9 Office-Relocation Transition Strategies To Boost Morale

Question: My team and I have just learned that our office will close within 10 months or so and relocate to another city on the other side of the country. Some will make the move and some won't. For those who will stay on and make the move with us, how can I boost the low morale prevalent in our office right now?

Most people don’t like change. Perhaps let me rephrase that: we, as humans, are not necessarily resistant to change – just sudden change. The news of moving the office to another city and the short turnaround period are what I consider to be sudden change. Given the opportunity to adapt to the announcement, many will. Some will not. Some have resilience – others simply choose to feel victimized. There’s nothing you can do now to lessen the impact of the announcement. But you must now demonstrate real leadership.

First, understand that there are two targets your people can be looking toward: 1) the day the office closes and many are out of work, or 2) the days after the office closes – when people are getting settled into their new jobs, new location, new environments, new offices, new friends, new people and new perspective. It’s an exciting time and this is where I challenge you to take the focus of your people – not to the day of the office closing but to the days after the office closes.

You can not be heard uttering the words, “yeah I know it’s tough but what are you going to do?” That simply makes people wallow in their pain and not look for the positive opportunities that could follow, regardless of whether or not they are choosing to move or find something else when the office closes. And it keeps your people focused on the day the office closes.

Next, you need to have a plan for the day after the office closes. Be proactive. Show your people that you’re not wallowing in misery but you, as their leader, are getting right to the next chapter of your work life. This will likely inspire your people to quit their wallowing and get on with it.

Here are 9 Transition Strategies that need to go into your plan:

1. Get a firm decision from each staff member right now: are they coming or are they leaving? For those who are choosing to move, get a plan in place to look after housing needs at the other end, arranging movers, arranging flights to visit the new city as early as possible so that those people can get excited about the prospect of moving.
2. If there are a few on-the-fence about moving, make sure they get a chance to visit the new city to help them make a decision. Provided it’s a pretty city, those who are sitting on the fence may be swayed by its beauty and come home with a positive attitude about the move. In other words, get as many of your staff onside as soon as possible so that you are not shouldering the burden of overcoming the negative attitudes alone.
3. If you are not in a position to help them travel financially, then at least develop a strategy to offer your people some time off so that they may travel on their own. Bend over backwards in consideration for your people. Moving is a big step for some.
4. Create a “Relocation Transition Team” in your office. Task your people to work with each other to find Realtors, research good neighborhoods, recreation facilities, schools, contact numbers for City departments, garbage schedules, residential Internet hookups, utilities, public transportation, gyms, park systems, bicycle rentals, organized sports for kids, anything that they currently do now. They will need this information anyway when they get to the new city. The transition becomes easier when they’ve planned in advance. Creating this team keeps everyone pointed in a forward direction focused on the day after the office closes.
5. For those who are choosing not to move, bring a little hope. Bring in an HR consultant to help them define their skill set, aid in developing an updated resume and help them feel powerful as they get ready to hit the streets job searching.
6. Offer those who will remain behind a liberal schedule to attend interviews, respond to want ads, and help them post their resumes to Monster and other job sites. Offer letters of reference with heartfelt words; offer to call interviewers on their behalf and to use the full resources of the company to help them land softly.
7. If your people end up finding good positions early (before the office relocates), let them go. Knowing that you are behind them is an unselfish act and keeps a positive mindset in the office. Let them know that you understand that when they get a great offer, you won’t hold them back. Ensuring that your peoples’ individual welfare is ahead of the company short-term welfare is real Service Leadership Attitude in action.
8. If, however, your generosity is still met with negative attitude in the office, address it immediately. Have face-to-face discussions with the guilty parties about their behavior. Make sure they understand that this corporate decision does not give anyone free license to act out in rebellion. The company is moving forward regardless of any whining. They have an opportunity to move forward with the company or to be job-seeking early. It is imperative that you remove the negative forces that influence the rest of the group and also remove those who annoy the others with their negativity. It is still a workplace and it is business as usual.
9. Most of all don’t dwell on the upsetting of the apple cart. The more you dwell on the downside of “change” the more you encourage your people to grumble and feel sorry for themselves. The decision has been made – let’s get back to work.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: In tough times, people look to leaders who are capable of leading. Are you one? If not, isn't it time you got busy developing your Leadership Attitude?

A Punch Line – Not A Punch

Standing in line at the checkout recently, I overheard this conversation:

Customer: “Whoa, wait a sec. How much was that?”

Clerk: (puzzled) “A dollar?”

Customer: “OK but what about this?” (pointing to another checked item)

Clerk: “That was a dollar too.”

Customer: (holding up another item) “So how much is this then?”

Clerk: (heavy sigh) “A dollar.” (Short pause for courage I guess) “Ma’am, this is a dollar store. Everything here is a dollar.”

Now once upon a time, during an episode like this in which the customer holds up an entire line of people who are waiting to check their items, I would roll my eyes in my head and say loud enough for others to hear, “You have got to be kidding.”

But for the past thirteen years, I have come to the conclusion that sometimes, people are placed on my path simply for my amusement. Kind of like today. (Oh sure, I still have my “you have got to be kidding” moments but they are short-lived.)

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: You need to adopt a Resilience Attitude when the time is right. A Resilience Attitude will get you through the tough days with a smile, a chuckle and sometimes a deep-down belly-laugh. The Resilience Attitude will help you weather tough days, tough situations and tough economic times.

The Resilience Attitude has no place for whining, moaning, complaining or blaming. The resilience Attitude simply says, “OK, it happened. Now what?”

It is amazing how many people can fall off of a bicycle and get back up to ride it again. And yet, there are so many others who, when something devastating happen in their lives, they refuse to get back up. Instead they wallow in their circumstances, complain about how they have been hard-done by, share their “victim” story with anyone who will listen and continue to re-live it over and over again.

In fact, people who seek revenge, play guilt games, re-live their regrets and are remorseful for their lives are, in effect, choosing to stay down after falling down. The Resilience Attitude doesn’t allow those who possess it to stay down. People with Resilience Attitude refuse to stay down. The Resilience Attitude helps you bounce back.

Every decision you have ever made in your life has put you exactly where you are today. By being victimized by that, you are not accepting accountability. It means that you do not possess the Resilience Attitude. But if you can accept that where you are in your life today has been a result of every decision you have ever made, then you have the ability to bounce back and succeed despite the “temporary” circumstances. Everything is temporary – nothing is permanent – unless you decide it is permanent.

Now please don’t think that I’m going all “motivational speaker” on you. That’s not it. This is simply an Attitude Adjustment on ‘perspective versus results.’ If you think people want to be entertained by your victim story, then you’re choosing to stay down. People love to laugh. Make other people laugh with your stories. Don’t make them feel your pain. That’s not funny and it’s incredibly rude to force others to sit through your awful story. Make your story have a punch line – not a punch.

So today, when you’re in the line at the grocery store, the coffee shop, stuck in traffic or waiting for your meeting to show up, have a look around for the one thing that has been placed into your life at this moment simply to amuse you. You’ll have an amusing story to tell at the end of your day. It will change your outcome. You’ll have taken the first step into achieving a Resilience Attitude.

So what’s the punch line to your story today?