Testing the South African labour market without taking on significant property risk and being able to scale operations while finding the optimum resourcing model
The Challenge:
Testing the South African labour market without taking on significant property risk and being able to scale operations while finding the optimum resourcing model
When ONECALL24 opened their South African office with just 5 employees in February 2021, they had no idea if the local skills pool would meet their sales driven business requirements at a price point that would make good commercial sense. As a relatively young but rapidly-growing UK based company with existing offices in London and Manila, the last thing they wanted was to take on unnecessary property risk in an untested foreign country.
As ONECALL24 realised that the Durban talent pool was more than capable of meeting their requirements, the next challenge was to rapidly scale to full potential so as to maximise on the commercial benefits. This included more than just extra space and workstations, with training facilities, meeting rooms, printing services and high-speed internet connectivity being of upmost importance.
THE SOLUTION:
An initial low-risk short-term space solution with the ability to rapidly scale
Connect Space offered ONECALL24 an initial short-term agreement for a dedicated office space at their Umhlanga village location in the Beacon Rock building. With great access to the M4 and Umhlanga ridge, and well serviced by public transport, this location proved to be the ideal option for attracting the right calibre of staff and creating a corporate culture that was true to their core values.
As business started to boom, the initial team out-grew their original space and more space was created to accommodate the bigger team by removing walls between other offices. When even this space wasn’t big enough, a new flexible deal was negotiated for new space on a different floor in the same building, allowing ONECALL24 the flexibility to recruit and training new staff as fast as their business process would allow.
Connect Space worked hard to continue to support their grow aspirations by upgrading fibre lines, installing new wifi equipment, bringing in new desks and chairs from other locations and providing added services such as printing, cleaning, administration and security so that ONECALL24 could focus all of their attention on growing their core business.
The ability to scale was a critical prerequisite of us taking on any office space, and despite us growing faster and at a greater volume than the initial scope, Connect Space went above and beyond to acquire suitable office space to accommodate our rapidly evolving needs.
Matthew Betteridge, CEO – OneCall24
THE RESULT:
ONECALL24 was able to scale their business from 5 to 160 employees in under a year and continue to grow within the space.
Partnering with Connect Space has allowed ONECALL24 to get their south African operation off the ground and is now the biggest office by headcount in their group. It has allowed them to test the market and gain sufficient confidence in the business model to now take on their own dedicated space in a traditional lease arrangement. While Connect Space is sorry to see them leave, we are also extremely pleased that we have been able to contribute to their success as a provider of space.
Connect Space has been an integral strategic partner to OneCall24, I have found them very fair, professional, willing and easy to work with. Having regular and open dialog with their Director Brett Holding, facilitated a very easy working relationship. I would happily recommend their services to any organisation who values a professional operation
Matthew Betteridge, CEO – OneCall24