Avison Young reopens its 17 UK offices
16 June 2020While the majority of our staff will continue to advise clients from home, our offices began reopening from 22 June.
On 22 June, Avison Young began reopening its offices to provide central workspaces for some employees, while the majority of staff will continue to advise clients from home. The reopening of the real estate advisor’s 17 UK offices will take a phased approach throughout June and July, with all offices reopened by early August.
Jason Sibthorpe, Principal and UK President, said: “Since mid-March when our employees were instructed to work from home, we have remained fully open for business and dedicated to supporting our clients from spare rooms and kitchen tables across the country.
“Full-time remote working has been far more effective that we could have imagined; with an unexpected and welcome consequence that many people have now entirely shrugged off the lingering belief that equates presenteeism with productive working.
“However whilst we can take many positives from our time working at home, we cannot underestimate the importance of the physical space for people in different stages of their life and careers, so we are delighted to be reopening our offices for those that wish to return to a safe physical workspace.
“Our return to the office provides us, and many other businesses, with a great opportunity to redefine the role our workspace plays and a chance to use some of the positives that we have seen during lockdown. One of the most valuable benefits of physical office space is learning and innovation which can’t be easily replicated virtually. Physical meetings and spontaneous exchanges enable staff to collaborate, develop people skills, engage in creative problem-solving, and read room dynamics in a way that the virtual environment can’t account for.
“Embracing a safe blend of home working and utilisation of dynamic office space will help achieve these things and continue to drive innovation in the future.
“It is important to us that we treat our staff as individuals and give people a choice in where and how they work. for those that prefer to continue to work remotely, we have made returning to the office voluntary for any employee who is able to work effectively from home. By allowing our workforce to maintain a level of flexibility and agility, our employees will be able to enhance their work-life balance, putting themselves and their families first when needed while improving productivity as a result of greater freedom from workplace restrictions.
Avison Young has established guidelines for re-opening its offices, which include adapting office spaces to ensure social distancing; introducing staggered working hours and desk booking systems; and adhering to rigorous cleaning and hygiene protocols.
Our offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow will reopen in line with guidance from the Scottish government due on 30th July 2020.
Office opening and dates:
- Birmingham – 22nd June
- Coventry – 22nd June
- Bristol – 29th June
- Newcastle – 29th June
- Leeds – 29th June
- Manchester – 29th June
- Whitehaven – 29th June
- Maidenhead – 29th June
- Brighton – 29th June
- Cardiff – 6th July
- Liverpool – 6th July
- London (Gresham Street and Ganton Street) – 6th July
- Dublin – 6th July
- Stoke – 3rd August
- Edinburgh – TBC
- Glasgow – TBC
