6 reasons to partner with a relocation project manager for your next move

Moving to a new location can bring advantages to a federal agency, including reduced lease expenditures per person and a more productive work environment. Yet, the physical move can involve considerable risk.

A single overlooked critical detail can cause a security breach, interrupt your operations and derail an entire move schedule. Costs can mount—and so can employee complaints and dissatisfaction. Worse, move issues can disrupt vital public services.

However, you don’t have to go it alone. To reduce the risks, one option is to partner with a professional relocation project management services provider. With a qualified relocation project manager, you can offload some or all of the move management risk, while benefiting from valuable expertise and best practices.

The following are six reasons to work with a relocation project management firm.

1. Relocation experts have been there, done that.

No matter how specialized your agency’s mission, you can find a relocation project management partner with a deep bench of experts to solve your greatest relocation challenges. Experience is critical when you’re talking about moving unusual equipment or addressing cybersecurity and personnel security requirements. By applying best practices for relocation planning to your move, a relocation project management partner can help minimize disruptions, maximize efficiency and streamline your move.

A major relocation is probably a once-in-a-career experience for many on your team—but a professional relocation project management firm might move as many as 50,000 employees each year. A qualified partner will bring decades of experience in applying best practices to any type of federal agency move.

With a seasoned relocation project management firm, you’ll gain access to expertise for defining the scope for mover procurement, bidding support and, at times, obtaining volume discounts where appropriate. When specialty vendors are required for relocating large, costly and unique equipment, you’ll want a partner with significant expertise in scoping and hiring qualified resources. You can rest assured that sensitive assets will be properly protected during transit to meet government-dictated security requirements. And, you’ll have confidence that the right insurance coverages, permits and building access are procured and confirmed.

2. Let your staff stay focused on their jobs, while the experts manage the move.

A major relocation project can require more than 1,200 hours of staff time. Is your team prepared to manage your relocation while continuing to execute its day-to-day mission-critical tasks? For many federal agencies, that’s a tall order. Yet, lack of in-house staff capacity for a move can lead to overlooked critical details and impossible-to-meet schedules. A relocation project management partner can lighten the load and keep your staff from being stretched too thin, ensuring a seamless and positive experience for both your team and your stakeholders.

A major relocation project can require more than 1,200 hours of staff time. Is your team prepared to manage your relocation while continuing to execute its day-to-day mission-critical tasks? For many federal agencies, that’s a tall order. Yet, lack of in-house staff capacity for a move can lead to overlooked critical details and impossible-to-meet schedules. A relocation project management partner can lighten the load and keep your staff from being stretched too thin, ensuring a seamless and positive experience for both your team and your stakeholders.

3. Achieve a positive return on investment in the form of reduced risk, cost control and stakeholder satisfaction.

Given the stress and potential productivity loss associated with a major relocation, partnering with a relocation project management firm is an investment that more than pays off. For starters, relocation project management is not one-size-fits-all. You can define the scope of services that you need, such as tactical planning and oversight, or only management of the physical move. However, many agencies recognize the benefit of engaging a relocation project manager to provide a more comprehensive scope of services.

Federal agencies often find that the turnkey solution presents the lowest risk. Having a seasoned relocation project management team at the helm usually results in the highest levels of end-user satisfaction and the most opportunities to capture cost savings. Also critical, the turnkey approach transfers risk to your relocation project management partner as they assume responsibility for every aspect of the relocation. The benefits and cost savings of engaging a relocation project manager more than pays for itself.

4. Keep the move on track with "disruption insurance."

Your relocation management partner will be laser-focused on ensuring that employees are fully prepared to work in their new space from Day One. First, they’ll thoroughly analyze your critical business processes and workflows to inform a detailed move plan. They’ll be experienced in dealing with union requirements that can influence the layout and configuration of the new space.

By applying best practices, your relocation project manager can reduce the move into fewer phases. They can coordinate with key IT infrastructure and build-out milestones to ensure that the moves occur on time and that items scheduled to move are properly transitioned to the correct locations. Most important, the new space will be ready the first day employees arrive in the new space.

5. Reduce the “disruption dip” of workplace change—and keep stakeholders happy.

Even if the move proceeds smoothly, employees may not embrace their new environment. If you’re adopting new workplace strategies and office designs, you may encounter significant resistance to the changes associated with the move and new facility. Your relocation project management partner can help you create a thoughtful change management and communications program to clearly articulate the reasons and benefits of the changes in the new environment.

Correct and positive information is the most important element of successful change management program and will result in an easier transition and a higher degree of acceptance.

6. Capture all possible cost savings.

Planning and executing a complex major move can be costly, especially when you need specialty vendors in a complex move plan. Your relocation project management partner can help you control costs by leveraging its vendor relationships to secure volume discounts on your behalf. Perhaps most important, your partner will keep your move program on track so you won’t incur costly lease “holdover” rent if you are forced to remain in your current space after the lease term ends. A qualified relocation project management firm also can ensure that the space you exit is restored to its original condition, and will be well-versed in the GSA’s disposition process for surplus assets.

One solution is to partner with a relocation project management company with a proven track record in working with federal agencies. A relocation project manager can reduce the headaches and risks, free your team to focus on its day-to-day work and also reduce costs through smart RFPs, volume purchasing and preferred vendor relationships.

7. Hire specialists for unusual or sensitive equipment.

Many agencies have unique move requirements that may involve relocation-sensitive or hard-to-ship physical assets, such as a 20,000-pound MRI machine (NIH) or a 50-foot-tall satellite dish (NOAA). If you don’t have previous experience in procuring specialty vendors, you’ll need to allow plenty of time to identify and schedule qualified providers to safely relocate large, heavy or highly sensitive equipment.

A smooth move–and peace of mind

Working with a relocation project management firm can reduce the stress, cost and risk of a major federal agency relocation. With a qualified partner that understands the nuances of federal government administration and contracting, your organization can more quickly and easily realize the benefits envisioned in its new facility. And, you’ll gain the peace of mind that comes from having the resources you need for a seamless relocation project.