Busy camping season brings sta back into the o ce

Malvern-based tent and camping equipment design and manufacturing company Olpro brought all its staff back into the office in March.

The company, which recorded its highest ever daily turnover during February, is expecting a busy summer season.

Luckily, it has spacious office rooms, where each department is able to work in a room of fewer than six people and at a distance of two metres apart. However, such is the business’s success that it is already looking for new office headquarters for 2023.

By April this year, the business had doubled the number of staff it employs within the space of 15 months. Current plans for Olpro's new office headquarters will allow the team to double in size once again within three years and significantly increase the amount of stock that the company is able to hold and sell.

Gary Tailby, joint managing director for the company in the Midlands, said: “We have told our staff that if they want to come into the workplace, we have made it safe for them to do so. The only time we will insist on our people coming into the workplace is if it’s deemed to be business critical.

“Ultimately people don't want to come back into the office and just sit at a desk, they're looking for a destination workplace. They want somewhere with a variety of spaces that caters for different activities and experiences, from gyms and cafe bistros, to quiet zones and collaborative spaces; all of the things they might not be able to get at home. Employers need to give their people a reason to come back into the office.”

The company moved into new office space at Coleshill Manor Business Park earlier this year, which is better equipped to accommodate its growing workforce. Gary added: “With increased safety considerations, we believe that we need more space per person than was the case previously, so we have no intention of decreasing our office space.”