Over the years, the office work has been adapting to changes in the uses and customs to give rise to a new standard. Cubicles, small spaces, divisions, rigid schedules, uniform walls, suits, shirt and tie were the scene of an era that little by little seems to be left behind.
Times change and now large companies repeat as a mantra that their staff is their most precious asset, so that it is of little use to them to be "caged" between four walls in which there are only desks.
The advancement of technology, communication tools and an unstoppable digital transformation made thinking about the work of the future, and the spaces in which it will be developed, a key aspect of the strategy to attract new talents.Coworking surfaces were born with strength in the United States and Europe, where freelance employment went from being a fad to a reality that threatens traditional work formats.
With a large number of people in need of places to perform their tasks, this type of companies found the opportunity to position themselves as leaders of the new trends in labor matters.
"Going to work has to be an experience, today, people are not only going for the money, but for everything they receive for belonging to that company: from training, networking and motivation to spaces where they can really do what they want. like ", says the president of HIT Group, Alejandro Gawianski, to iProUP.
And do not be wrong. So much so that the coworking market today dominates 15% of the US office industry. and the total of freelance professionals could reach up to 50% of the workforce in no more than ten years. "The dynamics of the world are changing and there is a lot of ground to cover," adds the president of H.I.T.A new age
The appearance of these new spaces is not accidental. The way people work is in transition for several years now.Driven by the most booming industries of today (with design and software at the forefront), coworking sites want to become the place par excellence for the workers of the future.
Proof of this is what happens with WeWork, one of the most important firms in the sector globally. Recently, The We Company, its mother company, announced that it will receive an investment of US $ 2 billion from the Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank.
This plan will be deployed in the next 15 months, and will raise its valuation to 47,000 million dollars. Moreover, this coworking firm has already become the second real estate company worldwide.
"The main objective of our company is to change the way people feel, generating more positive environments and experiences." Many of us spend most of our lives at work, so why do we separate the world of work from our lives? "explains Carlos Gareis, Deputy Head of WeWork Latam, to iProUP.
With a strong commitment, today Argentina is the headquarters of the WeWork operations for Latin America. In Buenos Aires, all its buildings are 100% occupied and Butty, its space in Catalinas, is already 85% less than a month after its opening.
"Our model seeks to help large companies continue to grow in this context of the country with a positive culture, maintaining motivation and productivity and connecting with a regional and global network," adds Gareis.
This concept, which goes "beyond work", includes spaces that are not just to house the typical desks. Gyms and game rooms are just some of the recreational spaces proposed.
Martin Orlando, CEO and founder of La Maquinita, says that the employment relationship must be leveraged by a human interaction that allows these connections to be established.
"We try to form a community, this does not only speak of coworking, because we understand that collaborating and sharing can make tasks more efficient, the goal is to aim for a better quality of life", he adds.
In all cases, these three referents aim not only to create spaces tailored to their partners, but to form groups of people who are related in different ways. This added value is measured in talks with specialists, activities (camps, afters hours and parties), among others. "We see ourselves as a bridge that connects the two worlds," adds Gawianski.Customized services
Part of the success of this move is based on the flexibility of the offer. With a first focus on freelancers or small startups, coworking firms saw that large companies, SMEs and more traditional companies also required structural change.
"These spaces appear, first of all, with the technological and creative sector, but along the way we discovered this interest of more classic companies", explains Uri Iskin, CEO and co-founder of HIT, adding that they were climbing to bring their model not only to entrepreneurs but to corporations and multinationals."We develop a portfolio of services that can range from the one that starts up to the one that needs 200 jobs, all without an investment in infrastructure," explains Iskin to iProUP.
On the other hand, from WeWork note that more than 45% of the members are large corporations that decide to change their culture, from traditional sectors such as banks to Internet-based companies. Some of its clients are Santander, Itaú, Avianca, Microsoft, Mercado Libre, Wyndham, Almundo and Flybondi.
"We have membership agreements, WeWork revolutionizes the conventional work model because it allows people to use the facilities depending on their needs," explains Gareis.
"We offer individual plans or SMEs that are renewed month by month, in the case of large corporations, we seek to adapt the space to their needs with long-term agreements." Finally, the Powered by We membership, where companies are offered bring the services and design of WeWork to their own spaces ", completes the executive.
The interesting thing about this type of service is that companies that want to install their headquarters in buildings are not paying for furniture, adaptation or services, but simply for the total of space occupied. This implies a reduction of important costs, under a model that could be considered "all inclusive".As for prices, La Maquinita's most economical plan starts at $ 4,250 and allows up to three times a week to enter any of the branches.
For its part, the "fly desk" spaces of HIT cost $ 5,400, while WeWork offers its "hot desk" service starting at $ 6,300. In all cases, you have access to the amenities and meeting rooms.
In addition, each one has a varied number of offices in the country. WeWork, which has 5,000 members, has three locations (two more on the way), distributed between the center of Buenos Aires, Palermo and Vicente López.
La Maquinita, which has 2,200 members, has ten branches distributed in the city of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario. Finally, HIT (5,000 members) has seven buildings, all in the Federal Capital.However, both La Maquinita and HIT evaluate expansion plans within the country and abroad. This HIT, in particular, is already planning to open spaces in Chile and Miami.Countercyclical business
In a country that is going through a complex economic and social moment (with recession and crisis in between), this type of companies discovered that their business model is countercyclical.
Those responsible for HIT ensure that, year after year, the demand is doubled. And a similar trend is replicated in all these signatures.
The company invested $ 80 million in "Libertador", a 15-story building located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Núñez that will allow it to install 900 jobs.
La Maquinita, meanwhile, wants to grow 10,000 meters more in Argentina and plans to go out to conquer the South American market."I think this is going to continue to advance, we have to read the corporate market: new generations like to work in large structured companies, there is a great mass of entrepreneurs that needs to be interpreted spatially. exponential growth ", concludes the president of HIT.
For its part, WeWork plans to open a new building in Cañitas by mid-year and moves forward in what will be "the largest WeWork in Latin America" will be located in the Odeon Tower (Av. Corrientes 800), with a capacity of 4,500 members.
With the challenges (and benefits) implied by the development of a strategy based on labor transformation, the coworking spaces found a business that promises to expand rapidly in the coming years. Even, until the crisis feels good.