Freelancers, contractors, entrepreneurs and start-ups know the value of co-work spaces. They love the freedom, the services, the on-call IT guy, and the locations of modern co-working spaces. Now big business is starting to buy-in (not literally) to the whole concept. Why are they doing it? 

1. KPMG, the multinational auditing firm, recently took space in Interchange, a co-work space near Camden Market in London. It moved its team that work with start-ups into a space where start-ups work. The FT reports that their boss, Jonathan Roomer, believes, “You have to be in­volved right from the beginning. Because when they do start to scale up very quickly, it’s almost too late. If they’ve been going for three years, you can’t all of a sudden put up your hand when they’re big and famous and say, ‘OK, we want to work with you’. It’s too late.” 

2. KPMG is clearly on a roll. The company also rents about 75 desks at a We Work in Manhattan. There, Forbes reports, it houses employees who provide business services to start-ups, as well as a team that advises corporate clients on technological innovation. 

3. It works the other way around, too. While the entrepreneurs at Interchange were originally sceptical about sharing space with suits (even if they’re now allowed to wear jeans in a working environment), they soon realised the value of having a corporate actuary on hand for free advice. Collaboration works in many ways! 

4. It’s a great option for businesses that have satellite offices a few hours from headoffice, or smaller offices in other cities. Why fork out for long leases and massive rentals when co-work operations deliver all the services they need, and probably keep their workforce much happier as they don’t have long commutes and associated travel costs. And the stress of travelling long distances every day too. Win-win. 

5. Some corporates, concerned about retaining their millennial staff, have found co-work spaces offer those employees the kind of environment they want to work in. These young workers have seen Google’s spaces, all pool tables and playground features and bowls of sweets and crazy furniture. So why not house those staff in quirky co-work spaces than spend a fortune redesigning corporate headquarters.

      6. WeWork, the $15 billion co-work company, has attracted General Electric in Boston, US. The company has place workers from its new energy business in the space, along with pharmaceutical company Merck and               Britain’s The Guardian newspaper. Must be the wallpaper designed by the Beastie Boys’ Mike D. And the free micro-roasted coffee. 

7. WeWork reports that large employers make up its fastest growing market with 30% of its 45 000 members around the world working for companies that rent more than 10 desks. "You’re going to see people dip toes in," WeWork chief operating officer Artie Minson told Forbes. "People go back to their drab, soulless office and say, ‘I sort of wish I could have stayed there’.”

 

Sources: Forbes, Financial Times.