An IT company who was at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to home working during lockdown have announced that they will be opening a new physical office in Hull during the summer of 2021.

Having helped thousands of businesses in their 30-year history with a variety of IT challenges, the impact of COVID-19 on IT usage has been their busiest period to date. Despite having helped so many businesses adapt to home working, Joanne Dixon, Managing Director, still feels that office space is a key part of the company’s future.

“I never imagined we’d be working from home for as long as we have been. I’m really proud of how everyone has adapted to it, and it hasn’t affected the quality of service at all, which says a lot for our people. However, despite the positives I think it’s really important for people’s wellbeing and for the company culture as a whole for us all to be around others and feel part of the team.”

“Mental health is something we’ve always taken seriously but it became even more important during lockdown. As well as trying to run events to get people together remotely so that our staff didn’t feel isolated, we also offered a mental health counselling service to anyone that needed it. It is completely funded by the company and 100% anonymous, so our staff have someone who is qualified and completely impartial to help with a wide range of issues if they ever feel they need it.”

HBP have been utilising Microsoft Teams to hold meetings, social events and customer events since March 2020, but despite the success of these virtual events they are ready to get back to more traditional forms of communication.

Phil Denham, Commercial Director at The HBP Group, explained,

“Last year we started to run training sessions on how to use Microsoft Teams remotely and they were our best attended events ever. At a physical event we’d do well to get 30 or 40 people, but we had over 250 on our virtual events. Whilst this was great, it just wasn’t the same. I think we’re all excited about getting back to the office.”

The new office will be open by August 2021 and is a significant increase on the size of office space that The HBP Group currently have in Hull, trebling the number of staff that will be able to work from the new location.

However, the wellbeing of staff is not the only benefit HBP expect to gain from their new office,
“We’ve already got staff who live in Hull and because our current office in the city is on the small side they typically travel to our head office in Scunthorpe,” Joanne explained, “so this will make it much easier for them, reducing their travel time, travel expenses and getting them back home to their families at the end of the day quicker too.”

“We also think it’ll help us recruit staff. We’ve just started a new recruitment drive in line with our growth as a business, so it makes it much easier to attract talent from Hull and the surrounding areas when you have some local office space.”

The HBP Group started in 1991 and were originally based in Hull but following a management buyout moved to Scunthorpe. Five years ago, HBP opened an office in Hull for the first time, their new expansion plans are a great way to grow their presence in the city and add to the size of the group. The HBP Group, who provide IT Support to businesses across the UK, also grew last year with the acquisition of Jugo Systems in Hampshire in 2020.

For more information about The HBP Group and their services visit https://it.thehbpgroup.co.uk