Coworking: office life for millennials

What do Microsoft, HSBC, Dell, McKinsey, BNP Paribas, Heineken and Chanel all have in common? Apart from the fact that they are large, very large companies, they have all started to test the latest trend in the world of work : coworking spaces. At the end of 2016, for example, Microsoft announced a partnership with WeWork, an emblematic player in these new design-led business spaces that are flourishing in the heart of business metropolises. In New York, almost 300 employees in charge of international sales will no longer be housed in Microsoft's offices, but will be free to move around the city's various WeWork locations. "When a member of our teams is in lower Manhattan for a meeting with a client in the finance sector, they can go to the WeWork Charging Bull, explains Matt Donovan, General Manager of Office Marketing at Microsoft, on the WeWork blog. And when he has to meet someone north of Manhattan, he can go to another WeWork establishment."

With workstations that can be booked by the hour and shared offices that can be rented by the month, coworking spaces are an integral part of the the era of professional nomadismThe widespread use of laptops and smartphones has given managers a new freedom. But even more than geographical flexibility, it is above all a spirit of innovation that companies are seeking by placing some of their staff in third workplaces.

Long reserved for freelancers, web designers, graphic artists - in short, for all that digital bohemia These areas, which are evolving outside the corporate mainstream, are becoming gentrified at the same pace as the up-and-coming districts of major metropolises. While this movement only concerns - as yet? - an infinitesimal proportion of their employees, the idea of coworking seems to be making inroads into the HR strategies of CAC 40 and Fortune 500 leaders.

Wracked by the fear of Uberisation, the flagship companies of the pre-Internet era are having to adapt quickly, very quickly, to the new economic era. Design décor and vintage furniture, a loft feel and recreational break-out areas, events cementing communities of coworkers, informal exchanges with professionals from other backgrounds: shared workspaces are meeting the challenges of the digital revolution, which demands creativity and speed. "Table football is, of course, a great way to relax, but it's also a great way to get some exercise. an invitation to think differentlya subtle way of passing on the evolution of management"says Caroline Benayoun, Director of Development at Blue Office.

"Coworking spaces are places where collective intelligence develops. Put high-performance companies in the same place, overall performance increases"says Christophe Burckart, Managing Director of Spaces and Regus France. For example, Engie has decided to house its Digital Innovation division in a Regus business centre in the heart of Paris rather than in La Défense. "However, they had no shortage of space on their premisescontinues Christophe Burckart. BNP Paribas has also chosen to install 100 employees in the Spaces Réaumur coworking space to create a creativity centre and start-up incubator. Over the past two years, we've seen a sharp acceleration in interest from major groups."

Similarly, but this time in Hong Kong, HSBC Bank has taken over two floors of WeWork Tower 535 for its digital transformation team. "HSBC's move is part of a real trend among major financial institutionsThe idea is to get the teams responsible for innovation away from their traditional offices and into an inspiring working environment.says Zac Tang, senior analyst in a study carried out for property consultancy Colliers. Banks such as Barclays, Citi and RBS have all opened off-site business enclaves to attract new technology-focused talent."

There are a number of reasons why large groups are turning to coworking, including optimising property management by outsourcing certain non-core functions to specialists offering flexible rental formulas. But the main reason probably lies in a very simple observation: theew wave workplaces are favoured by generations Y and Z. By 2020, employees born between 1980 and 2000 will make up half of the workforce. So it's in every company's interest to add a touch of modernity, a touch of madness to the very serious corporate world, if they are to succeed in attracting the best engineers and the most ingenious IT specialists, most of whom look down their noses at the traditional corporate model.

"Digital natives are no longer looking directly for a job in what they see as the old world of work.says Martine Sousse, founder of La Boate in Marseille, one of the first coworking spaces to open in France in 2007. They are more committed to their personal projects than to company projects. But beware, on the other hand, they are very creative, have a great capacity for synthesis and a sharp mind, but admittedly also a fairly limited capacity for concentration. So don't stop them from having Facebook permanently open on their computer."

"For all these new talents, the working environment is at the very top of the list of criteria for choice.says Christophe Burckart. Companies have an obligation to follow their expectations and, if possible, even anticipate them."And the French director of Regus and Spaces predicts: "It's a bit like the iPhone. Before, there were only Blackberries in the corporate world. It was users who brought them into companies, just as they will do for coworking spaces."More demanding than their elders, millennials are in a win-win relationship with their employer, with the new business ideal being a chosen workplace rather than one they have to live in, as well as more flexible working hours so that they can reconcile their personal and professional lives.

Teleworking in demand

The professional world has already begun to take account of this expectation - which is shared by employees of all ages - through the boom in teleworking. HR consultancy Kronos estimates that in 2016, 16.7 % of French people teleworked one day or more a week. The study points to very positive effects for companies, such as a 5.5-day reduction in absenteeism per year, a 2.5 % increase in working time and a 22 % increase in productivity. Employees, for their part, are almost unanimous about the benefits of the formula for their well-being. For 71 % of those questioned, it's a "real revolution".This is thanks in particular to a 40-minute reduction in the average time spent commuting to and from work, which represents as many hours of sleep and free time saved over the course of a year.

Still according to this study, while the majority of employees (64 %) work from home, 21 % do so in offices provided by their company and 7 % in coworking spaces. You could say that this is the only way, because there is no doubt that in the future, coworking space specialists will be looking to attract these professionals to a more business-like environment than where they live.

Launched by Regus, Orange and Caisse des Dépôts in 2014, Stop & Work teleworking centres are a response to this idea. The concept is now in its sixth location in France with - in addition to Moirans, near Grenoble - Cergy, Bourg-La Reine, Fontainebleau, Montereau, as well as Beauvais. These are all towns relatively far from the main business hubs of Paris, where Stop & Work offers employees a place to work for the day close to home without having to spend hours on trains and the RER.

Similarly, Blue Office, a subsidiary of the Nexity property group, set up shared workplaces in the inner suburbs of Paris before recently moving into the capital, on Avenue de la Grande Armée and near the Gare Saint Lazare. "The fact that major accounts such as Renault, Allianz and AXA have their employees working for us is proof positive of the security we can offer them.explains Caroline Benayoun. The Caisse d'allocations familiales des Yvelines also uses our premises. Could you imagine the CAF doing some coworking? It's huge! And the results are convincing, since the number of cases processed has increased by 30 %"she continues.

The rather flat image of the public service is taking a serious hit! In fact, local authorities take a very positive view of the growth of these third places of work, which enhance the quality of life of their citizens. Better still, they are encouraging their development. With the aim of becoming a 'smart region', the Paris Region has set itself the following targets a target of 1,000 third places by 2021compared with 400 today. The Regional Council is encouraging the emergence of these centres, mainly in the inner and outer suburbs, with 41 projects recently receiving support. To boost the economy, the departmental offices of the Paris-Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also banking on coworking, and are gradually opening Openspots within their walls to accommodate project initiators, companies supported by the CCI or not, and mobile employees.

Evangelism in progress

However, there are a number of reasons for this, coworking in France is not just the preserve of the capital and its region. Work-sharing centres are also springing up in all the major regional cities. In 2017, there were more than 350 coworking spaces in France - including 177 in the Paris region - compared with 14,000 worldwide, according to the Global Coworking Survey published by Deskmag. Another key player, La Poste, is set to continue expanding this network. With its premises scattered across the heart of every town, but often underused because of the profound changes in its business, the group is very well placed to continue spreading the concept throughout France.

Having begun to take an interest in the subject with its small-scale Nomade workspaces, La Poste decided to go a step further by entrusting Startway with the task of designing and operating workspaces. "We're extending the Nomade idea to 2,000 m²."explains Grégory Ortiz, Startway's Development Director. In November, after Poitiers, a Starway will open within the walls of the former Bordeaux Atlantique post officeAnother project is underway in Dijon, with others planned for Nantes, Nice, Lyon and Paris. "Ln addition to La Poste's services, professionals will be able to find a whole ecosystem of partners: accounting firms, lawyers, freelance administration, digital marketing, etc."Grégory Ortiz, who insists on the "public service" aspect of these spaces. For example, Startway has teamed up with a cleaning company that supports single-parent families, while the furniture for the spaces comes from a collaborative platform of French craftsmen.

Everything is working towards making flexible workplaces commonplace and, according to some studies, they could represent between 10 % and 20 % of office space available in five years' time, compared with 2 % at present. Logically, the windfall is attracting more and more people, starting with the big names in property. "Today, property companies are taking an interest in this subject, whereas just three or four years ago, they looked on it with condescension."says Gregory Ortiz. At the beginning of 2018, Foncière des Régions will be launching a coworking scheme, with a target of 10 to 20 sites by 2020. Last year, Icade unveiled Smart Desk, the "nomadic office by Icade", with its first five sites in the Paris region.

In this way, they are simply following the example of other property specialists involved for many years, such as Nexity with its Blue Office or Nextdoor spaceslaunched by Bouygues Immobilier, and whose development is set to accelerate with the conclusion of a joint venture with Accorhotels. From eight sites in France at the end of 2017, Nextdoor intends to grow to 80 collaborative workspaces by 2022, with a development rate of 10 to 15 openings a year from 2018.

Lifestyle trends

It is therefore a major trend that is accompanying the shift in the employment market towards an ever-increasing number of self-employed people, with the United States leading the way in this area with 20 % of self-employed workers. However, even more than freelance professionals, it's a safe bet that with all these developments, companies large and small are increasingly being approached by coworking operators to locate their employees in these spaces. Particularly as the ambitions of property groups clash with those of new networks such as Morning Coworking, an offshoot of the Bureaux à Partager booking website, now in its fourteenth location in Paris and the inner suburbs, and Wereso, which now has five locations in France, in Lille and the Paris region.

A leading name in lifestyle hotelsMama Shelter has also embarked on this adventure with its Mama Worksin Lyon and soon in Bordeaux. "Coworking is not a passing fadsays Jérémy Trigano, Managing Director of Mama Shelter. I'm sure that the concept will continue to evolve, with ultra high-end spaces, niche areas for certain professions such as doctors, and low-cost spaces."The Parisian offer already shows this diversity with the very design and luxurious Kwerk spaces, places targeting young working parents such as Cowork Creche, with, as its name suggests, a community crèche that can accommodate 30 to 50 children, or Le Gymnase and its eco-friendly approach, housed in an industrial building and topped by a large terrace planted with trees.

Alongside these national operators, global players are continuing to expand their presence in business metropolises. Japanese bank Softbank has just invested 4.4 billion dollars to give WeWorknow present in over 55 towns and cities, the means to achieve its global ambitions. For his part, the founder of Regus, leader in business centres and owner of the Spaces coworking spacesimagines the future of his company in the image of a MacDonalds. "He sees the possibility of expanding from 3,000 locations around the world today to 25,000 in the future."explains Christophe Burckart.

Faced with the onslaught of professionals with solid backbones, what will become of 'neighbourhood' coworking spaces? "After a phase of market development, in the next two to three years we are likely to see a concentration phaseIt's a good thing that we're going to be able to offer our customers the best possible service," anticipates Eric Siesse, head of BNP Paribas Real Estate's Ile-de-France office division. There is no doubt that smaller players could suffer from the industrialisation of the concept. "The sector's economy is fragilesays Martine Sousse. Pure coworking doesn't make any money." With 15 permanent residents for a monthly subscription of 230 euros and a capacity of 60 coworkers, his Marseilles establishment has had to turn to a much more lucrative activity, room hire, with the organisation of around a hundred events a year.

"Coworking, basically, it's about creating energynot business centres"says Grégory Ortiz. With coworking spaces getting bigger and bigger - Arthur Loyd notes that in 2016, spaces of 2,000 m² or more accounted for 69 % of openings, compared with 38 % between 2008 and 2015 - some of the original spirit of coworking, rebellious and community-based, is also being diluted.