Having experienced its last major growth during the recession of 2008, Centrick isn’t a company that shies away from challenge. We have been following the government guidelines strictly from the beginning putting our energy in to communication both externally and internally looking after all stakeholders, whilst continuing to provide the best customer service we can whilst keeping the wheels of industry turning across the group which includes sales, lettings, property and leasehold management.
So it should be no surprise that, the moment we heard that going back to the ‘office’ was likely to be on the horizon soon, our senior management team started planning for a new future, anticipating the social distancing and health and safety requirements that would be stipulated by the government alongside incorporating all that we have learnt about our business during the lockdown and embracing the opportunities this provides.
We are also deeply committed to engage with local businesses, in an effort to support the local economy, such as Hollywood Monster and Arte Creative, both long term suppliers and friends of Centrick. We have placed orders for large format hand sanitising stations, sneeze guards for our reception and co-ordinator desks; floor signage to assist with social distancing; branded face masks and disposable gloves.
In preparation for what may be announced by the government on Sunday, the plans are in the early stages but we are looking at staggered working, prioritising key client facing roles within our sales and lettings divisions to support the “relaunch” but we have also recognised that other teams within the business are working productively remotely. To borrow an old phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” and we’re incredibly proud of how our team have adapted to this new style of working with positive feedback from them.
As a whole, we’ll work through our plans slowly and methodically and ensure they are in line with all government guidance as it evolves and becomes apparent.
James Ackrill, Chairman commented ‘Safety for our staff and clients is paramount to the business, so we knew we had to be ready for the moment the Government gives the go ahead to open up our offices. The aim is to build a new working landscape for Centrick, both for staff and clients, whilst ensuring business return to it’s pre-lockdown levels”
He added ‘We wanted to support local businesses and Tim Andrews of Hollywood Monster, gives so much back to the local area through the LoveBrum charity he jointly set up, and which we are patrons of, amongst other initiatives, we wanted to make sure, in rebuilding this new vision of Centrick, we were helping other local businesses too.’
Thanks to our foresight and investment in both the equipment and technology required to create them we ensured we had videos of all the stock we were marketing filmed and edited prior to the lockdown commencing, so we have actually managed to achieve some fantastic results for the month of April with views of these video tours hitting over 5500, 66 new lets and 76 tenancy renewals and in support of key workers and NHS staff 57 move-ins, where social distancing and health and safety was upheld throughout the process.
No-one has a crystal ball to see the future but at Centrick, we’re getting ready for every eventuality to ensure that we and other local businesses not just survive the current pandemic but learn to thrive in it’s aftermath.
