Coworking Trials across the West Midlands Region

Transcription

1 Coworking Trials across the West Midlands Region A trial project carried out by the Smarter Working West Midlands project which is part funded by the European Union. The remit of the project is to explore ways to help Small to Medium Enterprises in the West Midlands region to work more profitably and effectively. Prepared by: Henry Jerwood Business Advisor Smarter Working West Midlands Coventry University Enterprises Ltd. The Technocentre Coventry University Technology Park Puma Way Coventry CV1 2TT smarterworking@coventry.ac.uk Contents: 1. Introduction and Overview Centre Reports... 4 Centre Report - Innovation Birmingham... 4 Centre Report - The Corporate Pod City Spirit St Pauls... 5 Centre Report - The Stour Enterprise Centre... 6 Centre Report - The Telford Enterprise Hub (including the Coalport Hub : Enterprise HQ) The Moseley Exchange - Visit to see their Coworking facilities Coworking Trial Summary Location Broadband Access Home and cafe working Like-minded Communities Conclusion SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

2 1. Introduction and Overview The Smarter Working West Midlands project is funded by the European Union to provide assistance to Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands. Technology enables work to be carried out in different ways and from different locations, including home working and, whilst on the move, in a variety of places such as cafe s and hotel reception areas. This brings benefits including flexibility, reduced costs, reduced travel times and the potential to spread business activity more widely across the region. However, it can also result in isolation and a lack of social and business interaction. There are a number of options for people working in these ways, including the use of Business Centres, both as an official business address and as a place to work from. Hot desks have been used for many years in different ways to encourage more flexible working patterns. For some organisations, they are a way to save unused space when many people spend parts of their working life on client or partner sites. For others, they are blended with home working to allow opportunities to work in different places, perhaps near to customers or other offices. However, particularly for small businesses, our experience is that they are much less popular that in the past. Once, they were one of the few ways to access good internet connections but now that is available in many more places including hotel foyers, cafes and motorway services. Earlier in the Smarter Working programme, we tried offering hot desk facilities free of charge to SMEs in a number of locations but the uptake was very poor. There was a feeling that people wanted more than just desk space. Extended needs included facilities to meet clients in a professional environment and events and workshops to encourage networking and interaction of like minded businesses. Some also wanted access to social and business groups such as Jellies and Special Interest Groups. These together are all part of a broad initiative which goes under the heading of Coworking. It has been popular across Europe where a number of initiatives have been run including the Coworking Leonardo Project. ( Coventry University Enterprises Ltd. was the UK partner for this and hosted a visit in April Through the Smarter Working project, we want to encourage business to try out these ways of working and evaluate what is most beneficial for them. We therefore decided to conduct a Coworking trial, involving a number of different Business Centres across the region, to offer opportunities to SMEs to try the Coworking experience and to gain their feedback on what is most and least effective for them. The Centres covered both city and rural locations in different parts of the region. The centres we decided to work with were: Innovation Birmingham, part of the Aston Science Park. Their focus is mainly on technology companies and they offer a range of office services. They also have an incubator programme dedicated to supporting the growth of technology, clean tech and low carbon companies, known as e4f. The trial took place in this area The Corporate Pod, part of the City Spirit St Pauls business centre. A central Birmingham facility offering rental offices and conference facilities as well as a virtual office service. They also offer touchdown facilities, aimed at companies wanting to use an office facility from time to time. The Stour Enterprise Centre, a business centre in Shipston on Stour. This centre offers a range of facilities aimed at businesses in the surrounding rural area, including offices, conference rooms, training workshops and business networking events. It is run by a team of volunteers and is supported by a number of different funding streams SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

3 The Telford Enterprise Hub, a business centre on the edge of Telford. This innovative business centre offers support to business start ups, as well as facilities to more established businesses. They have been a supporter of the Coworking principles for some years. Coalport Enterprise Centre. This business centre is owned by the same organisation as the Telford Enterprise Hub. It s facilities were jointly offered under the Telford Hub banner We also had discussions with the Telford Campus of the University of Wolverhampton but they decided not to take part. Each Centre we spoke to had a slightly different model for the support they provide for SMEs. We decided, therefore, in consultation with each centre, to offer a minimum level of support to be given to participating companies. The Centres were expected to provide: Recruitment of SMEs to try out the Coworking offering Free use of the Centre for two months, offering access, during that time, for at least 2 days per week. This would be subject to the normal terms and conditions, opening times etc. of the Centre. Use of a meeting or conference room at least twice per month, depending on availability Free attendance at two or more of the events, seminars, networking sessions or workshops run in the Centre, during the period of the trial The SME was expected to provide: A completed and signed Deminimis form, confirming that they are a qualifying SME in the region Proof, through sign in sheets, that they have used the facility. A minimum of 12 hours is required by the Funding Body, ERDF. A feedback form completed at the end of the trial, documenting what worked well and what changes or improvements could be made to the facilities and Coworking offering The Smarter Working West Midlands project provided: Funding of 3,000 exc VAT to each Centre for the trials Assistance with promoting the programme through the Smarter Working website and Smarter Working literature generally A specific flyer for each Centre taking part to assist them to promote their offering. These were provided as one third A4 cards for all except the Innovation Birmingham Centre who wanted an electronic copy only. Interaction with the participating centres to obtain feedback and produce a report detailing what went well and what did not work. These would be made available, both to the Centre concerned and for wider Smarter Working project use. SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

4 2. Centre Reports Centre Report - Innovation Birmingham Innovation Birmingham Limited, Faraday Wharf, Holt Street, Birmingham Science Park Aston, Birmingham, B7 4BB Innovation Birmingham is part of Birmingham Science Park Aston and is owned by Birmingham City Council. The Innovation Birmingham strategy is focused on a service offering for founders of new technology ventures, as well as more established tech businesses. The campus facilities include the Entrepreneurs for the Future (e4f) multi-occupancy start-up centre and a wide range of flexible office units (115-15,000 sq ft). The management team actively nurtures an interactive and supportive community, running events, meetings and workshops to encourage the high tech companies both from within the building and in the wider area and including both Aston and Birmingham City Universities. The Entrepreneurs for the Future (e4f) programme offered an ideal platform to let people try out Coworking and experience the benefits of being engaged with a high tech, entrepreneurial community. One of the many events which they run is a monthly evening meeting called Tech Wednesday. This combines refreshments and networking opportunities with some short talks, mainly from people who have successfully started and grown businesses. It regularly attracts over 70 attendees and is very much in the Coworking spirit of a wider community offering. The Coworking trial ran from October 2013 to February 2014 and offered participants: Free use of the Centre for two months, offering access, during that time, for at least 2 days per week, subject to the normal terms and conditions, opening times etc. of the Centre. Use of a meeting or conference room at least twice per month, depending on availability Free attendance at two or more of the events, seminars, networking sessions or workshops run in the Centre, during the period of the trial The trial was extremely successful, with 10 businesses taking part. All were start up companies and as yet are unable to say whether jobs will be created as a result. Undoubtedly a large part of the success was due to all the businesses being part of a like minded business community with plenty to learn from each other. Some of the feedback comments included: E4f s open plan hot-desking environment is ideal for the small entrepreneur who needs a quiet, friendly place in which to think of, formulate, and construct business ideas. The access to other open-minded entrepreneurs can be very inspiring, and may give you the boost you need to complete your business projects. J.P. Baston, IRB Capital Being able to have a good place for meetings was the most useful element of the co-working trial. Great location and great facilities. Ben Sargeant, Cherub AN Ltd It added structure to my working day, and the opportunity to talk with fellow start-ups was useful. This way of working suits my current requirements as I work on growing the business. Adam Russell, As Designed Games Ltd SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

5 Centre Report - The Corporate Pod City Spirit St Pauls The Corporate Pod 35 St Paul s Square Birmingham, B3 1QX The Corporate Pod is part of the City Spirit St Pauls Business Centre, located near to the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. The Centre offers business support in a number of ways including fully serviced offices, conferencing & training facilities and a wide range of additional services including telephones and administration. There are also business coaching and advice services which can be called on. In addition, mainly through the Corporate Pod, there are virtual office services with full business registration and administration facilities. The central location has proved popular with small businesses wanting to have a permanent location. It is also a popular centre for organisations holding regular meetings, such as the Birmingham Mediation Centre. There are facilities for meetings, conferences and training courses with wifi and high speed internet connections. The Smarter Working project had run events and workshops at City Spirit previously. They were well attended by a range of businesses, both central to Birmingham and from the wider commuting area. We felt that they offered the opportunity to trial Coworking in a central business area. During the Coworking trial at City Spirit, St. Pauls, participants were offered : Free use of the Centre for two months, offering access, during that time, for at least 2 days per week. This would be subject to the normal terms and conditions, opening times etc. of the Centre. Use of a meeting or conference room at least twice per month, depending on availability The Corporate Pod has offered a variety of flexible working packages to local businesses including hot desks and virtual office facilities. They have found that the hot desk offering has had a very low take up due to the range of touch down facilities available in Birmingham including cafes and hotels, all offering free wifi access. It was hoped that the wider Coworking offering would attract more small businesses to try the facilities. However, take up was very slow in spite of a regular marketing campaign to a wide range of contacts. This was also assisted by a promotional mailshot from Coventry University Enterprises Ltd. The overall take up was 6 companies from a number of different sectors. We are, as yet, unable to say whether jobs will be created as a result. The wider Coworking offering did not increase take up over the previous hot desk initiatives which had been run by the Corporate Pod. Though the participants were generally positive about the trial, it seems that there is not a sufficient community of people in the catchment who want to try this style of working. The Corporate Pod is located close to the Jewellery Quarter. Whilst companies are happy to use the centre for events and to rent offices, it is not sufficiently close to the centre of town to be popular for the type of drop-in use that Coworking and hot desking encourage. One of the participants commented: I have recently taken part in the co-working trial at City Spirit and found it very useful, I usually work remotely and found the co-working inspired me with my business and introduced me to other business owners. I would certainly love to use this service again. Tracy Gilmour, Managing Director, Cre8 Sales Solutions Ltd SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

6 Centre Report - The Stour Enterprise Centre Stour Enterprise Centre, Astech Mill, 50 Stratford Road, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, CV36 4BA The Stour Enterprise Centre is a dedicated business support centre located in Shipston-on-Stour, South Warwickshire, for small and medium businesses in the local area, or anyone looking to set up or go into business for themselves. Shipston is a successful market town which attracts people from the rural community to come in regularly to make use of a range of social, retail and business facilities. The Centre provides low cost, flexible office, meeting and conference facilities, along with business support services, workshop and training programmes, to support enterprise development within the Stour Valley region. It also offered opportunities for businesses to get together and network through activities such as Jelly and a monthly daytime network called the Good Coffee Club, which included local business speakers. The centre is managed mainly on a voluntary basis. During the period of the trial, there were some substantial changes to the organisation and it is now run by Stour United Businesses (SUBs) as part of a program of a wider business support for the Stour Valley. The Smarter Working project had run events and workshops at the Centre previously and found it to be a vibrant hub for town and rural businesses. We felt that it offered the opportunity to extend Coworking to a wider and diverse rural community. The Coworking trial ran from early 2014 to September 2014 and offered participants free use of facilities: Use of the hot desk workstations Use of the business lounge 2 half day meeting room bookings Attendance at 2 workshops/seminars It was available to small, independent businesses operating in the South Warwickshire area Local publicity included an article in the Shipston Forum Community Newsletter. The trial was extremely successful with 10 businesses taking part who qualified as local SME s. Due to administrative issues, as a result of the organisational changes mentioned above, during the period of the trial, three additional businesses were allowed to take part which did not qualify for Business Assists. One of these three, though an SME, had already received an assist from earlier programmes run with the centre. Two others were home workers who, it later transpired, worked for organisations which did not qualify as SME s. The ten companies are all new or very small companies and as yet are unable to say whether jobs will be created as a result. Feedback comments included: It s a really important and valuable resource for a small business like mine where a home office is not always appropriate to conduct business meetings. Judith Burt, Executype Office Services. The variety of space within the centre can accommodate small and larger groups of visitors and clients, therefore I have not needed to look elsewhere for larger office space depending upon the type of meeting I have arranged. Tina Cook HR Solutions (SOS) It is a useful and effective way of working advice, discussions and motivation from being around others. Nick Moore, Graphic Design SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

7 Centre Report - The Telford Enterprise Hub (including the Coalport Hub : Enterprise HQ) Telford Enterprise Hub Hadley Park East Telford, TF1 6QJ & Enterprise HQ John Rose Building High Street Coalport Telford, TF7 8HT Telford Enterprise Hub is located on the site of the former Hadley Park Farm and provides facilities for both the urban Telford area and the surrounding rural communities. The Hub has offered a range of flexible working environments over a number of years. The Chief Executive, Fay Easton, has been an active member of Coworking and networking communities and responded to a need some years ago for flexible and affordable workspace in Telford, through the conversion of 6,000 sq ft of office space to a unique collaborative environment. This has drawn many ambitious and entrepreneurial businesses to locate there and the Hub has also been the base for start up programmes for young people in the county. The second site is located at Coalport in the Ironbridge Gorge in a secondary location. This centre trialled theming the accommodation for arts businesses and working for six months in partnership with United Artspace. With this mixture of creatives, urban and rural businesses and their previous experience of Coworking, this seemed an ideal set of locations for one of the trial facilities. The Coworking trial with The Enterprise Hub Network ran from December 2013 to March 2014, offering connection to a new kind of workspace Free use of the Centre in Telford or Coalport for two months, offering desk /studio space during that time, 5 days a week with your own lockable storage. This would be subject to the normal terms and conditions of the Enterprise Hub Network. Use of meeting tables in The Enterprise Lounge twice a month Free attendance at two business development events examples include Twitter for Business in November and New Generation Entrepreneurs in December The Coworking offer was publicised widely and very proactively through a range of marketing channels including newsletters and events. The trial proved less successful than anticipated with 8 businesses signing up for it. These were from a wide range of sectors including security services, arts, consultancy and catering. Two of the companies involved with Art actually used the centre at Coalport for their support. They ran some workshops and advice sessions for 9 new arts businesses as part of their Coworking offer and so the experience of Coworking was opened up to a wider audience than the 8 companies which officially took part. The trial confirmed the experience that had begun to emerge for the centre over the previous months, that the flexible environment offered, was not as popular as it had been. Home working has become much more common and accepted. There are a number of other factors that facilitate the more mobile workforce, including the much wider availability of free wifi and working hotspots in cafes, hotels and many public areas. This could also be a location issue. Whereas the trial in Shipston SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

8 on Stour was in a location recognised as a central market town which people travel to regularly from rural areas, the Telford hub is on the edge of the town. It is not, therefore, necessarily a location someone would visit if they were in the centre of Telford and much of the rural communities would have to travel long distances to use it. The comment from one of the people taking part in the trial was that they would want to be based closer to their home near Shrewsbury in the long term. Other comments were positive about the quality of the centre facilities and the opportunity to interact with others and get advice from the Centre Management. Home working has become so common that the idea of Coworking may not be seen to be needed nearly as much, particularly amongst people working in different sectors. The overall enthusiasm for this type of environment, even when it was offered free of charge, has been less than expected. The Chief Executive, Fay Easton, commented: Shared workspace as a commercial model can thrive in city locations and the principle of collaborative ways of working is only going to increase in popularity as the Millenials take to the workplace. Specialist workspaces (e.g. for techs or creatives) will be sought out as the trend for energy efficiency combined with commercial productivity takes hold. There is no doubt that better places to work produce better work and many research projects are now highlighting the psychological and productivity problems associated with lone/isolated working from home. However in rural and market town locations, pioneering quality workspace for co-workers proves difficult to secure decent returns on investment. These are prime projects for seed corn funding and as the model matures no doubt we will see a multi-use, coworking business centre at the heart of every Market Town High Street. I hope so. Since the end of the trial, the Centre is moving away from offering hot desk and similar facilities to a completely rented office business model. The Coalport Hub is now rented out to business on a permanent basis also. SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

9 3. The Moseley Exchange - Visit to see their Coworking facilities Moseley Community Development Trust, The Moseley Exchange, Alcester Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8JP Whilst working on the Coworking project with the centres outlined and from discussions with other organisations, we became aware of the Coworking activities at the Moseley Development Trust, located at the Moseley Exchange. They were not part of the Smarter Working trial but having relevant experience, a visit was arranged for 17 th September Located in a former BT building, the Trust occupies most of the building with the remaining part of the ground floor housing the Moseley Post Office. They offer offices to rent, meeting rooms and a space for Coworking. They currently have 60 companies signed up to Coworking and have capacity for 80+. The facility is well used and respected locally. The focus of the Trust is to promote local activities and facilities in Moseley. One of their charitable objectives is to help the local community. A survey carried out 2 years ago shows that for every 1 brought in to the area, 68p is spent locally. They also host and promote a variety of local events and activities and offer 4 spaces for social entrepreneurs. They are currently promoting a local Time Bank. The main reason for their success in Coworking is their location in the centre of Moseley known as Moseley Village with easy access and a variety of shops, pubs and restaurants in walking distance. The location of the Post Office in the building has also proved to be very beneficial and at least one of the tenants provides products through an online channel and uses the Post Office for distribution. From a Coworking perspective, they offer a free trial period of 5 visits. The charging structure is then graded depending on the company s requirements: Drop in 28 per month for 16 hours usage Regular 50 per month for 40 hours usage Max 93 per month for unlimited usage These options come with variable amounts of meeting room usage. There is also a Friend membership which allows participation in events and promotion on the website, for 10 per month. They use COBOT software to manage usage and access. This covers all aspects of membership, time management and room booking. ( The Trust had a capital grant initially to refurbish and prepare the building but has since run without grants or public funding. They are currently upgrading their internet provision, using bonded lines, to provide increased bandwidth. The key reasons for their success would seem to be: Location easily accessible and at the centre of the local community Facilities very flexible with a mixture of offices, rooms etc Promotion they promote a wide range of local activities and facilities, as well as Coworking, so people are constantly dropping in and out Local Start-ups most Coworking users are start ups. There are a lot of people, of all age ranges, in the area who are setting up their own operations. SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

10 4. Coworking Trial Summary From the trial conducted at the four centres, backed up by the visit to the Moseley Exchange, a number of factors emerged influencing the popularity or otherwise of Coworking. As a top level view, the trial of Coworking proved popular at Innovation Birmingham and the Stour Enterprise Centre and less popular at The Corporate Pod and the Telford Enterprise Hub. The factors influencing this included: Location There needs to be a reason to visit the area other than to take part in the Coworking experience. For Innovation Birmingham, this is due to its high technology focus and location near to Universities. High Tech companies, particularly start ups, are drawn to the location as a hub for like minded people. For the Stour Centre, the market town location brings people naturally in from the surrounding rural areas for shopping and social activities and so it is easy to use the Business Centre as well. This seems to be a key factor in the success of the Moseley Exchange. In contrast, the Telford Enterprise Hub is on the edge of town and not in an area you would visit other than to use the centre. The Corporate Pod has similar issues. Although relatively near the Birmingham City centre, it is not quite close enough to attract people to drop in for Coworking activities. Broadband Access For most people, access to good quality broadband is not now an issue. Some years ago, it was a reason to use an office centre, whether for hot desk or rented office facilities. This is now not an issue, as most people have access from home and elsewhere. However, it is still a potential barrier in some rural areas and may be a contributory factor to use of the facilities in places like the Stour Enterprise Centre. Home and cafe working Although Coworking offers benefits to people who would otherwise work on their own from home, many town and city areas offer a wide range of alternative facilities where people can work. These include cafes, fast food outlets, motorway services and hotel foyers, which are generally convenient to access and very cheap to use. People who are home based often use these facilities for customer and colleague meetings. Interestingly, cafe working is not an easy option for people visiting Shipston. There is only one hotel where people meet in a work context and this make the use of the Stour Enterprise Centre more attractive. As home working is becoming more and more popular, the feeling of isolation that many people have when first experiencing it is going away. There seems to be a generation emerging for which it is considered the norm. Like-minded Communities Coworking for the self employed and micro businesses offers two competing tensions. There is a concern, in the open working environment, that business confidentiality can be breached and business contacts can be open to access to competition. On the plus side, there is the opportunity for individuals with complimentary skills to partner to deliver customer projects. SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November

11 The latter is particularly relevant to high tech communities where there is a willingness to work together on short or long term product development and other client projects. This is one of the factors contributing to the success of Innovation Birmingham, both as a large High Tech centre and in attracting start ups to participate in Coworking activities. Conclusion The conclusion from this small sample of experiences of Coworking is that, in order to be successful, there needs to be one or more external factors to attract participants. The two most powerful seem to be either that the centre is in an area convenient for users to visit and use other facilities and/or that they will meet with a group of like minded business people and cooperate with them. From a Business Centre perspective, there is a risk with Coworking areas that the revenue stream from providing the facilities is not as regular or profitable as renting out offices on a permanent basis. This is very important for commercial organisations, though less of an issue, provided costs are covered, for community-based organisations such as the Moseley Exchange. SWWM Coworking Review 2014 V5 (2) November