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COWORKING IS NOT ONLY FOR STARTUPS

FIND OUT HOW A LARGE CORPORATE WENT ON AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY TO MAKE ITS HEADQUARTERS IN A COWORKING SPACE In March 2017, Leadlease set up its Asia headquarters in the coworking space The Work Project at OUE Downtown Gallery. It was to be the start of a remarkable journey.

START OF THE ADVENTURE

Why coworking? What was it about the

It all began in November 2016 with the

“The rise of coworking is disrupting the tradi-

approaching expiration of Lendlease Asia’s

tional office space segment to some degree.

lease at Anson Road.

As a big global developer of office space, we

concept that lured Lendlease? The real push, explained Justin, was the desire to more fully understand the concept of coworking itself.

need to know what is going on. It is something

The fascinating experiment saw approximately 100 Lendlease Asia employees relocating from their elegant office at Anson Road to The Work Project, a hip 24,000 sq ft co-working space that Lendlease shares with other businesses. Another smaller group of employees moved to a site office in Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ). The move is a first for global developers anywhere in the

Lendlease Asia’s next permanent headquar-

that we’ve been talking about for some years.

ters was to be Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ).

We had so many questions. For example, how

Developed by Lendlease, the S$3.3billion

do we work with coworking? Do we set up our

(approximate figure as at Dec 2017) mixed-

own or do we have a partnership with a specif-

use development is billed as Singapore’s most

ic operator? So we decided, let’s just move into

progressive city precinct.

one. Let’s experience it ourselves and figure it out.”

Rather than renewing its lease, Lendlease Asia’s management team decided to experi-

At a coworking space, Lendlease would be

ence what is it like to work out of a co-work-

able to work in a completely agile office

ing space first hand. Over drinks one Friday

setting, where employees could determine

evening, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Justin

where, when, and how they would like to work,

Gabbani casually lobbed a proposition:

with maximum flexibility and minimum

“Coworking looks to be a rising trend. There are

constraints. Moving to coworking would mean

all these coworking things popping up every-

that Lendlease could set up both individual

where. Why don’t we move into one of these

desks and collaborative spaces. There would

for 18 months?”

be team tables, breakout areas, meeting rooms, touchdown areas and social spaces,

world. What led the property

That throwaway suggestion was enthusias-

all designed to allow teams and individuals

and infrastructure group to this

tically taken up by Tony Lombardo, Lendlease

to choose where and how they want to work.

Asia’s Chief Executive Officer. The wheels were

Essentially, it would allow Lendlease to experi-

set in motion.

ence a very different way of working.

extraordinary move?

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COMMITTING TO COWORKING By January 2017, a team was tasked with finding Lendlease Asia’s next home. They quickly came up with a list of possibilities. Around that time, the chatter among Lendlease employees started up. Rather than shroud the search in secrecy, Lendlease decided to seize the bull by the horn by holding a town hall meeting with its entire team. Justin recounted his initial announcement to the team. He shared transparently with the team, saying: “Look we’re exploring coworking for ourselves. We don’t know the outcome yet. We’re going to run some focus groups. Some of you will be involved in the tours once we’ve shortlisted the spaces we’re considering. We’re going to make this a collective decision, rather than management deciding where we are all moving into.” This engagement effort - part of Lendlease’s change management strategy - headed off speculation and gossip and helped ease employees’ anxiety about the transition. Concerned about moving to the coworking space, employees raised operational issues that the transition team had not previously considered. They included what to do when guests are in the office, how a shared reception will work and whether the company is keeping

THE BEST COWORKING SPACES SHOULD ENABLE YOUR EMPLOYEES TO BE AND FEEL THEIR BEST AT WORK 3

its tea lady. These operational questions forced the team to make a lot of quick decisions. By March 2017, the team had quickly trimmed the contenders down to just three. That month, the Work Project was about to commence its fit-out, with the completion scheduled for June 2017. For Lendlease Asia, the timing could not have been more ideal. This, together with its location, made The Work Project the winning choice.

THE COWORKING SPACE The Work Project currently houses approximately 200 people in its flagship location in OUE Downtown Gallery. It is broadly divided into three sections: a shared and open workspace in the centre, private offices on the south side, and shared services such as the reception lounge and meeting rooms at the entrance. The open areas are deliberately placed in the central core to encourage tenants (or members, as they are called) to mingle. To help the team acclimatise to the new environment, Lendlease Asia created five neighborhoods, with each neighborhood housing teams that have to work closely together. The five neighborhoods are (1) management, (2) invest-

They decided to err on the conservative side so that employees would not feel too crowded or cramped with the radical shift to coworking. A week in, employees realised there actually was enough space for everyone. The initial rush petered out. From then on, employees adjusted back to coming in at 9am.

One of Lendlease’s most meaningful takeJustin felt that the 7.5: 10 desk-to-person ratio

aways from moving to a coworking space

was probably right on the money because

has been the heightened sense of community:

employees always were able to find a seat in

more interaction and collaboration among

the private office. Some people worked in the

colleagues. Previously in the Anson Road

shared areas for a change of scenery.

headquarters, the office space was broken up by meeting rooms. Justin recalled that he

When all is said and done, the adjustment to

did not see his colleagues at the other end of

the move exceeded Lendlease’s expectations.

the floor unless he had a meeting scheduled

Lendlease sent out a survey a month or two

over there. In contrast, The Work Project is

post move. Results were very positive. The

designed with all the meeting rooms at one end

transition, in the end, was quite seamless.

and workspaces at the other end. This design naturally creates “collisions” — more interac-

ment and asset management, (3) IT and HR (4) legal and treasury, and (5) finance, corporate communications, building information modelling neighborhoods.

tions. It brings people together more, which

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

As the first, and anchor, tenant, Lendlease was able to influence the layout of

The move to a coworking space resulted in

the common areas and its private office.

more efficient use of space tailored to their

Consequently, The Work Project customised

needs, which drove cost savings. They were

Lendlease’s private office to its branding

no longer spending money, for instance, on

sensibilities and requirements. For meeting

keeping a well-stocked kitchen, cleaning, or

rooms, Lendlease negotiated three small meet-

utilities because it was all provided for and

ing rooms and a large video conference room

taken care of by the coworking space.

that can house 10-12 persons. In addition to its private spaces, Lendlease’s package also

Although approximately 9% of a business’

includes credits for external meeting rooms,

operating costs are spent on rent, Lendlease

a boardroom, training rooms, and other shared

would rather focus on the 90% of operating

amenities.

costs — which is on people-related costs. What is more important to Lendlease than saving money, is providing its employees with

THE FIRST DAY

LENDLEASE’S BIG TAKEAWAYS: COMPANY CULTURE & VALUE FOR MONEY

a place that they enjoy spending time in that they look forward to coming to every day. Lendlease’s intention was also to create a

Justin recalls the team’s adjustment to the

workplace that maximises its team’s produc-

coworking space the first week as hilarious and

tivity. Justin explained, “We want a space that

quite “Singaporean.”

is attractive to talent — not de-tractive. We

promotes more collaboration. Another big takeaway for Lendlease was realising how critical it was that the coworking space must truly reflect a firm’s culture and brand. The personality and community of your coworking space must align with and reinforce the culture of your own organisation. Justin expressed, “The best coworking spaces should enable your employees to be and feel their best at work. Lendlease has a strong company culture, and our workspaces must strengthen and support our company’s values and beliefs.” Reflecting on the journey as a whole, Justin said, “We took the business on a journey. This pilot has enabled Lendlease employees to experience coworking firsthand and better understand the benefits and limitations of the experience. It is assisting us to continue to learn what makes the best collaborative workspaces for both Lendlease and our clients.”

need to attract the best people to run our “Day one was really funny. Everyone arrived at 8am to chope their seats, making sure they didn’t miss out.” Employees were excited to see their new workspace, new desks and new environment. Lendlease provided a 9:10 desk-to-person ratio at The Work Project, even though their study suggested a ratio of 7.5:10.

business.”

FOCUS ON THE 90% OF OPERATING COSTS WHICH IS ON PEOPLE-RELATED COSTS 4

CORPORATE COWORKING: WHAT TO LOOK FOR ONE Coworking is about getting value for money. It’s about getting a client floor when a business doesn’t have a client floor. Or getting good use of an efficient, professional boardroom if you don’t need a boardroom full-time. How can a business get all these things if they’re paying only half a floor of a normal office? And... putting the capex to use as opex!

IT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER MORE, WHICH PROMOTES MORE COLLABORATION

TWO Getting the best technology you can get. Your coworking space must offer a complete and connected ecosystem that offers usercentric technology. Managing all the different members, space usage, booking of meeting rooms and shared spaces, events and also billing must be seamless and painless.

THREE “Branding” of a coworking space. The quality of the coworking space is always an important consideration. Things like quality design, ergonomic furniture, wellness features, and access to amenities have a big impact on the productivity of your team. Understand your business needs and pay for the right level of quality. Having the right image and branding for clients and suppliers are also important factors to consider. “Great workplaces are so much more than just “space,” Justin added.

CORPORATE COWORKING Imagine an office within an office that has shared amenities and services. A coworking space typically has shared amenities and services eg: reception, printers, break-out spaces and “hot desks”.. Businesses in corporate coworking offices can opt for a custom build and layout of the space that suits their unique brand. The coworking space has everything covered from: IT to electricity, cleaning, air conditioning, reception to facilities management.

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GORILLASPACE LOVES THE COWORKING OPTION FOR BUSINESSES BECAUSE

1 2 3

It eliminates the upfront capital investments in a conventional lease setting. It also covers the ongoing operational costs.

Most importantly, it give businesses flexibility in rental leases, allows for more agility especially with changing demands on the business.

CONCLUSION Is a coworking space in the cards

the boxes for wellness, sustain-

for Lendlease Asia in PLQ? We

ability, amenities, value for money,

certainly hope so! There are many

and a balance between private

firms that made Singapore their

offices and shared public space.

Asian headquarters who need to have the same services as their

In all likelihood, Lendlease Asia

headquarters. These are global

will continue the coworking

firms who want to have the same

journey as an anchor tenant of

high-quality facilities they have at

a coworking space.

their global headquarters. They’d like a workspace that checks off 6

We work closely with clients to help them maximise the benefits from coworking spaces. If you are a business and interested to find out how you could amplify the benefits from coworking spaces similar to LendLease, please contact GorillaSpace today at + 65 3158 4666 for a personalised conversation or drop us an email at [email protected] For more information, visit GorillaSpace.co