Successful management of human resources is one of the key elements to entrepreneurial success – as numerous international studies have proven. Work place design as well as job security play significant roles in employee satisfaction and productivity. However, many human resource executives have learned in recent years that it has become more and more difficult to find qualified employees, partly due to demographic developments where low birth rates have left huge blank spots in specifically desired age groups, but also because the profiles of requirement have become very challenging in many branches.
In addition, many employees are less than willing to give up their places of residence – upward mobility has turned into an unattractive provision, even if work place dynamics warrant changes of location. Particularly, employees who have already started families have shown steep resistance to uprooting – they don’t want their children to change kindergartens, schools, sports clubs and have them give up friendships. For many top managers facing those challenges, working in a business center can be a solution to the problem, as Dr André Helf, CEO of COLLECTION Business Center Group points out: “We have noticed that a number of our clients need to decentralize in order to run their businesses successfully. Thanks to digitization and modern communication technology, for the most part that’s no problem. Video conferences substitute lengthy meetings, even showing faster results, memos are sent by email, documents can be printed, signed and scanned. Short distances and less turning of edgy corners are definitely future trends for more economic efficiency. Many companies follow that strategy. For example: It’s absolutely possible for top managers to stay in a place like Dusseldorf even if their companies run operations in far-away places like Hamburg or Stuttgart. Our business centers with top-of-the-line technology offer any kind of remote participation in all major decision-making processes, no matter how far the distance between key players. Nobody needs to make cumbersome travel plans or has to move these days.”
And even if physical presence is necessary in remote spots, for example because client relationships need to be maintained, product tests need to be run or projects need on-site supervision: COLLECTION Business Center is available at two locations in Dusseldorf and one each in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Vienna and Frankfurt. A brand-new business center in Cologne is expected to open in the third quarter of next year, and another will be added in Hamburg on January 1st, 2020. Further European cities are already in the planning stage. “We offer our customers to operate remote control centers whenever necessary, with the amount of space they need and for how long they need to be on-site. There are no long-term lease options, nobody needs to stay or pay at any location longer than necessary. This prevents the necessity for complete relocations of personnel and equipment. There’s no disadvantage for the enterprise, and employee motivation doesn’t suffer because families don’t need to disrupt their established ways of life,” explains Dr Helf.
###
