The Rise Of Corporate Coworking

With approximately 20,000 coworking spaces worldwide and growing, the next unicorn (a company worth in excess of $1bn) is probably working in a coworking space today.

This is one of the reasons what Large Corporate businesses such as KPMG and Microsoft are beginning to use coworking spaces. We’ve been looking into why.

Offering Flexibility To Staff

Attracting and retaining top talent means offering attractive conditions of employment. The offer of remote working, whether on a part or full time basis is becoming common in the menu of perks offered to job seekers. A coworking membership comprising of a couple of days a month is an ideal fit.

For the employer, the space provides an official place of work for staff with access to business amenities such as printing, enterprise wifi and office desk space. For the employee, a coworking space is an alternative work environment that beats the kitchen table and provides an ideal way to dodge the rush hour commute. It also provides employees their own enhanced sense of autonomy which brings benefits to both sides.

Tomorrows’ Market

Larger corporates that provide support to small businesses are engaging the start up community directly in order to win them as clients. This new route to fee income is compelling and much easier to past marketing methods – the traditional way to reach the start-up community was hosting an event or attending a chamber meeting. Coworking affords the opportunity to inject directly into the start-up ecosystem and address first hand the challenges faced by potential clients.

“By providing a part time coworking option to their staff, employers provide their employees with their own enhanced sense of autonomy”

Costs Saving

With prime Dublin office rents now reaching €619 per sq m (€57.50 per sq ft) the cost of renting office space on conventional terms is huge. With a coworking desk in Dublin from as little at €249/month the cost of housing a member of staff is shattered as competed to traditional leasing and facility management costs. Studies also show that allowing staff access to a creative space not only increases productivity but also reduces sick leave which is a major cost to businesses. By way of example, Dell and Zapier are among those whose workforce is predominately remotely based.

Space To Spark Creativity

Coworking Spaces are proving popular with businesses who have their own traditional offices but want to dip into an alternative workspace. This need can arise when a team wants to focus on a new product, hold sensitive meetings or just get themselves into a new environment with a view to sparking creativity. Coworking spaces are ideal for this as that are typically designed around creativity providing a welcome change in environment and a catalyst for new ideas and change.

Want to talk Dublin Coworking with me? I’d love to. Lets connect.