Question about office location

Khannie

Those of you who commute into town every day from the North County - I'd like to know how much of an incentive you'd consider it to work somewhere more local?

We're about to start expanding (it's a tech startup) and trying to decide where to locate and we thought it might be a differentiator to be able to offer people a shorter commute. Probably we're looking at one of: Swords, Rush, Skerries or Balbriggan (edit: or Malahide).

Be honest please! If you don't think you'd go with a local place for similar money versus say a big company in town I'd really like to know. Or if the promise of a short commute would be enough of a lifestyle improvement to sway you heavily I'd like to know that too!

Mods, if this isn't suitable, delete at will. I'm not trying to actively recruit (yet!).

Wishbone Ash

Khannie wrote: »

... Probably we're looking at one of: Swords, Rush, Skerries or Balbriggan...

I suppose for many it would depend on public transport and/or availability of parking. Although I live in Rush myself, it is probably the least attractive public transport wise for commuters coming into the area as it is really only served by the 33 bus (the train station being 3k out of town). Skerries and Balbriggan have both bus and rail while Swords is well served by both Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann.

Khannie wrote:

...Or if the promise of a short commute would be enough of a lifestyle improvement to sway you heavily I'd like to know that too!..

Those of us who cycle to work are always trying to lengthen our commutes!

ejabrod

IMO, a lot of people would like to work closer to home.

Personally I would. Currently I have a 1¼ hour commute each way and would love to live 10-30 mins from work.

mahoganygas

I moved from an office in the city centre to an office in the North County.

At first it was good to be able to drive to work. But the M50 was a disaster a lot of the time.
Also, parking was hard to come by so a lot of staff had to make private parking arrangements or rely on public transport which was a mess.

Where do most of your employees live? Are they in North County Dublin?
By locating in Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan you are cutting yourself off to potential employees on the southside.
At least the city centre is central for all of Dublin and are well serviced by public transport.

Another thing to factor in is the social life of your workforce. Are they young and inclined to go for a few pints after work? In the North County office I worked in, nobody was able to go for a pint because everybody had the car. It was really difficult to make arrangements to get the car picked up the next day. There were some people who barley even made it to the christmas parties because of the location. It was hugely detrimental to morale. There was no social scene in the office.

helimachoptor

Khannie wrote: »

Mods, if this isn't suitable, delete at will. I'm not trying to actively recruit (yet!).

hit me up :pac:

I think if you're going against traffic you'll get a lot of people being interested.
A good way to get their on a bike is also helpful

Personally id take less money for an easier commute, but there is a line, just need to find it

Triceratops Ballet

I think the question you need to ask is do the people you want to hire live in commuting distance for those locations?

I say that because working in a tech company myself we opted for a city centre location because we need a specific skill set in our team and are competing against big tech companies for staff so we need to be in a central location to not put barriers in our way to hiring.

If someone say for example from Sandyford or Cornellscourt, or further south was your ideal hire and they have an offer on the table for town or Rush, are you offering enough overall for them to choose you over big tech company in town.

Khannie

Thanks for the replies everyone! This is very helpful stuff.

mahoganygas wrote: »

M50 was a disaster a lot of the time.
Also, parking was hard to come by so a lot of staff had to make private parking arrangements or rely on public transport which was a mess.

mahoganygas wrote: »

In the North County office I worked in, nobody was able to go for a pint because everybody had the car.

These are really good to know. That narrows things a bit to probably Malahide, Swords or Balbriggan because they're well served by the train or bus.

mahoganygas wrote: »

Where do most of your employees live? Are they in North County Dublin?
By locating in Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan you are cutting yourself off to potential employees on the southside.
At least the city centre is central for all of Dublin and are well serviced by public transport.

All of our employees are Skerries or Rush for now. It's small enough that I don't think staying here is sustainable. I think I could live with cutting off the south side though. I'm hoping there are a large number of people on the north side who could fit the bill and who would like to avoid the commute.

dottie_lottie wrote: »

I think the question you need to ask is do the people you want to hire live in commuting distance for those locations?

I say that because working in a tech company myself we opted for a city centre location because we need a specific skill set in our team and are competing against big tech companies for staff so we need to be in a central location to not put barriers in our way to hiring.

What I was thinking was (and this may be totally wrong, I suppose that's why I'm asking) that a shorter commute and similar pay might attract people to us instead of tech firms in the city. I know I'd be cutting off the south side but I think I'm OK with that.

Beasty

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Those of us who cycle to work are always trying to lengthen our commutes!

Haha! Chose Skerries, not just because it's a beautiful small seaside town with comprehensive facilities, but also the 23km cycle commute was going to get me fit. Now have to head home via Balbriggan to get a few extra miles in ....

dslamjack

Fair play to ye Khannie,there are a lot of small start up and small business's around that Malahide/Balbriggan coridor.
I'm sure you will also be taking in to account/rental and comm's broadband availability.
But the great thing about NCD is being so close to the city and airport,and lets face it with a little though and planning,transport or location issues can be resolved.
Being able to work from home is great when technology allow's or when visiting the office is only a once weekly or a couple of vists a week.
But a short commute save's people's quality of life as well,even an hour each way to the city is 10/16 hours a week for some,nearly 2 working days spent travelling.
And where staff have to factor,child care,schools,mortgage/rent/transport etc a short commute is a god send and of course house/apartment rental will be cheaper than the city.
Of course the right office ,location and setting can be an attraction and an asset in attracting new client's and retaining existing ones.
So its a win/win all around,happy staff=happy boss=happy customers.

The Hill Billy

I'd love to work locally. I spent much of last year working in Santry & the 25 min commute was great. I then spent 3 months out in Sandyford - 2 hours each way on public transport. Ugh! I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

I don't think that location itself is a big factor - more ease of access & speed of commute.

Carawaystick

Beasty wrote: »

Haha! Chose Skerries, not just because it's a beautiful small seaside town with comprehensive facilities, but also the 23km cycle commute was going to get me fit. Now have to head home via Balbriggan to get a few extra miles in ....

Wishbone Ash only lives about 3 miles from work, but he manages to cycle a bit more each time to and fro

I used to work local, it was great, ten mins drive/half hour cycle to work, home for lunch if I wanted.

afatbollix

People will choose to live where ever they want. Its about making the commute easier by being beside public transport.

Take where I work. I work just under Heathrow in London. We have a main line train that runs that could get you to Waterloo in 25 minutes and buses that go 24 hours a day. Now even with that easy public transport most live all over the place and commute. Some live in north London and bike it in, Some live the other side the M25 but some even commute from Brighton.

You can make it as easy as possible for your employees but most won't move to the immediate area.

Except me I live a 7 minute drive from work, Nothing worse than a long commute after a 12 hour night shift.

Singer

Khannie wrote: »

Be honest please! If you don't think you'd go with a local place for similar money versus say a big company in town I'd really like to know. Or if the promise of a short commute would be enough of a lifestyle improvement to sway you heavily I'd like to know that too!

For a tech startup, I think it says something about your ambition if you locate yourselves in the suburbs. Hiring is difficult enough without cutting out a lot of people in the Dublin area. This might be ok, of course - maybe you don't plan to explosively grow or plan to accommodate remote working early on.

I heard that Ryanair were complaining in the past about prospective hires not wanting to travel to Swords, preferring similar roles in the city centre. I can see how it could be difficult to compete with tech companies centrally located putting on lots of events etc.

For me, it'd be neat to work in North Dublin in a tech startup, but location isn't a high priority.

Stheno

I work with a couple of startups in Sandyford/Dundrum and live in Swords (I work as a consultant)

It is a nightmare commute as southbound on the M50 in the morning and northbound in the evening are the choke points.

If someone was commuting from south city to the north it wouldn't be as bad at all as it's not as heavy, so that might be something to consider also.

I'd certainly consider a local job versus the city centre or god forbid the southside, I used work in Dundrum and left the job due to regular two hour journeys on the M50.

dslamjack

Khannie ,you might want to check with F.C.C as well as the county enterprise board.
But I believe F.C.C have new packages for start ups(deals on rates/premises etc)..worth a look anyway ..http://www.fingal.ie/business-and-economy/enterprise-centres-and-industrial-parks/

Kintarō Hattori

I work for a startup in town. Until recently we had a cool office right in the heart of town. I didn't mind the commute as it was amazing to be a minutes walk from St. Stephens Green/Grafton Street etc. We had access to the roof's building so lunch on a sunny day overlooking the city was excellent.

We moved building in the past few months and are in the desolate wasteland that is Thomas Street. There's virtually nowhere decent for food and nowhere nice to walk during lunchtime. There are no positives to the location.
Were they to magically open an office closer to Balbriggan/Skerries/Swords...... I'd snap at it. Currently my commute looks like this:

20 min walk to the train station
45 min train journey to Connolly
10 min Luas journey
15 min walk to the office

I leave the house at 7:05am and get into work at roughly 8:50am.

As others have pointed out the main things to be aware of are:

Location. Is it easily accessible to people. Younger folk might not necessarily have a car so will reply heavily on public transport
Transport. This was one of the reasons I chose to buy in Balbriggan. Transport is great as you have the train, Bus Eireann, Dublin Bus and the motorway.
Social. If you are hiring young people- as professional as they might be they'll want to go to the pub on occasion after work or on a Friday evening. A business park in the middle of nowhere isn't going to be the most enticing place to them.

ThunbergsAreGo

Would make a massive difference to me and be a big factor in considering my next move in employment (might have to start keeping an eye on the OP for when they are recruiting ) Always surprised at the lack of IT Companies on the northside.

In Donabate and almost moved to Ryanair last year for a job in their IT Dept due to the location primarily. I would see it as a big selling point and differentiation as opposed to competing with the many other similar companies in town

jwwb

Only comment would be that you're going to be fishing in a smaller pool.

You probably know this but please please make certain of your connectivity options and limits. Too many time I've seen small and large businesses take an office without verifying the options!!

dslamjack

Originally posted by Carawaystick -- I used to work local, it was great, ten mins drive/half hour cycle to work, home for lunch if I wanted.

Originally posted by Kintarō Hattori
20 min walk to the train station
45 min train journey to Connolly
10 min Luas journey
15 min walk to the office

I leave the house at 7:05am and get into work at roughly 8:50am.

The 2 opposites,and poles apart in just quality of life due to saving nearly a working day and a half in traffic or commuting.
Being able to nip home for lunch or casual leave to do a personal message/school etc, a big difference in being 5 mins away compared to up to 2 hours commuting.
It equally as good,if over time is a factor or staying behind to finish a job is not compounded by a long journey home,as was mentioned above after a long weary day or shift.

Khannie

Singer wrote: »

For a tech startup, I think it says something about your ambition if you locate yourselves in the suburbs.

With respect - Intel is in Leixlip and IBM is in Blanchardstown. Global domination is the ambition here.

Singer wrote: »

For me, it'd be neat to work in North Dublin in a tech startup, but location isn't a high priority.

Good to know. Thanks!

mahoganygas

Khannie wrote: »

With respect - Intel is in Leixlip and IBM is in Blanchardstown. Global domination is the ambition here.

That might have something to do with the IDA encouraging FDI to create jobs outside of the city centre.

Kudos on the ambition though! It's great to see a home grown success story. Long may it continue for you.

Singer

Khannie wrote: »

With respect - Intel is in Leixlip and IBM is in Blanchardstown. Global domination is the ambition here.

Both opened in the 'burbs as they needed large footprints for manufacturing facilities. If your startup is in the dongle making business then it makes sense

roverrules

Yeah Intel,IBM, HP all on the outskirts via IDA but God when they leave, they leave a big hole, like Gateway, their facility is still standing empty after 15 years or so.

Wishbone Ash

Carawaystick wrote: »

Wishbone Ash only lives about 3 miles from work, but he manages to cycle a bit more each time to and fro ...

Maybe 3 miles as the crow flies but about 10 miles (16k) by road - (Rush to Portrane). Now I have been known to return home to Rush via the Sally Gap - just for a bit of variety and to loosen up the legs!

dslamjack

From the Independent ... a bit of cheery reading ..for S.M.E ....At a meeting of local businesspeople from north of the Liffey, Magnet networks has presented a new survey that shows business optimism is high in the area but a number of business owners are dissatisfied with the Government when it comes to SME supports.

Full Story ...http://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/confidence-is-high-among-smes-in-region-34474393.html

AceCard Jones

As someone from the North County who works in the IT industry and commutes up to an hour and twenty minutes each way, I'd definitely be interested in something like this.

Would love to hear updates on this if it goes forward!