Moving to a new office — case study by Performante

“Don’t forget about your employees”

First of all, I wanted to tell you why we decided to change the office and start our big project of relocation. Our old office has been our second home for the last 3 years and we left there a lot of great memories. But with the growth of the company and the expansion of our team, we were slowly missing the space. There was also another important issue, that always has a big impact on the corporate culture — we wanted to work in a place with which all employees can and want to identify.

These were some of the reasons why we moved to the heart of Warsaw. To the place where we are happy to come not only from Monday to Friday. To Hala Koszyki!

But the relocation is also connected to ubiquitous stress, deadlines and a huge number of formalities. How can you do it in a way that you don’t forget about the most important factor: employees, for whom it is also a big change? How to prepare the team not only to change the environment but also for the new structures and procedures, that will soon take place in the rapidly growing company?

1. Transparent communication

We didn’t want to share this information just like that. We wanted to enjoy the big day with the whole team. That is why we started everything with a big announcement of the good news.

We met under the pretext of an integration meeting in a mysterious place. Taxis were waiting for us at our old office and took all of us to one of the restaurants in Hala Koszyki.

After lunch, the team was invited to go upstairs to the 5th floor of the building, where we found out that we were standing in our new office!

In the following six months everyone was able to follow the progress of the renovation works: the photos were systematically sent to all employees of the company and the “suggestion box” was waiting for suggestions and requests regarding the new office the whole time.

Our company now has got the space to double the team: it is also a good time to plan other actions. We have started working on our intranet and the new welcome book. It will help us to communicate effectively with new employees and to onboard them as soon as possible.

2) The right moment

We planned the grand opening on a warm spring day: June 1st, in Poland known as Children’s Day. During this period, apart from the coordination of all formal and organizational activities, we also created a video depicting the renovation work in our new office, followed by the opening and functionality of the new space.

Performante at Hala Koszyki

3) More space to fill

As I already mentioned, we are constantly enlarging our team. Being on the first day in a new office, employees have the right to be distracted and absorbed by the novelty. But you also have to remember to devote enough attention to the new people who may feel lost, too. That is why it was worth to get them familiar with the rest of the team earlier. A week before we were supposed to do the relocation, we organized an integration event for our team and eight new people. Let’s not delve further into details, it’s been great. 😉

At the new office, we also had the opportunity to make some small rotations, which we weren’t able to do in the previous office. You should remember to catch the chance to integrate everyone quickly and onboard new employees in a logic order.

4) Last but not least — GRAND OPENING

In addition to the official invitation e-mail and cutting the festive ribbon, you should also remember to plan some small but nice details: custom decorations, beautiful cake and delicious snacks. You can think about some additional activities. For instance, our employees received a puzzle with instructions on how to find their desk in our workspace. Their belongings were packed in identical boxes and waiting for them under their desks. They each found there a beautiful welcome box as well!

Have our employees felt involved in such an important event for the agency?

Of course! The strength of the company lies in a great team! :)