I have a recruitment agency and have been based in Dublin 2 for the last fifteen years. I have built up a staff of 25 agents and quite a large customer base that I match successful candidates with when positions open up in their companies.

We were approached by our landlord at the beginning of the year and advised that unfortunately beyond his control, there were structural issues with the building and we were no longer able to continue with our tenancy. We were devastated. It was a perfect location and we had become so used to the building and it being a huge part of our business. We had until the end of April to vacate the building and we just had no idea what we were going to do.

Trying to find the ideal location kept me awake at night as did the rising costs of rent and disrupting key employees traveling to and from work. My staff are what drove my business and to lose them as a result of this would set us back even further then losing just our location. None of the buildings we looked at seemed right and search after search just led to more disappointment and despair.

In February, one of my senior consultant’s children’s schools was closed due to a case of COVID-19 and she was told that she had to self-isolate. She was healthy as were her three children but I understood that the precaution needed to be taken and I was quite happy that she could work from home and still hit her targets and look after the key contracts that were her responsibility. Whenever I spoke to her she seemed on top of everything and mentioned time and again how not having to commute in and out of town’s horrific traffic every day actually kick started her day and made her more productive. She seemed happier!

With that in mind I began to prepare for total lock down and ensured all my staff had the capacity to work from home. With them travelling in and out to client sites they all worked off laptops so all that I needed to do was to make sure there was a remote link up in place for them to access our systems and manage any problems with connectivity issues. When Leo announced lock down we were ready and believe it or not we were busy.

We look after staffing for hospitals, nursing homes, cleaners and general operatives to name but a few and all our customers appeared to be calling at the same time needing employees urgently. I was so grateful that we had everything in place and were able to grasp all this additional work while the economy appeared to be a scary place right now for anyone owning their own business.

My staff adapted so quickly to the change and my problem of looking for a building seemed to now take me in another direction. This was opening up an opportunity for me to actually cut costs and make my employees happier. This all did not seem as scary anymore! I began researching how we could move forward with the idea that was forming in my head. I organised an online meeting with all staff and put to them my proposal of everyone working from home going forward and meeting once a week in Ballymount for a staff meeting and team planning group for the week ahead. All the staff jumped at the chance.

I explained to them that I had contacted Space Storage and we could house all our paperwork in a storage unit in Ballymount that all staff could have access to if they needed. We had also hired an office with Space where I would be based so staff could meet with me and where we could hold meetings whenever it was safe to do so. I had contacted all our key clients who were happy to go ahead with online meetings that would allow my staff to keep safe and continue in business.

coronavirus impact on business

Owning your business may seem scary in the current COVID situation but with the help of Space Storage we have managed to navigate it successfully. If you are changing your business structure Space Storage certainly has options which may help that happen and navigate you through this scary time. The team at Space Storage listened and helped me put everything in place to move forward in these changing times.