When creating a collaborative workspace, it is important to consider a range of questions about your workforce. Including what a collaborative workspace means to them and what they need from it. Your employees' needs must be balanced with what you want to achieve with the space and your available budget.
Collaborative workspaces are offices in which employees of different companies work in the same facility or building. This includes freelancers, startups and established businesses. Such workspaces can be highly economical and foster positive company culture for all those involved.
At Regus, we offer flexible working spaces that are dynamic and we are continually updating our spaces to ensure that they provide everything businesses of all kinds need from a coworking space.
Why are collaboration-dedicated spaces important?
By creating collaborative spaces more accessible to workers, it encourages more collaboration across teams and greater employee interaction. These creative coworking spaces often use a hot desk model, allowing staff to comfortably interact across teams so that they can get work done quickly and efficiently.
Open communication is one benefit of collaboration-dedicated spaces. Conversely, if your team is hybrid, a truly efficient approach may be to replicate the space virtually or using our meeting room facilities to involve work-from-home team members.
A collaborative work environment also improves meeting efficiency, as it allows teams to discuss major client issues face-to-face and resolve them as quickly as possible. We have private meeting rooms and all the facilities to allow your team to engage confidentially.
How to create a collaborative workspace
When looking to shift towards a more collaborative working environment, it is important to consider staff needs and study them closely to create or choose a collaborative office space with the right set-up that suits them.
Regus has options for every budget so take a look at our locations across the globe or contact us to discuss your collaborative workspace requirements.
Make design decisions based on your business values and priorities
If your business values include things like total privacy, then a collaborative work environment may not be the best for your business. At Regus, we offer custom offices for companies that have this requirement.
On the other hand, if your company is suited to sharing a minimalist coworking space, then focus on finding a space that offers the essentials, with room to collaborate and grow. The space has to speak to your overall brand guidelines. It's surprising how different a space can feel with just some minor adjustments and a conscientious decision related to a company's brand.
Understand what your employees need
Have a think about your employees. Survey them and ask them what they would like to see in a collaborative office space. Then, make sure that the collaborative workplace you choose has employee interests at heart.
Perhaps your employees need break-out space or meeting rooms to conduct client meetings in private. They may want amenities in the building, such as a gym.
It gets members talking, and the networking opportunities are enormous for employees and business owners alike. We also do virtual meetups for those that are remote workers. Be forward-thinking and try to anticipate employee needs when your company grows and expands.
Employee needs are no mystery. The best way to find out what they are is to ask your employees about their needs at work through a survey.
What type of space are you looking for?
The space you are looking for is determined by what your staff needs and what they enjoy doing for relaxation. Activities like yoga may improve both mental and physical health. Below are some types of spaces that will help your business complete its next project:
Meeting Space
Meeting rooms have facilities such as projectors and large boardroom tables. You might use these rooms to conduct company presentations to build rapport with your clients.
Open Space
Open spaces can be used for a range of activities, including but not limited to indoor sports such as yoga, table tennis, pinball machines and putt-putt golf.
Breakout areas
A breakout area may be a place for staff meetings. It will be considerably smaller than a meeting space and can also be used to make sales calls to prospective companies in a quiet environment with no disturbance.
What features to look for in a collaborative workspace
Features to look for include amenities, workspace design for group work, recreational areas, personal private office availability, collaborative meeting rooms, office culture, communal space aesthetic, functionality and work environment.
Finally, you can also pull employees in with premium features like a collaborative office spa or a relaxation station. Your relaxation station can be a weekly or monthly event with a focus on wellness. We love wellness at Regus, and we understand the need for a focus on mental health and psychological safety in the workplace.
Collaborative space ideas
There are a number of things you can organise to increase employee engagement and willingness to collaborate rather than sitting alone in a cubicle. A collaborative workspace is designed to bring individuals and teams together, for both increased productivity, faster problem solving and better company culture.
The most successful collaborative spaces have a relaxed feel, offer a variety of formations and seating options, and include ether right tools to collaborate. These tools can depend on the unique needs of your team, from communication tools such as Slack and Trello, to physical tools for screensharing, brainstorming and presentations.
Of course, beyond a productive workspace, there can be room for collaboration in the form of team building. These can include social events, networking teas, creative workshops, in-office games, in-person events, and real-time virtual meetups.
Paint and sip is another event that you can suggest to the team. For example, you might get the team to paint what comes to mind when they think of the company values. You can also appoint a social committee consisting of team members whose sole focus is to organise work social events. You can also employ non-profits to arrange volunteering activities for your employees. This fosters trust and allows your staff to catch up outside of the work context.
A virtual experience can be achieved at home using applications and virtual breakout rooms with avatars. This will make people who are working remotely feel like they are a part of your office culture. Offshore workers are increasingly becoming an integral part of startup teams.
It is also possible to use the collaborative environment to place product samples and see what staff at other companies think of your product, especially if it is in the prototyping or MVP stage. It is a great place to receive and give feedback on products that could help product development teams to improve the product for consumers.
Finally, trivia nights are a popular way of getting the team together. They can be done in-office or virtually. Games foster a team culture in the workplace when executing projects.
Businesses that have set up Collaborative Spaces
Businesses that have successfully set up collaborative spaces include Paypal, Disney, Microsoft, Accenture and Slack. Microsoft was one of the first to set up coworking spaces in 2016. Coworking has become an economical and efficient way to give employees a physical workplace, but at the same time provide them with the flexibility to work from home when they want to.
COVID-19 has forced businesses to work differently, with employees enjoying remote working, greater work/life balance and the ability to collaborate with other team members via tools such as Zoom. This has meant that many companies have altered their working models, with businesses like Microsoft quickly adapting to new ways of working.
At Regus, our clients enjoy the flexibility that our coworking spaces afford them. They only pay for what they use, and they can change their requirements almost instantly using the Regus app. Collaborative spaces are also great for networking and making business connections. Our clients are constantly attending events and workshops while making tangible business connections.