The 8am Parking Lot

Written by Neil Medard

"If you’re not in by 8 AM, you’re not getting a space." 🚗

Seven years ago, I led an office consolidation project that seemed straightforward: reduce three buildings to two, cut costs, improve space efficiency.

We had it all planned out.

The logistics were in place, the technology was ready, and we'd even considered the impact on hybrid working. We'd created rotas, shuffled seating plans, and designed collaboration spaces. We were prepared for resistance to change and had solutions for almost everything.

Or so we thought. 😣

The closed office was in a city centre where most staff used public transport. The other buildings had excellent public transport links and we figured most people would stick to buses and trams. Instead, dozens switched to driving overnight. Car parks overflowed. Some employees resorted to parking in nearby streets, leading to a spate of car break-ins. What we'd overlooked quickly became our biggest headache. We scrambled to rent extra parking spaces from nearby businesses, but the damage was done.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson: No matter how thorough your planning, there's always an X-factor. Sometimes, it's not the big, obvious challenges that trip you up, but the seemingly smaller details that snowball into major issues.

The key takeaway? Always expect the unexpected.

What’s the “8 AM parking lot” in your current project? We’d love to hear about it. Reach out to us at hello@clearrockprojects.co.uk.