June 2019

Working from satellite offices can help employers, employees and the world in general in many ways. We have interviewed Jenny Schäpper-Uster, co-founder at VillageOffice in Switzerland, to find out more about her story, the principals behind the platform and the vision and mission it represents. VillageOffice has been a long time contributor to the Coworking Europe conference.

Hi Jenny. Can you introduce us to VillageOffice?

VillageOffice was founded in early 2016 with the intention to help catalyze the development and expansion of coworking offerings outside of the cities (i.e in the suburbs and rural regions of the country).

In theory, the greater the offering of “community based coworking spaces” in the periphery, the less the workers have to commute. This reduces transport needs to the already over-populated city centres (and thus also CO2). It saves everyone, employers and employees, time and money on a daily basis. It also saves millions (if not billions) of investments in capacity extension of today’s roads and railways. Additionally, people will be back working close to where they live. It will re-boot the local economy. The available time can be reinvested in family, local community work, politics, sports and free-time in general.

Today our main focus is coaching municipalities and local citizens on their way to establishing locally embedded coworking spaces. To drive the visibility and accessibility to our partner coworking spaces around the country, we offer coworkers (corporates or individuals) an national membership which is valid in all of our partner spaces – 60 to date.

Our digitally remote, self-organized and holacracy-based cooperative has grown to a team of 24 (7 core and 17 extended) and looks forward to many fascinating, agile years to come.

People will be back working close to where they live. It will re-boot the local economy. The available time can be reinvested in family, local community work, politics, sports and free-time in general.

You choose to incorporate as a cooperative. Why did you need to put a legal structure in place to connect all these independent spaces?

It was important for us to signalize from the get go that our main priority is not to build quickly and exit rich with a stock corporation. As a cooperative our intention is to become and make profits but all profits are per se reinvested into the cooperative. Additionally, everyone’s investment is equally weighted. Regardless if you invest CHF 50.000 or CHF 10 each cooperative member’s voice carries the same weight. It was extremely important for us to signal to everyone that we are serious about us wanting help you help yourself. Plus the cooperatives are deeply embedded and appreciated in Switzerland which itself is federal cooperative of states.

Why not simply use one of these many online booking platforms available around?

First of all we’re not just an online booking platform for the reasons previously mentioned. Secondly, most platforms offer a multitude of international options for the freelancing digital nomad but none have achieved wide popularity among the Swiss coworking spaces, coworkers or corporates. As a result, you may find a handful of options in Switzerland compared to hundreds in the US. Thirdly, none of the platforms are localized i.e available in German and French which is important if you wish to reach all Swiss and not just the English speakers. We wanted a Swiss solution for the Swiss market.

Most of the international online platforms offer a multitude of international options for the freelancing digital nomad but none have achieved wide popularity among the Swiss coworking spaces, coworkers or corporates.

How do you make the clearance between the different spaces, money wise? Is it a package or do each space report about tenant checkouts in their respective spaces?

We have a simple check-in system where coworker visits per space are tallied. Our partner spaces are reinbursed for these visits on a quarterly basis.

After 3 years, what are the first takeaways? What went well and what needed some adjustment?

We are still very early in a developing market. As a result, our offerings, particularly in the first two years, had to be explained in detail over and over again. Many corporations and towns were not ready to be the first movers and waited until others went through “beta testing”. We have readjusted and sharpened our focus multiple times in the past years in order to accommodate those market segments that were ready to move. To our great surprise municipalities are quicker to enter into discussions and start projects with us than corporates. Who would have thought!

To our great surprise municipalities are quicker to enter into discussions and start projects with us than corporates. Who would have thought!

What are their main friction points?

Corporations get the idea and know that this is they way of the future but are reluctant to accept that they could profit from these models today instead of in 5 years from now. I strongly believe that the lack of trust in employees is the main barrier coupled with the need for new management styles. Those managers in “power” today would prefer to continue on as they always have and let the next generation deal with the future of work. As a result, many companies may miss the boat with regards to employer attractiveness when the younger generations (a much smaller population) chose for whom they wish to work.

Corporations get the idea and know that this is they way of the future but are reluctant to accept that they could profit from these models today instead of in 5 years from now. I strongly believe that the lack of trust in employees is the main barrier.

Did you collect data about employees commuting time decrease and well-being increase?

Yes, during our coworking experience last year, we collected such data together with the University of St. Gallen. Our sample was small but we were able to confirm many of our hypotheses. We also have a formula on our website which calculates potential time, km and co2 savings of every town in the country if their citizens commuted less because they had a local coworking space.

We have a formula on our website which calculates potential time, km and co2 savings of every town in the country if their citizens commuted less because they had a local coworking space.

How do you market VillageOffice as a product? Have you sales people visiting companies? Are their some profiles more represented than others?

Many of the requests for coaching come through our website and the public awareness we have created by participating and presenting the VillageOffice case at conferences and through word of mouth recommendations from other affiliated organisations for instance Smart Cities or RegioMove. We do not currently focus on corporates (for lack of resources, we’re still a startup) and thus have not sales force for this market.

What are the conditions to join the network and is there some minimum standard level to be delivered by each member space?

To become a VillageOffice partner space, we have a list of criteria which have to be met in order to ensure that the quality of the location and community is as high as possible. We also try to visit each space and know the people running them personally.

According to your website, by 2030, every person in Switzerland will reach the next coworking space within 15 minutes. Is there a plan for it? 

Our goal is to have 1000 VillageOffice Partner spaces by 2030 which would mean that every Swiss would have a space within 15 minutes of their home. We are on our way in that we are helping to develop many new communities and connect existing ones. We still have a lot of work ahead of us but we also still have 11 years and definitely expect the market to mature and take off in the next few years. The Swiss department of economic affairs (SECO) has identified coworking as an official means to help promote regional economies. This helps us tremendously when entering into negotiations. The goal is much more though a commitment of ours, that we will stay at it until we have activated the necessary momentum to make this happen.

The Swiss department of economic affairs (SECO) has identified coworking as an official means to help promote regional economies. This helps us tremendously when entering into negotiations.

 

 

Coworking has be around for more than a decade in Europe. Nowadays, coworking reaches out to every corner of the continent. BNP Paribas Real Estate released a study spotting the new upcoming coworking hotspots in Europe and what drives the growth. We interviewed Richard Malle, Global Head of Research and Vincent Voute, Senior Research Analyst, to tell us more about their findings.

Hello Richard. Hello Vincent. According to your research, London and Paris are experiencing a deceleration in terms of coworking growth. Are the best days over for coworking in these metropolises?

The growth rate of coworking is indeed slightly decelerating in London and Paris. However, with +13% and +19% of space taken-up by coworking operators, 2018 still saw a 2-digit growth in both cities. In terms of volumes (transacted m2), the take-up for coworking spaces reached significant values in both cities already two years ago, and represented again by far more than 100,000 m² of new coworking space in 2018. Consequently, the slowdown in growth is not a sign of a weakening market. This is just more difficult to achieve a high growth rate when it is calculated on the basis of big volumes. On the contrary, it seems that coworking still has room to expand in the two metropolises. Indeed, existing coworking spaces show high rates of occupancy while coworking still represent a limited share of the total take-up (13% in London, 5% in Paris). The demand for coworking workstations is far from fading. Rather than being saturated, we consider that the market is becoming more mature.

The demand for coworking workstations is far from fading. Rather than being saturated, we consider that the market is becoming more mature.

Frankfurt, Munich, Madrid, Brussels, on the other hand, show no signs of slowing down. Do you expect the saturation level to come soon in all the other major cities in Europe?

The new trend about coworking is that the market is no longer limited to the usual largest commercial real estate markets that are London and Paris.

In other European dynamic cities, coworking now represents a significant share of the market activity, for instance in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Madrid or Warsaw (NB : Warsaw will the the hosting city of the Coworking Europe 2019 conference , organized by SocialWorkplaces.com), where it represents more than 10% of the total office market.

Major global coworking operators seem to consider these cities as potential drivers for future growth and are now starting to take a close look at these markets.

The growth of the EU coworking market is driven by the big international players. Have independent operators to find a niche?

Our European coworking research shows that most of the new coworking spaces are created in central parts of the cities, or at least in the well-established business districts. This appeal for these sought-after districts has a cost: this is where the rents are the highest and where the competition for the best buildings is the fiercest.

Big international players can afford to pay high rents to lease large units in the most modern buildings located in prime districts. They are also able to provide a lot of services – which requires more employees –, or advantages such as a global membership that enables their members to access their spaces everywhere in the world, etc…

This is very unlikely that independent operators will be strong enough to compete on such levels. They consequently have to find a way to differentiate themselves from the big players to attract customers and to position themselves on their own market segment.

How about property owners developing their own coworking brand and offering, like in Warsaw: is it a marginal phenomenon or do you expect it to strengthen? 

As an always growing phenomenon, this is logical that the flexible office market arouses interest among the whole real estate sector. However we consider that property owners should make sure to implement a solid and well-thought strategy and business model when entering the coworking market.

Running their own brand is indeed a new kind of activity for them to which they have to adjust. The question of the economic risks is also important: launching their own brand implies that risks are not shared with the tenant but fully taken by them.

The acquisition of existing coworking brands by major investors is another possibility for real estate players to enter the market while benefitting from the experience of these existing brands. As long as the market continues to grow, we can logically expect this phenomenon to strengthen.

You refer to new forms of collaboration. You mean between operators? Maybe another kind of players? 

We actually referred to the new forms of work organization which tend to require more flexibility for which coworking seems to be an appropriate response.

The percentage of teleworkers has been gradually increasing over the past 20 years in the US. Modern employees demand home-working options but what about teleworking in coworking spaces? How do coworking and teleworking work hand in hand, nowadays, in Europe? We asked Xavier de Mazenod, one of the most famous teleworking and coworking expert in France.

Hi Xavier. Can you introduce yourself as well as Zevillage?

Being a former journalist, I created the company Adverbe in 2004: A consulting and training company regarding new forms of work. Since then, we have been publishing the Zevillage website, a site specialized in the transformation of work, organizations and workspaces. We try to convey to companies all the practices and changes we observe.  

How would you depict the acceptance of teleworking in France, in 2019, and what still keeps companies from embracing it fully?

Teleworking is an old idea in France that goes back to the 90s. But in reality, it has long progressed underground and informally in companies. Few had formalized it and incorporated it into a human resources strategy.

For the last 3-4 years, we have witnessed a rapid change. Teleworking has become part of HR policies for quality of work life balance. Perhaps because companies are realizing that millennials are demanding flexibility in the organization of their work and a greater harmony between their personal time and their time at work. This is important for the image of the company, its “employer brand”. We even have testimonials from young candidates refusing job offers from companies that did not set up teleworking.

The anti-teleworking blockade is still coming from the same cultural cause as 20 years ago: a presidential view of management, a too hierarchical organization and management methods that rely on control and not on trust.

This is not to blame on managers, they do as they can and as they have learned. It’s just a statement.

For what you know, do you see a wide difference between countries in Europe with respect to the teleworking acceptance rate and practices?

Less than ten years ago, in 2009, there were two distinct blocks: Northern Europe (32.4% of the employed population in Finland, 26.8%, 22.3% in the UK) who already had a high rate of teleworkers, and southern countries (France 8.4%, Italy 5%) at the back of the pack. Since then, France has come back quickly. In fact, teleworking works as a indicator of the degree of trust between managers and employees.

The French utility group EDF announced the creation of internal coworking all over their locations spread out across France. Is this a new step in teleworking policies by French companies, would you say?

I will not say that corpoworking (“Corpoworking” is a word used in France in the corporate world to refer to a coworking model designed for a specific corporate audience which has no equivalent anywhere else) is a mutation of teleworking – but rather a complementary offer. An offer that also reassures companies, since their employees remain in a controlled environment.

Until about 5 years ago, in France, teleworking was practiced in 80 or 90% from home. Since then, employees have greater access to “corpoworking” mainly because professional-level offers have appeared with “industrial” players such as Bouygues Immobilier and Accor or the evolution of former business centers like Regus or the emergence of operators like WeWork (although they claim to not be coworking anymore).

These offers have reassured businesses, even if we do not necessarily find the spirit of historic coworking spaces there anymore. On the other hand, we have to understand that when one teleworks only one day a week, he/she will prefer teleworking from home. Once weekly duration increases, the need to leave one’s home or not to be isolated, often manifests.

Can you mention some other examples of companies doing the same or dealing with another approach?

Corpoworking is not a very massive phenomenon. In France, we can mention SNCF or Orange, among the most famous companies to have adopted it. In Switzerland, I would mention examples such as SIG, BrainGym or Swisscom. In Germany, Modul57, TUI, AppHaus or SAP.

It seems companies are still reluctant to let their employees work out of third parties coworking spaces. Is this the case? Why?

That’s true, indeed, for France. Some companies fear that giving their employees space in coworking spaces creates a double cost: one for the office and another for the coworking space. However, the right solution would be to think about the flexibility of the company in a global way by integrating telecommuting, improving office spaces and using coworking spaces. One only has to look at the dramatic transformation of the Belgian social security, for instance, which introduced flex-office and teleworking in order to increase people’s productivity, motivation and quality of life… And it ultimately worked.

Does it start because of a change in companies’ culture or because of the growth of the coworking offering?

I would say both. Without understanding the coworking phenomenon, a company is unlikely to let its employees work outside their offices. But coworking is becoming more and more successful, probably because it gives real estate businesses flexibility. And without sufficient supply of space, no access to coworking is possible.

Do you see the coworking offering in France improving to host companies’ employees, fitting needs in size, locations and amenities?

Nowadays, yes. In bigger cities, at least, all coworking spaces are well attended, and there are also spaces in more rural areas. In France there are 1,800 spaces (all types of third-places included). That’s a very fast progression. And the quality improves. We see that companies are using them more and more. It’s no longer about flexible workstation rentals, only. Coworking also becomes a natural solution to host temporary project teams for example. In that case, the objective is to put them calmly outside the company environment and confront them with diversity. For that reason, you see more and more tools coming up, such as creativity rooms, within coworking spaces.

What is missing?

Time to convert companies to this mode of management.

Speaking about geography, do you notice big differences in terms of behavior between Paris, on the on hand and the rest of France on the other hand?

The difference in behavior is more between the city and the countryside than between Paris and other cities in the province. The economic model of the urban spaces is viable because one can reach the minimum size for a correct profitability, around 1500/2000 m2. In rural areas, the smaller size of spaces, linked to a lower population density, makes breaking even difficult.

Who are the drivers of change (players) in France in the new ways of work? What excites you? What disappoints you?

There are many innovators in the new forms of work. One could even say that this innovation is a characteristic of third places. To name a few, I will mention Neo-Nomade, a platform that connects researchers and the suppliers of workspaces. They have a very fine knowledge of the market and are one of the important players who have changed the clientele of coworking spaces to a professional audience. I also want to mention Bureaux à partager, which is growing strongly in major French cities. Among other things, they have acquired a good know-how to install pop-up coworkings. We can also mention Now coworking who chose a high-end positioning with lots of activities offered – similar to the WeWork model but maintaining a stronger culture of community.

Their ambition is to open at least a dozen places in major French cities, outside Paris, in mythical places. Startway’s strategy is also interesting. It is that their spaces have a strong “entrepreneurship” orientation, with a lot of activities for the members. La Poste has entered into their capital and accelerated their development.

Finally, on the side of the spaces that are more “third-places” than coworking we can say that each large or medium city has one. I will mention Darwin in Bordeaux, the WIP being developed in Caen or The Station in the old station of Saint-Omer (14000 inhabitants).

How far do you see the workforce to be physically distributed in the coming 5 years time?

Difficult to know but if we look at strong trends, in France or elsewhere, it is likely that freelancers will be much more numerous than today. We are talking about 50% of the active population in the United States by 2030. It means a lot of flexibility, freedom in the choice of places to live and a greater need to freely recreate collective work in coworking spaces.

Some international studies claim flexible workplace will represent 30+% of the whole office market. Are we heading toward that direction?

In addition to the rise of freelancers phenomenon, we must add the demand for real estate flexibility from major rental companies. They no longer want the rigidity of conventional leases of 3-6-9 years and negotiate to get about 20% of space in flexibility. And who can better offer that than a coworking space?