D.J. McGauley & Associates
Office Furniture That Lets You Exercise While You Work
For the “modular employee” that likes to keep moving, even when at the office, or individuals that need or want to include some exercise in their day even though life and work demand otherwise, there are office furniture solutions just for you.
Introducing the treadmill desk!
Similar to the sit-stand desk, the treadmill desk is a desk or table top with a height adjustable stand. However, attached to the foot of the stand amidst the desk’s legs is, you guessed it, a treadmill. Now the modular employee can bring work and exercise together by walking while he/she continues regular business activities.
The treadmill desks are built with certain safety features. Unlike regular treadmills that are seen in a gym, the treadmill desks have a limited maximum rotation speed of six kilometers per hour (6km/h) which does not allow for jogging or running. They are built with a high torque system that rotates at the walking speed of its user and stops when the user stops, thus encouraging effective exercise and reducing the possibility of falling off when the user stops walking. The desks also include a monitoring device which informs the user of his/her walking speed, distance and/or number of steps.
The advantages of the treadmill desk are obvious. On the health side, use of the treadmill desk promotes healthy circulation, improved metabolism and a reduction in the occurrence of back pain and disease. On the business side, studies have shown that the use of the treadmill desk boosts brain activity and focus which in turn improves productivity and creativity.
But why stop with the treadmill desk? If walking while you work is not your style, why not try working while you bike? That’s right! You can actually trade your treadmill attachment for a stationary bike attachment.
Offering the same health and business benefits as the treadmill desk, the Bike Desk allows its user to sit and pedal while conducting ordinary business activities. It also has a monitoring device to inform its user of the number of pedal revolutions being made while in use. Regarding space, the stationary bike attachment takes up the same amount of space as that of a regular office chair, so it can be a convenient option for any work space.
So, for businesses wanting to promote a healthy, positive and productive working environment and who want to attract top-quality employees, introducing the sit-stand, treadmill or bike desks into your office space design could put you ahead of your competitors.
5 Packing Tips To Take The Stress Out Of An Office Move
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—moving can be stressful. An office move is no exception. There are so many aspects of an office move that have to be taken care of even before the moving truck arrives—and those aspects just multiply when you have to coordinate that with your staff members.
So let’s talk about one of those key stressful aspects of moving: Packing. In an office move with multiple staff members, organization, coordination and minimization are key tricks to taking the stress out of packing up for an office move. Here are a few packing tips your organization can use during an office move:
Packing Tip #1 – Decide: Trash it or Pack it? Before you or your staff even begins the packing process, each of you should evaluate and identify the items in your work areas that will not be needed in the new office location and disposed of them immediately. Why move these “Trash It” items twice when you can save time, space and money ensuring that only the necessary “Pack It” items will be shipped to your new location.
Packing Tip #2 – Third-Party Storage – For such items as hard-copy files which may be important to keep yet may not need to be readily accessible in your new location, a third-party storage company could be a viable option. (Of course we would also encourage keeping a soft copy of these files in case of an emergency.)
Packing Tip #3 – Take personal valuables and memorabilia home. If there is anything that can add stress to a staff member during an office move, it is having their personal memorabilia packed in with the rest of their office equipment and stuffed onto a moving truck in the hope that they will see them arrive safe and unharmed at their new location. Save them from that stress. Encourage them to take their valuables and memorabilia home with them until after the move. They can always bring those items to their new location after he move.
Packing Tip #4 –If possible, try to attain and utilize boxes that are the same size. This will help lessen any wasted packing space when loading the moving truck.
Packing Tip # 5 – Label everything! Proper labelling of packed boxes and other items that can be easily missed such as lamps and wall hangings will help ensure that everything will be delivered to your new office and not be left behind at your old location.
So don’t stress over the packing. Instead organize and minimize using the above five packing tips. Doing so will save time, space, energy and money.
Will One of Blackberry’s Commercial Properties Be the Site of Your Next Corporate Expansion?
Considering moving your business to a new commercial facility? Well, if you had your sights on the Mississauga, Waterloo or Ottawa regions, one of Blackberry’s commercial properties might just be right for your business.
Last week, Blackberry announced that it is planning to sell off their 19 Canadian commercial properties totalling over 3-million square feet of commercial space. What does that mean for other Canadian businesses?
Well it may change competition in the marketplace as businesses, both domestic and foreign, will now have the opportunity to increase their presence in the Canadian market place.
Companies that , at one time or other, wanted to move into the Waterloo, Mississauga or Ottawa commercial properties that Blackberry originally purchased will now have their chance to claim those properties for their own corporate expansions.
But who is going to jump at the chance? Will other educational institutions follow the example of the University of Waterloo, which bought four of the 19 commercial properties to expand their campus? Will property management companies purchase the buildings and lease the space out to small or medium-sized companies. Will other Canadian companies band together to purchase these commercial properties? Will foreign investors jump at the chance to own some of the property holdings?
Regardless of the mix of potential buyers, one thing is certain – Blackberry remains committed to maintaining its Canadian presence.
Though Blackberry is selling off their commercial properties, the company plans to lease back some of the space needed for their corporate operations. They are already leasing back space in two of the buildings that the University of Waterloo has purchased.
CBRE is handling the sale and leasing of the properties. Transactions are expected to happen between now and the spring 2014.
So, with all this in mind, I ask: Looking for a new location to expand your business?
What Not To Forget When Moving Offices – “Redirection of Mail”
The end of the year is in sight! With year-end comes the urgency to tie up loose ends, boost sales, and finalizing business deals. Year-end is also a prime time for implementing organizational changes for the coming year such as changes in staff or moving to a new office location. Top that with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and you have the perfect platform for missing some essential details, especially when it comes to moving offices from one location to another. In fact, in our 20+ years of experience of helping companies relocate, we have found that 8 out of 10 companies make the same common errors when relocating to a new office.
Want to know one of them? Here it is:
- Failure to arrange the redirection of mail with the post office
Surprised? Don’t be. Companies can easily negate arranging the redirection of mail because they may have internal systems in place to inform their database of current stakeholders of any changes they make with the company. As well, the rise in the use of social media for businesses may appear to slowly negate the need to address the redirection of mail with the postal company.
So why is arranging the redirection of mail with the postal service so important? Here are a few reasons:
- It covers all bases. Even if your company can inform its entire CRM database of your company’s new address, utilizing the postal company’s redirection of mail service both emphasises the change and can catch any drippings of important mail from those patrons who may not be on the CRM list or who may correspond with your organization once or twice in the year.
- It’s a time-saver. With all the other intricate details involved in moving offices and running your regular business operations, contacting your postal service and taking advantage of their redirection of mail or mail forwarding service is one way to take care of a very important job in less than five minutes, especially since those arrangements can now be made online. In addition, the postal service can continue ensuring your mail is forwarded to the correct address for weeks, months or even a full year, so you won’t have to worry about it.
- It can be cost-effective. Postal services, like Canada post for example, may charge a small fee for taking care of the redirection of mail, but compare that to the cost of having a staff member take time out of their regularly scheduled activities to consolidate a list, prepare a “change of address” announcement and managing the sending of that message to your contacts, paying the postal service may be the cheaper route to go.
So if your company is planning to start the upcoming year in a new office location, remember to contact your post office and take advantage of their redirection of mail service.
‘Commercial Property for Sale’ Demand Drives Anticipated Double-Digit Increase in Vacant Leased Office Space in GTA by 2016
Major real estate companies agree—the current demand for commercial property for sale will definitely impact vacancy rates of leased commercial property within the GTA over the next three to four years.
A report by commercial leasing company, Colliers International, notes that demand and vacancy rates for leased commercial property, particularly office space in the GTA region, has been steadily decreasing over the last two quarters of 2013, so much so that the vacancy rates in Toronto’s downtown core hit an all-time low of 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (1.2 percent less than last year). At the same time, a recent annual commercial report from RE/MAX noted that demand for industrial buildings and retail storefronts for sale along the subway and other major transit lines has remained unprecedented despite the lack of inventory of such commercial property for sale.
Such demand activity for commercial property for sale seems to be driven primarily by the arrival of smaller investors, young professionals and end users taking advantage of the low interest rates and healthy rates of return and looking to buy shops and other commercial properties rather than rent, because they know the rental market remains so tight and vacancy rates are so low in Toronto that, according to commercial realtor Michael Davidson, they could easily lease out units above a store for top dollar.
“There’s a lot of money chasing a limited supply of commercial product, be it multi-unit residential, industrial, or retail storefront,” says Gurinder Sandhu, Executive Vice President, Regional Director, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “In some areas of the country, we’re seeing unsolicited offers on product not available for sale—often well above market value.”1
Currently, in response to the current commercial property demands, the City of Toronto has more than 7.3 million square feet of new commercial property space under construction, largely in fast-growing areas such as the new South Core between Union Station and Lake Ontario.
“But there’s no doubt that tenants are keenly anticipating the coming glut of new office space and “trying to hit the opportunistic window” by signing leases now that only last until 2016 or 2017 so they are more firmly in the driver’s seat and able to negotiate renewals or moves with incentives or lower rates as vacancy rates are likely to soar close to double digits”. Susan Pigg, Business Reporter, Toronto Star 2
References:
1 RE/MAX Media Newsroom, “Tight commercial inventory levels impede sales activity in most major Canadian real estate markets, says RE/MAX”, Mississauga October 29, 2013,
2 Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Toronto Star, “Glut in office space to hit GTA: report”, October 9, 2013 (Reposted October 29, 2013)
3 Susan Pigg Business Reporter, Toronto Star, “Commercial real estate a hot commodity in GTA”, October 29, 2013
4 Colliers International, “GTA Industrial Report for Fall 2013”
Related articles
- Glut in office space to hit GTA: report (thestar.com)
- Vacancy rates for GTA office space to soar: report (rexdaleclc.wordpress.com)
Corporate Renovations Experts in Toronto
Many people do not realize the full scope of a corporate relocation specialist’s abilities. Did you know that corporate relocation companies will expertly handle a lot more than office moving? For example, D.J. McGauley & Associates will help not only relocate corporate space but also renovate and/or expand your existing corporate location.
Renovation services you can expect from the consultants at D.J McGauley & Associates include:
- Practical, cost effective and attractive design options that maximize the use of your current space.
- Furniture solutions and options that fit your needs and budget.
- Modernization and updates that fit your corporate image, client base and employee needs.
- Maximizing light and air quality while promoting worker health and ergonomics
If your company is considering renovating or expanding your existing office space, make the consulting team at D.J. McGauley & Associates the first call you make. We have the experience and the know-how to make your corporate renovation in Toronto or surrounding area a glitch-free success.
For more information about why you should call a corporate relocations specialist, read our last blog post, Does the Success of Your Corporate Relocation Rely on Who You Know?
D.J. McGauley & Associates Press Release
Please view our most recent press release. Feel free to share this release with your friend and colleagues. If you have any questions or require more information about this press release or corporate relocation in Toronto, do not hesitate to contact us.
CORPORATE RELOCATIONS SPECIALIST D.J. MCGAULEY & ASSOCIATES LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
Website to better reflect the company’s all-encompassing servicesD.J. McGauley & Associates has launched a new and improved website and blog to better serve their clientele. Owner and Project Manager, Michael McGauley is proud of the website, which better reflects the company’s all-encompassing corporate relocation services as well as their ability to partner with and serve real estate agents across the GTA.
“Many people who visited our site before the re-launch would assume we are simply office movers. We would get calls a day or two before a corporate move, asking us to have everything – furniture, computer equipment, phone systems, etc – ready and operational by Monday morning. Of course, D.J. McGauley & Associates excels in this area but we can do so much more for a company if they simply call us sooner. We can make your entire relocation smooth because we understand everything from zoning to permits to renovations to security systems. We truly are the first call an organization needs to make when they have decided to relocate or even expand their existing office space,” said McGauley.
Through years of experience and know-how, D.J. McGauley & Associates has broken down the successful corporate relocation and expansion process into six steps: Find, Design, Build, Furnish, Move, and Maintain. This six-step process is incorporated into every aspect of their new website to further drive home the point that the actual moving of furniture and equipment is just one aspect of a successful corporate expansion. In addition, they have created a blog, the purpose of which is to interact with new and existing clients, providing a platform for questions to be asked and answered.
“To have a truly seamless relocation,” said McGauley, “it is important to be aware of the big picture as well as the little details that can make or break a move. I am confident our new website and blog will better reflect this philosophy.”
You can visit the new D.J. McGauley & Associates website at www.djmcgauleyandassociates.com, and their blog at corporaterelocationadvice.com.
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If you would like more information about this press release, or to schedule an interview with Michael McGauley, please contact Michael at [email protected].
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 