About: Site manager Susanne Bielstein
Career: Susanne Bielstein is a qualified office administrator and has been with the company and its Office Club predecessor in Munich since 2001. She started in the back office (secretarial services and correspondence) in 2001 and was promoted to site manager in 2007.
Work motto: The site manager attaches great importance to a professional, level-headed approach: “My aim is to remain calm and friendly even in challenging situations. When in doubt, it helps to take a deep breath in order to find a solution calmly. This allows me to keep a constructive view of what is happening at all times.”
Special skills: The position of site manager requires strong organisational skills, as Susanne Bielstein explains: “In my job, I benefit from my ability to maintain an overview at all times. My talent for coordination and capacity to prioritise also help me.”
The relocation of Office Club Munich was scheduled for the end of 2022 – and became a reality on 1 March 2023. From its old location on Unsöldstraße, it has moved to Karlsplatz (building number 3), as Stachus is officially known. Site manager Susanne Bielstein recalls: “As soon as the move was finalised, we informed our tenants here on site. With the exception of one customer – for whom the commute to work would have been significantly longer – everyone came with us,” she says with obvious satisfaction.
Preliminary inspections of the shell
Winning tenants over to the new location at Stachus required not only trust, but also imagination, explains Susanne Bielstein: “Of course, I organised preliminary viewings with the tenants. However, the new space at Stachus was still a shell at the beginning. The floor we moved to was completely refurbished to meet the needs of Office Club.” The site manager emphasises how important it was to share information during this phase: not only did she organise tours of the shell of the building, she also gave her tenants floor plans and blueprints so that they could develop a sense of what the future location would be like. “As a result, there were no nasty surprises,” says Susanne Bielstein: “The reactions to the finished space at the new location were exclusively positive.”
“There’s a lot going on at the same time in the run-up to a move”
Successfully coordinating such a mammoth task requires the ability to multi-task in order to maintain an overview. Site manager Susanne Bielstein, who has been with the company for over 20 years, explains: “There’s a lot going on at the same time in the run-up to a move: a removal company must be found. Old contracts have to be terminated and new ones negotiated. At the same time, information meetings are held with the tenants – all while normal operations continue at the old location, of course."
Apart from the obvious challenges of relocating, it is important to keep an eye on the smaller details, says Susanne Bielstein: “Every service provider had to be notified, from the toilet paper supplier to the coffee machine supplier. The next time the coffee machine needs a service, we don’t want the engineer turning up at the old location and wondering where Office Club has gone.” Such details are also crucial for a smooth transition to the new location.
Day of the move
On the day of the move, which took place at the end of February 2023, everything went smoothly. The removal company proceeded according to plan, office by office, and the tenants had packed away their belongings in boxes labelled with their new office numbers. The boxes were then taken to the corresponding new offices. With the exception of one tenant of two offices, who brought his own furniture, all the furnishings were provided.
That also enabled a smooth transition: the basic infrastructure, including the internet, had already been installed by our IT department on the day of the move. As a result, the tenants were able to go about their work as usual in their new offices at Stachus on the day after the move, 1 March 2023.
What the new location offers
The new location of Office Club Munich at Stachus offers around 600 square metres of space on one floor, a significant increase compared to the old office space. The number of offices has remained the same, but there is now a separate OpenSpace with coworking workstations, which did not exist at Office Club Munich before the move.
The new location at Karlsplatz 3 comprises almost 20 offices, two conference rooms and the aforementioned coworking area with several workstations on one floor.
The area around the new location is lively and diverse, with a pedestrian zone boasting many restaurants and shopping facilities in the immediate vicinity. The location is just a few minutes’ walkfrom the main railway station. The site manager also points out that there is a multi-storey car park next door: “This is a real advantage over the old location, as it means that our tenants and their customers no longer have to search for a parking space, which can be difficult in Munich.” Last but not least, the prestigious address is a real advantage when communicating with customers, as Susanne Bielstein emphasises: “Everyone has heard of Stachus, even if you come from elsewhere.”
From the transition phase to the waiting list
Thanks to a large number of viewings, all the offices and flexible workstations in Munich were let within a short space of time in spring. Susanne Bielstein continues: “There is now a long waiting list for the offices, which range from one to 20 workstations per unit.”
The site manager summarises: “Our tenants, who are mainly from the business and financial consultancy sectors (thanks to the Palace of Justice opposite) and lawyers, feel very much at home and plan to stay.” She adds with a smile: “Just like me.”