Office renovation can be stressful for everyone involved—employees, managers, and owners alike. To help you manage your employees during an office renovation, keep your team focused on business while the renovation takes place. Consider the following four tips to keep productivity up while creating an environment that makes everyone happy.
Communicate in Advance
If there’s one thing more stressful than changing workspaces, it’s changing workspaces with no preparation. To help prepare your employees, let them know as soon as possible (ideally months in advance) that you plan to renovate. Provide your team with details on how and when their workspace will change—and provide options for alternatives if they need an office setup that doesn’t match your plans.
Allow Flexibility in Working Hours
If you plan to convert one of your rooms into an office, give your employees some choice in where they do their work. Some may need more privacy, while others may want to be within earshot of coworkers or prefer working around other people. If possible, let them choose their office location. This will help reduce stress for those who are dealing with temporary issues like noise sensitivity to work zone equipment. Work zone equipment isn’t just noisy, it can also be dangerous for employees to be around so it’s ideal to either work with schedules to minimize overlap or even create a way for employees to avoid the areas during the renovation time.
Have Realistic Deadlines
While it’s important to have a vision for what you want your business to be, you also need to set realistic deadlines for yourself and your employees. Too many people think they can move their entire company into a conference room, cram everyone into cubicles, and move back into their office within a few weeks. It’s important to provide enough time for employees (and yourself) to understand what kind of experience they’re in for.
Set Realistic Expectations
Renovations can be a stressful time for your employees. They might worry about where they’ll be able to work while their area is being worked on. That stress may come out in your meetings, increasing tensions and affecting productivity even further. To avoid these problems, try setting realistic expectations with your staff before you begin construction. Explain what they should expect from day one through completion of renovations, so no one has any surprises.
When you’re renovating your office, it’s important to keep your employees happy and productive. If you’re planning on having your office renovated, these four tips will help you manage your employees during the office renovation with ease and keep your team happy.
Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. You can connect with Anica on Twitter @AnicaOaks.
