Smart Work
Neetish Sarda, founder of Smartworks, shares how coworking spaces are ushering an era that stands for productivity, collaboration and high happiness quotients for its inhabitants
How has Smartworks differentiated itself in this increasingly competitive market?
One of the biggest impetus came from a trend that mainly emerged in the past year, where more and more enterprises have started occupying agile workspaces. In fact, at Smartworks, our main focus is enterprises over startups and freelancers. More than 80% of our clients consist of large corporates like Microsoft, Amazon, Tata Communications, Arcelor Mittal, OLX, Incedo, Daikin, Lenovo, Bacardi, DHL and Carrier, among others. Additionally, IT, banking, e-commerce and insurance sectors continue to influence the demand for agile workspaces in India. The kind of atmosphere coworking hubs provide plays a major role today. We have a strong foothold in tier I markets such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. In the last year, we witnessed 90% occupancy across a majority of mature centres and 5x expansion in our footprint.
What makes for a successful coworking environment?
Smartworks’ major focus has always been on increasing productivity and employee happiness at workplace. We offer members an array of facilities:
• Smartweekenday is a programme that provides networking and collaboration opportunities through regular events that range from pet therapy, indoor games and tournaments, stand-up comedy, etc. This also helps increase productivity at workplace.
• We are redefining the Indian office experience by focusing on productivity, design, hospitality, technology and customer experience.
• Our mantra is to be ‘glocal’, so we focus on creating the right environment that caters to the needs of today’s India by understanding the mindset of the workforce. Facilities like crèche, gyms, meditation, chair yoga, pet therapy, yoga classes, LIVE music and other concierge services help ensure an overall productive office experience across our centres.
How is Smartworks evolving on the digital front?
We have integrated several latest office technologies and industry-first value-added services to deliver a “wow” experience. We have deployed ‘Mitri’, the first-of-its-kind human robot in India, at our centres. Mitri manages the entire visitor management system at every facility and greets visitors. It also aids members in other tips and tricks vis-à-vis member requirements. Apart from this, we are actively developing collaborative technology solutions like smart amenities ranging from laundry and grocery, smart security and smart parking services to deliver a seamless experience.
What are some of the current roadblocks the sector faces?
One of the biggest challenges is changing the mindset of traditional offices, which still perceive coworking spaces as a hurdle in maintaining data security, low attrition, among other concerns. We do expect more awareness among such companies.
While the prospect of coworking space over the next couple of years looks bright, there are some concerns regarding the sustainability of growth of coworking spaces in the long term. Some consolidation is expected in 2019 as the coworking market matures. Due to exclusivity agreements, moreover, most office buildings are only able to accommodate one coworking operator. This significantly limits the range of quality options that coworking providers can be housed in and consequently its growth potential. Nevertheless, its emergence has led to a fundamental change in attitudes towards the traditional office format and office experience.
While it is important to control the cost of creating and operating workplaces, it is also critical to understand the value that workplaces create in terms of attracting, retaining, motivating and enabling a workforce.
