Why Companies Need Coworking - OpenWork...

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Why Companies Need Coworking OpenWork Insights Drew Jones, PhD June 2016

Transcript of Why Companies Need Coworking - OpenWork...

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Why Companies Need CoworkingOpenWork Insights

Drew Jones, PhDJune 2016

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Why Companies NeedCoworkingOpenWork Insights

Drew Jones, PhDJune 2016

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Contents

Table of Contents

The Challenge 6The Opportunity 7Smarter Use of Space 8Autonomy 9Engagement 9Innovation 10Two Ways Forward 11

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Why Companies Need Coworking

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There is a growing consensus that connect-ing-technology and always-on-networks are transforming the way knowledge workers work We can pretty much work from any-where, and more and more people are- from home, coffee shops, the beach, or the of-fice Yet, we also know that highly innova-tive companies have their people co-work together- in physical spaces around the development of new products, services, ex-periences, and business models For all of the other mistakes she has made at Ya-hoo!, Marissa Mayer might have been on to something when she recently called for all of Yahoo!’s remote workers to return to the hive to work on campus

However, Mayer got part of this equation terribly wrong High performing, high energy knowledge workers don’t do the same work every day, and should never be expected to work in the same place every day Ev-ery day is different, and some days require heads down work while other days require deep-dives and brainstorms with colleagues Requiring intelligent and autonomous knowl-edge workers to work in the same, fixed work station every day is anathema to the work that they do Yet, at the same time, we do know that having inspiring and creative spaces in which to work does bring out the best in groups and teams when people need to work as groups and teams

The Challenge

WHAT IF THERE WAS A WAY OF WORKING WHERE AUTONOMOUS, HIGH PERFORMING COM-PANY EMPLOYEES COULD CONDUCT SOME OF THEIR WORK ON CAMPUS, IN WORKSPACES AP-PROPRIATE TO THE KIND OF WORK THEY ARE DOING THEN, AND SOME OF IT FROM A COFFEE SHOP, THEIR KITCHEN TABLE, OR SOME OTHER INSPIRING WORKSPACE THAT WAS FITTING TO THE TASK AT HAND?

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74% of coworkers report an increase in productivity

The Opportunity

So, what if there was a way of working where autonomous, high performing company em-ployees could conduct some of their work on campus, in workspaces appropriate to the kind of work they are doing then, and some of it from a coffee shop, their kitchen table, or some other inspiring workspace that was fitting to the task at hand? There is such a place, and it is called coworking Coworking spaces are open and shared office environments, offering a mix of open-desk and private office work areas, where different individuals and businesses co-work together in the shared space The design elements and kinetic energy brought together in co-working spaces make them some of the most productivity-supporting work environments in the world The industry has grown from a single coworking business in 2006 to over 10,000 around the world today

In its first phase coworking was attractive largely to freelance software developers, designers, and small startups, but today coworking is all-inclusive It is, quite simply, a better way to work than most other work arrangements So how and why is this rel-evant to large firms?

There are four primary reasons why com-panies should embrace coworking: 1 ) It is a smarter use of space; 2 ) It supports au-tonomy and choice amongst top knowledge workers; 3 ) It drives higher levels of employee engagement; 4 ) It supports greater oppor-tunities for innovation

72% of those who used coworking spaces were forecasting an increase in their income Harvard Business Review – Oct. 2014.72%

74%

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1 Smarter Use of Space

Facilities managers are acutely aware of the low utilization rates in their offices Some estimate that the average uti-lization rates range between 40%-60% No other business would go into business hoping for a 50% success rate By redesigning company workspaces as coworking spaces, a firm can significantly reduce its real estate footprint (and costs), while at the same time offering their employees much more desirable spaces in which to work and collabo-rate This is done with the full knowledge that, for at least some of the time (and this would differ by company and employee-type), many employees would be working from home when appropriate

SOME ESTIMATE THAT THE AVERAGE UTILIZATION RATES RANGE BETWEEN 40%-60% NO OTHER BUSINESS WOULD GO INTO BUSINESS HOPING FOR A 50% SUCCESS RATE

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2 Autonomy

High performing knowledge workers do not need to be treated like children Company strategy needs to be compelling and clearly articulated across the firm, and after that employees need a long-leash in how they get things done Two generations of research underscore the fact that autonomous work-ers are more productive than those who are

micro-managed Furthermore, as Millennials become a larger portion of workers in our companies, providing choice and autonomy to employees not only empowers them to provide more of their discretionary energy to the job, it is also a powerful tool in at-tracting top talent in the first place

3 Engagement

It is well established in the research data that engaged employees are more productive employees Engagement results from the content of the work itself and the passion that an individual has for the work, and from the stimulation that people get from colleagues As more companies do embrace

flexible and remote working options, remote-workers often feel isolated and miss the stimulation that comes from working around other people Coworking, either in house or offsite, counters this by enabling employees to tap into the social facilitation dimension of their work when it is appropriate

AS MILLENNIALS BECOME A LARGER PORTION OF WORKERS IN OUR COMPANIES, PROVIDING CHOICE AND AUTONOMY TO EMPLOYEES NOT ONLY EMPOWERS THEM TO PROVIDE MORE OF THEIR DISCRETIONARY ENERGY TO THE JOB, IT IS ALSO A POWERFUL TOOL IN ATTRACTING

TOP TALENT IN THE FIRST PLACE

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4 Innovation

Finally, and related to number three, we know that innova-tive work in large firms is accomplished collaboratively, in groups, not by lone wolves having light-bulb moments Even Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs built elaborate communities of creatives who produced important things in groups It is unreasonable to think that your isolated remote workers, working from home, will ever be part of creating something new and important if they never work alongside their col-leagues By building-in collaboration opportunities into the fabric of their work, you increase the likelihood that innovation will happen

IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED IN THE RESEARCH DATA THAT EN-GAGED EMPLOYEES ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES

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Two Ways Forward

THERE ARE TWO CLEAR WAYS FORWARD HERE:

1 As some companies have already discovered, you can sponsor coworking mem-berships for some of your remote-employees, so that some or all of the time they can work around other people (whether those are colleagues or just other coworking mem-bers) Our research clearly indicates that this stimulates and sustains engagement among remote-workers who have this option and this outlet

2 More ambitiously, some companies are beginning to embrace the principles of coworking through solutions such as Activ-ity Based Work (ABW) ABW work environ-ments are company workspaces where, like in coworkng spaces, few people have a fixed work station and people come and go as they choose ABW companies provide complete autonomy to their workers, and employees in these firms demonstrate ‘off the charts’ levels of engagement

Whether through sponsoring employees to work part of the time in their local coworking community, or actually designing your own workspace to mirror a coworking commu-nity, coworking is a strategy and approach to work that will positively transform how your company works and the quality of what you produce We are in the early days of the transition from the industrial model to a cloud model, to be sure, but we are quite certain that the world of work tomorrow will look much more like coworking than it does today

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About

Andrew Jones Founding Partner, OpenWork Agency

Drew Jones, Ph D , is an organizational consultant, management professor, and writer He has consulted with large and small firms over the past 15 years, and has written three books, including the first book (co-written) on coworking His most recent book, The Fifth Age of Work: How Companies Can Re-Design Work to be More Innovative in a Cloud Economy– provides a roadmap to a future world of work He has been involved in coworking since 2007, and most recently was co-owner and partner at Conjunctured Coworking– Austin, Texas’ first coworking space He is based in Austin, Texas

Drew has been a speaker at the Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC), the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), and at Steelcase Workspring on the topic of Future of Work.

OpenWork Agency

OpenWork is a boutique workplace strategy consultancy with roots in the coworking industry We have a combined 30+ years of industry experience, and we help companies with feasibility studies, design and planning, and measurement of employee engagement and company culture We are based in Austin, Texas

2700 W Anderson Ln STE 205 Austin, TX 78757http://openwork agencycontact@openwork agency

(888) 884-6370