10 Tips for Surviving an Office Renovation or Major Cleaning Project

Getting ready for an office renovation or major cleaning?

If you don’t plan ahead, renovations can lower your employee’s morale and productivity. There are ways to keep the business going during your renovation.

Take a look at these ten tips that will help you survive your office renovation.

1. Set Some Goals

Before you start the renovation or cleaning work, you have to figure out what you want to happen. This will help you keep the job on track.

For example, figure out why you need the renovation? Do you have to install new technology? Are you making necessary upgrades? Planning out what to do and why it’s needed will keep the project from spinning out of hand.

This will also help you pinpoint things that might affect the job. If your employees will be working during the project, you can expect it to take a little longer than it normally would.

Will this extra time mess up your budget?

Spending some time thinking about these things will make the job go smoothly when it starts.

2. Get the Building Evaluated

If your building will be going through some heavy-duty cleaning, this step may not be necessary for you. But if you’re planning to add some renovations, this can be a helpful strategy.

But won’t this take more extra time and money away from the job?

Yes, but the price is more than worth it. You’ll want to find any problems with your building before you start renovating. If you don’t recognize potential problems early, the job could cost a lot more money and take a lot more time.

Finding problems early will either let you account for them during the renovation or rethink your plans.

Here are a few things you should look out for before you start:

• The building’s age
• The building’s condition (can it handle renovations?)
• The condition of the building’s utilities
• Past building evaluations
• Historic elements in the building

This evaluation will help you find things like asbestos before they cause any harm to your employees.

3. Be Realistic

Depending on the types of renovations you’re getting, they probably won’t be quick. Even a detailed cleaning service can take more time than you think.

Setting a realistic time frame for the project is the best way to keep your team working during the renovation. Once you know how long the job will take, you can set your employee’s schedule around it.

To come up with a realistic schedule, it’s best to work backward.

What is your ideal time frame? How many “phases” will there be during the job?

Give each step more time than you think it needs. Remember, things will come up that will delay the project. Circumstances as small as the weather can set your schedule back a bit.

4. Plan a Contingency Budget

Some of those unforeseen delays may take some extra money to resolve. The best way to plan for these without knowing what to expect is to create a contingency budget.

This budget should be about 10% of the complete budget for the entire job.

Having this money set aside will let you finish the project on time without spending more money than anticipated.

5. Get the Right Team

Whether you’re looking for a renovation team or a deep cleaning team, don’t pick the first company you come across.

Do some research. Look around. Come up with a list of your top picks. That way, if your first choice can’t fix your project on your schedule, you’ll have some other options to fall back on.

Having backup plans is one of the most important parts of your project. If you don’t have an efficient team, you won’t have an efficient renovation.

Make sure you hire an experienced team that’s worked on projects like yours before. Some of the members of your team might include an interior designer, a general contractor, and a cleaning service.

6. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

There are three “communicates” here because there are at least three different groups you must communicate with during your project.

Those groups include:

• Your Employees
• Your Suppliers
• Your Customers

Your Employees should know how long the project will take and how to work around the changes. You should notify customers and suppliers about the renovation and give them updates during the process.

7. Include Your Employees

A large project can make your employees feel nervous or worried. This is especially true if they don’t know what’s happening or understand why it’s needed.

To overcome these feelings, include your employees in the renovation process. Take surveys to decide things like office color and material, new furniture and office items, and anything else you’ll be changing.

This step will both involve your employees in the process and help them stay positive and excited about it.

8. Stay Positive During the Process

It’s exciting to plan and think about a renovation, but it’s much harder to live with one.

If your employees start to get frustrated with the mess, noise, etc. remind them what the finished product will look like. Keep them updated during the process. Show them how far you’ve come and how much longer it will be until things are complete.

The upgrades will make things easier for your employees in the future. Help them remember that when things get difficult.

9. Work Around the Work

Find out how messy the office will be during the renovations so you can plan some alternative working environments.

It can be frustrating to work in a room filled with tools and drywall. Breathing in construction dust can negatively impact your health.

You may want to move people around to different parts of the office during construction. If the project will be consuming, you may want to find ways your employees can work from home for a while.

10. Be flexible

The most important part of your office remodel is to stay flexible and open-minded.

Remember, unexpected problems will come up. Take the renovation in stages and make it as easy as possible for yourself, your employees, and your renovation team.

Prepare for Your Office Renovation

You should always plan ahead for your office renovation before you get started. If you try to figure things out as you go, you’ll end up wasting more time, spending more money, and losing more sleep.

Think your employees may need to work from home for a while? Take a look at how that can affect their productivity.