Summary: GCUC 2017, Future of Work and Community Building – Part 2

And we're back! Just to recap, we've sponsored this amazing event - GCUC (pronounced as juicy) Australia 2017 - last week. It's so much more than just your average conference. In fact, it's the biggest coworking conference in the world. And naturally, we wanted to share all the valuable takeaways that we got from the event.

Let's get it on.

For community building, the speakers had more to say on the matter.

One is that communities tend to change over time. To keep up-to-date, you have to understand your purpose and anticipate how it will change or evolve over the course of time.

Another excellent suggestion is to make sure that there's something for everyone in your community. For retirees, you might consider having discussions like "What happens to life after work?" For women's group, there's belly dancing or knitting for charity. 

 

 

And don't forget about the youth! Host free seminars for young people on how to effectively use and maximise their smartphones, or provide dating tips in today's times. Another idea is to find teachers in your community explore some options that will cater to parents with young kids.

Other words of wisdom:

• Curate events that are relevant to your local ecosystem. Focus on providing topics that your members want. 
• To foster a long-term community, empower long-term members (like elders) to be your brand ambassadors and role models and connect them with new members. 
• Make sure that there's 
• Encourage an atmosphere of belonging and purpose. Veer towards merging work with life and move away from 'work versus life'. 
• There should be no expiration dates on your employees. Because of the change in the workforce, flexible work allows seniors (people at 65 years old and above) to keep their jobs. 
• Focus on your building your brand. Be magnetic and you will attract more people to join your community. 

 

"We have a responsibility to provide a pathway for our youth. Teach them that they have value and ensure them that they can make a difference in the world. Fertilise them and they will grow." - Nick Shewring, Co-founder, CoLo

 

New Revenue Streams

Up next was another panel - Michael Benson, CEO of CSBC & ClearEdge Offices, Alan Tsen of Stone & Chalk, and Caroline McLaren, Moderator of Hub Australia.

They talked about how to differentiate your business from the pack, and how to add more value to your space and make money out of it. 

For this talk, the speakers provided some practical samples of how you can squeeze more revenue from your spaces. 

• Transparency with pricing is one of the biggest issues in the industry. Clients don't like surprises. 
• Consistent quality is extremely important in corporate space. 
• Draw in the right people to build your community. 
• Provide services that add value to members in your community. Host lunch and learn series. 
• Champion startups and make sure their concerns are addressed - especially if they are uncomfortable with having corporates using the space.
• Avoid exclusivity. Partner with companies such as ANZ or Westpac.
• Make your mailing address a revenue stream.
• Mentoring must be a part of the service and should not be charged.

 

Co-Working Trends in Australia and Beyond

So the last topic of the conference is about where our industry is right now, where it's headed, and how bright our future is. And the speakers were John Preece and Kimberley Paterson of Knight Frank. 

 

 

According to them, one-fourth of the millennials in the workforce are in the senior positions - and they're having a big impact on real estate and workplace design. Just look at the numbers below:

• Pre 2011 Culture: Cellular offices, Hierarchy, 8-10 Hours/day, Large space ratios
• 2011-2016 Culture: Open plan/ABW, Amenities - End of Trip facilities, technology, Globalisation
• 2017 Culture: Coworking, Wellbeing, Creative, flexible space, IT driven 24/7

And while co-working in Australia has increased by over 300% since 2013, we still have a long way to go compared to co-working spaces on a global scale. Australia has converted 0.6% of office stock (i.e. 309 spaces excluding Serviced Office providers) to coworking space, whereas London has 4.0% (944 spaces), LA has 3.5% (97 spaces), NY has 1.2% (180 spaces) and Paris has 0.7% (149 spaces).

Where are the 309 spaces in Australia, you say? Well, it's sprinkled across the major cities but most can be found in Sydney.

• Brisbane 4%
• Sydney 38%
• Canberra 0.3%
• Melbourne 49%
• Adelaide 5%
• Perth 4%

The total co-working commercial real estate in Australia is equal to the total Darwin office market in terms of square metres. And the major co-working operators are:

• Wework 13.8%
• Spaces (Regis) 4.0%
• The Commons 3.3%
• RocketSpace 2.8%
• Gravity 2.0%
• Hub Australia 5.4%
• WOTSO Workspace 3.8%
• Inspire9 2.8%
• Space & CO. 2.3%
• Teamsquare 1.6%

 

Coworking is now becoming a top contender for real estate and agents are working closer than ever to make it happen. In fact, corporates are looking at WeWork to manage their workspace, while Suncorp, Microsoft, Red Bull, Sales force, and Australia Post have teams in CoWorking. 

"A few years ago 500 spaces in the world and people were scared. Now there are thousands and thousands and it's going to grow even more. If 2% of corporates enter the market demand will significantly outstrip supply." - Liz Elam, GCUC Executive Producer/ Link Coworking

 

Pricing and revenue

When it comes to pricing, the speakers suggested that the rent should be 50% of the cost expenditure; the capital expenditure can be high to drive long-term leases. And to drive more revenue, consider services outside membership such as cafes, meeting rooms, and the like. Service and amenities are key for growth.

Big players

With the current boom, more landlords are now engaging co-working and we see more of them working together with workspaces. However, smaller players will find it tough to keep up, WeWork and larger players buying properties owning the space and management. 

Overall, GCUC is one of the most important events that we had the privilege of attending this year.

We'd like to thank all the attendees and speakers who made it to the conference. See you at the next gathering!

 

Book affordable meeting rooms and desk spaces when you need it, where you need it. VenueNow is one of Australia’s leading on-demand workspace marketplaces. We’ve scoured Australia for the very best meeting rooms, training rooms, and event spaces for your business. Search and hire the perfect workspace today!