Flex Office: how to attract and keep young talents

Our society is in a constant state of flux which affects the corporate environment: people are switching to remote work or turn to freelancing. In 2019, a Russian job search website HeadHunter conducted a survey and here are some of the results: 31% of respondents work from home, 14% of them are freelancers, and 17% are teleworking. 

Today, talents seek more than just high salary and non-material rewards — they pay attention to the interior design of the office they will work in. To make your team a dream for job seekers, follow global trends and be ready for changes.

In this article, we will show examples of cutting-edge offices, explain what attracts young talents and how to create a perfect workplace for them.

Office without an office: no need for a separate place

Nowadays, a widespread trend is coworking spaces — office spaces for rent with modern design and good infrastructure. At first, it got popular mainly among startups with fewer employees and funds, then larger companies followed the trend.

Why Are Coworking Spaces So Popular?

1. Money Saved on Repairs

You save $200 — 650 per square meter, which otherwise would be excluded from the company’s turnover and gone into costs. If an entrepreneur chooses a coworking space, they do not need to spend that money.

However, keep in mind that it is the owner of the coworking space who chooses its design and style. If you do not like the arrangement of the furniture, zoning or colors, you will either have to put up with it, or look for another place.

2. Cheaper Than a Conventional Office

If you rent an office, you need to equip workplaces, buy equipment, pay rent, set up Internet, hire a security guard and a secretary, etc. A coworking space usually has much of the above included in the price. 

3. Complimentary Services

Coworking spaces usually have everything from the Internet and coolers to cleaning and office management services. Employees can stay fully focused on their work, because the management takes care of all supply and maintenance issues.

4. More Freedom

Coworking spaces do not imply any dress code, fixed timetable or system of fines. Employees may work in their favorite clothes, sitting on the couch or on the terrace. It is a place to meet and talk to people of different professions, while employees of a conventional office interact in quite a closed community.

On the downside, a coworking space complicates controlling the work of the team, bringing everyone together, and exchanging ideas. There also might be some noisy neighbors you will need to deal with. However, for small companies or startups, this is a perfect workspace.

The Future of Coworking Spaces

When the crisis is over, the demand will still continue to grow — businesses will need to economize. What’s more, the lockdown will show entrepreneurs the benefits of teleworking, which means they will downsize and will no longer need large offices.

Other experts share our opinion: 

“Next morning after the crisis is over, company owners will wake up with the feeling that it’s time to count their money better than before. More than that, many will have neither the desire nor the extra resources to keep employees full-time in the office. The crisis will teach how to organize and control the teleworking process and calculate the costs, it will concern even those who still prefer to work in the old way”

Nikolai Antonov, CEO of MTL. Upravleniye Nedvizhimostiju, Managing Partner of the PAGE coworking network (interview to NSP portal)

Office owners should take a closer look at the coworking model if they want to increase profits. 

How to design a dream office

The key parameter is what employees expect from the office, because it will influence their work efficiency. An office used to be a place with a fixed work schedule, now it is more of a space where employees feel at home. Flexible eco-spaces with areas for communicating, holding meetings and playing sports are in great demand. 

Flex office interior 

Employers understand and support this trend. They do their best to make their employees comfortable spending more time at work and, if necessary, staying overnight at the workplace. It requires the highest possible level of comfort in the office.

One of the main trends attracting millennials is home office design. Working spaces are decorated in calm colors, have more sofas, armchairs, pillows, there are green areas, kitchens are comfortably furnished with wide tables, household appliances, and some treats. 

Flex office

Actually, you do not need to move to a coworking space to follow the trend. Just redesign the office according to a new concept — activity based office (ABO). The essence of it is that not every employee has a personal workplace. You create separated functional areas:

• private rooms (mini meeting rooms), where employees cannot distract colleagues or talk on the phone;
• semi-private areas (sofas, coffee station areas, rooms) where employees can hold meetings and talk on the phone;
• public spaces (lobby, reception, meeting rooms) where employees can mingle with colleagues and hold events.

Employees decide where they work based on their needs.