Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

Top Tips for Managing Multiple Offices


When you’re tasked with managing multiple office locations, you’ll need to come up with a strategic plan to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Pay careful attention to how you spend your time so as to prevent any one group of employees from feeling neglected or out of the loop. Other key tips for successfully managing multiple business locations include:Top Tips for Managing Multiple Offices (1)

Make the most of technology

Programs like Dropbox and Basecamp make it easy for employees and their managers to stay connected, regardless of whether everyone is in the same building or not. Utilize these programs and others to make the day-to-day a whole lot easier.

But don’t forget about face-to-face interaction

While technology is wonderful, it’s no substitute for regular face-to-face interaction. Particularly when you’re a manager, your employees need to see you and talk to you on a regular basis. Set up a schedule for in-office visits, and make sure everyone knows when to expect you. Build in time to answer employee questions, and give plenty of feedback when you’re there. Employees should also know how to get in touch with you easily when you’re not around.

Create bonding between the offices

If the employees in multiple offices need to work together, set up regular chances for them to interact with one another. This could be in a fun way, like at a company happy hour, or simply by having one office travel to another’s location to work from there for the day. Getting everyone together in the same room from time to time is important for bonding and morale.

Keep policies standard across the board

If one office is allowed to work from home whenever they want and another office must always be on-site, tension may brew. Make sure that company policies apply to all offices, regardless of where they’re located. This also pertains to vacation and sick days, office hours, and other essential policies.

Create a streamlined mode of communication

If there’s big news breaking within the company (someone’s been promoted or is leaving, for example) you should have a way to disseminate this information quickly. There should be one point of contact in each office to help keep important information flowing and to ensure that all employees are aware of these details.

How do you manage multiple business locations? Share with us in the comments!

Lauren Levine

Lauren Levine is a copywriter/blogger who contributes to a number of magazines and websites including The Frisky, USA Today, and others. She also authors her own blog called Life with Lauren. She loves cooking, anything on the E! network, and is trying to convince herself that running isn't so bad.