Every so often we get a tenant who has something quite specific in mind for what they need from an office space. For the team at Branston Court, app-based temporary recruitment agency, Syft, definitely fit the bill.
Originally founded in London, multi-award winning Syft has since opened offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Cardiff and now Birmingham to support its growing temporary workforce.
Needing both a branded off-street space to accommodate their numerous onboarding sessions, and a private office area for the Syft staff to work from – we had our work cut out for us to deliver two unique spaces.
After letting the team settle in for a few months since they moved into their Vyse Terrace unit, we sat down with Birmingham Account Manager, Paul Clark, to learn more about what Syft can do for their clients and find out how their UrbanWorkSpace experience has been so far.
Hi Paul, could you tell us a little bit about Syft and how it all began?
Hi guys, Syft launched in late 2015 and it is the UK’s market leading flexible staffing platform, connecting 19,000+ workers with employers in the hospitality, industrial and facilities management sectors.
And what makes Syft so unique amongst the competition?
Breaking from the traditional staffing agency model, Syft seeks to benefit both employers and workers through technological innovation. An easy to use app which features thousands of workers and a range of businesses; experienced workers who are verified by Syft staff and ready at short notice; a feedback system where you can see an employee’s past reviews and rate them after the shift is over.
Syft can save employers up to 55% on agency fees whilst also paying workers more and offering Portify benefits.
Nice! Sounds like a busy operation you’ve got here, how many staff are currently based here?
Here in Birmingham we have an excellent team of 5 in the office. But across the country there are well over 90 of us and still growing day by day.
Where was Syft based before coming to Branston Court?
For our first office space in Birmingham we were located at Citibase by the Mailbox. We had quickly outgrown the space we had there and wanted a space that worked better for us and really fitted the Syft vibe.
We can have a daily footfall of around 100 people who come to our onboarding sessions, so being able to have our own entrance off the main road really works for us!
How did you find out about UrbanWorkSpace?
I have had the pleasure of knowing Gerry Pountney, UrbanWorkSpace owner, all my life, as he is a lifelong friend of my father.
I remember as a child coming down to Branston Court not long after Gerry and his team had created the amazing space here. So it was a no brainer for me to speak with Gerry when we needed a new space.
Wow, so some could say it was fate that you’d end up here all those years later! What is it about Branston Court that’s so special?
The location, the space and the service!
What would you say your favourite thing about being an UrbanWorkSpace tenant is?
The team! They are all very personable and go out of their way to make sure that their tenants are happy.
That’s always nice to hear! Have you done anything creative with your office space? If so, what?
So our office space is excellent, Daryl and Adrian really let us go all out, we have some cool LED lights in the windows, the Syft colour scheme on the walls and then our lovely Syft mural on the reception wall.
We must say, we think your space looks very swish indeed. What has the Syft team been up to lately?
We have just completed our first full year here in Birmingham, which as every year, ends with the busiest month of the year for Hospitality, which on the whole was a great success. We are now moving ahead and planning for an even more successful 2019 with our amazing clients.
Congratulations, sounds like a great start to the year. Do you have any plans for the future you’d like to share?
As a business we grow and change all the time! The big changes for 2019 will be growing our Industrial side of the business along with entering into new sectors. As well as that we also have SyftForce which is a casual workforce management platform that allows you to effectively organise your temporary labour, ensure compliance and reduce agency spend.
We are currently working hard on our country wide roll out of this with CH&CO. But probably the biggest thing for the business this year will be the opening of further offices across the UK and even opening our first international base.
That sounds really exciting, bet you can’t wait for all that to kick off. What do you love about being a Birmingham based business?
I think the best thing about being here in Birmingham is seeing the change that we are currently going through, especially with all the new bars and restaurants popping up all the time.
The Commonwealth Games to come in 2022 will be amazing for the city and by 2026 we will have one of the best cities in the world!
We couldn’t agree more! What is there to do around the office?
There is loads to do around here in the Jewellery Quarter, plenty of pubs, bars and even an Escape Room which is good fun!
Where’s your favourite lunchtime spot near your office?
Semedo’s, love a good bit of chicken!
We’re partial to a Semedo’s now and then ourselves! Finally, how does UrbanWorkSpace compare to other office space you’ve worked in?
UWS offers a unique working environment and the flexibility to grow as a company within the work space provided which we could not get where we were before. We looked at a lot of spaces before coming here and everywhere else had the same look and feel about it.
To find out more about Syft and the services they provide, you can visit the Syft website, or check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for updates on what they’ve been up to.