arrangements should be made to deal with them.
3. Don't forget about your people
It is very easy to overlook staff when engaging in any corporate real estate move. When moving between cities, the effects of the relocation are more obvious to managers, and arrangements to help workers are usually more evident, but even with moves within a city, care should be taken to introduce a new work environment to your people. Something as simple as having a community representative come in for an afternoon to talk about the new location can go a long way in easing anxiousness and dealing with uncertainty on your team. The more comfortable the people on your team are, the smoother your move will be.
4. Leave your options open
You should always have your options open whether you are actively looking or not. Always having some potential new locations on file allows for a timelier move in the event that the need to relocate arises unexpectedly. Have a checklist of your needs will allow you to assess possibilities more easily.
5. Take any new laws into consideration
Depending on where you move, your new location may or may not have the same tax and labor laws as your old location. These should be researched thoroughly and appropriate changes to your policies must be made to conform to any new regulations. Since your legal team should be dealing with these issues, no moves should be made without first consulting with the legal team and considering their advice.
Finally, the location of your headquarters may have an impact on other offices. This shouldn't be forgotten. Including opinions from location directors and managers as well as the more traditional senior decision makers will result in a more informed final location choice.
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