Some suggested that staffers would defect, although Gannett officials say that no one leaving recently has cited the move in exit interviews. While relocating can be a recruitment and retention hell for companies, some find it a major selling point for keeping and attracting the most qualified talent. He and five employees will open the firm's Virginia office on May 1. Greene says the move to Northern Virginia has been a recruiting and sales windfall. With most high-tech public relations handled out of Boston or New York, Sterling Hager found a largely untapped pool of talent in the region.
Clients are also thrilled to have the firm within driving distance rather than a plane-flight away.
Sterling Hager has signed a six-month lease for executive office space, reducing the need for a receptionist and allowing time for the staff to evaluate the best site for a permanent office. A big question looming for corporate relocations, especially in high-tech centers such as Northern Virginia, is whether the current crash of Internet and telecommunications firms will affect relocations. Dot-coms expected their exponential growth to continue and bit off more than they could chew. They're now faced with finding tenants to sublet excess space. Many of the companies subletting space are the same companies who are laying off workers.