Corpoworking: the corporate coworking space that breaks office codes
Put a coworking space in a company, and you get... corpoworking!
Far removed from the sometimes strict environment of traditional offices, which leave little room for innovation, these spaces aim to create diversity by mixing people together, so that innovative ideas can emerge. A real breath of fresh air for employees.
But what exactly is corpoworking? What are the good reasons for introducing it? Find out all about this new way of organising work, which has a bright future ahead of it.
What is corpoworking? Definition
Corpoworking refers to the creation of a coworking space within a company, where employees are free to go and work. It is also open to people from outside the company, such as :
- freelancers, freelance workers or start-ups looking for a place to work,
- clients who can be received in an original setting,
- service providers with whom you can work on a joint project.
With its codes borrowed from coworking spaces, this structure offers a layout and decoration designed to stimulate creativity, encourage spontaneous exchanges and the emergence of new ideas.
This free, open and convivial space, which encourages innovation, is often initiated on an experimental basis to create a dynamic ecosystem around a more or less extended community focused on a particular issue.
Corporate coworking encourages :
- flexibility,
- Everyone is free to come and go, subject to opening hours,
- There is no dedicated office (as with the flex office).
- diversity,
- company teams working together, as with corpoworking, there is no dedicated office,
- company teams with external people (partners, customers, other companies, etc.).
- user-friendliness
- the layout, furnishings, decoration and pleasant facilities that stimulate creativity,
- the organisation of events, workshops, challenges, etc,
- the inclusion of areas dedicated to relaxation.
The organisation of the space is an essential point. It is sometimes managed by a person dedicated to bringing these spaces to life, by organising formal or informal events, and by creating connections between people.
One of their tasks is to ensure that participants develop a sense of belonging and attachment to the space, and want to get involved in running it.
Why open a corpoworking space? The benefits
There are a number of positive effects to be gained from opening a corpoworking space.
👩💻 Benefits for employees
- Increased motivation through greater autonomy,
- helps create social links,
- breaks the daily routine,
- an environment that stimulates creativity,
- offers learning opportunities.
🏢 Benefits for the company
- more productive employees with a working environment that is sometimes better suited to their needs,
- Bringing unused space to life,
- encouraging collective intelligence and innovation,
- an ideal place to launch projects,
- improve the employer brand,
- generate revenue.
🧑💻 Benefits for outsiders :
- a place with all the amenities (printer, coffee machine, etc.),
- cheaper than office space,
- exchanges and sharing with other professionals,
- opportunities to receive advice,
- the chance to develop your network,
- potential new customers.
Corpoworking: what are the obstacles?
Setting up a corpoworking space requires a number of measures to be put in place, which sometimes slow down some businesses from getting started.
For example, you need to :
- have a space to devote to it and to fit it out,
- run the place
- manage the issue of confidentiality and the protection of sensitive data and information,
- comply with the legislation applicable to workspaces.
What's more, it's very difficult to measure the return on investment from setting up such an initiative.
Examples of corpoworking in France
Corpoworking is not yet widespread in France. Some initiatives have been developed on an experimental basis, but are not necessarily intended to be sustainable.
But there are places that have become real institutions. Here are some of the best-known corpoworking spaces in France:
- the Orange group's Villa Bonne Nouvelle, located right in the heart of Paris, offers 50 workstations open to all free of charge.
- Spintank's Tank, 2700 m2 in the heart of Paris, with a wide range of spaces, including a recording studio for radio broadcasts.
- the Digitaleo Enterprise Factory in Rennes, which also offers meeting rooms and a garden in which to relax.
💡The good idea: Action Logement is to open 4 corpoworking spaces in Toulouse, with the aim of reducing inequalities when it comes to teleworking, and then continue its development in Montpellier and the whole of France.
Corpoworking: a new way of working with a future?
As a new way of organising work, corpoworking is emerging as an alternative solution to traditional offices, which seems to correspond to the needs and expectations of individuals, particularly those of the younger generation, who are asking for :
- more autonomy
- more flexibility
- more conviviality
- and greater well-being at work.
In fact, a study by McKinsey found that 70% of employees who had tried corpoworking had a positive opinion of the concept.
As the study on corpoworking published in 2015 by HR&D concludes, if corpoworking is built around a solid project with real values, it offers real opportunities to innovate, and can go beyond the status of a trend to become a real way of working for the future.
So, are you tempted to open a corpoworking space in your company?
Article translated from French