Office sharing is trendy in SA

Office sharing is an international trend in which small and large companies rent private office space or even desks in a larger communal complex, sharing amenities such as boardrooms, kitchens, receptionists and Internet connectivity.

Last year's Global Co-working survey, the largest annual survey on office sharing, noted a 83% year-on-year increase in people choosing to be based in office-sharing spaces worldwide.

While the most obvious benefits are the savings on renting space such as conference rooms and kitchens and services such as a receptionist and Internet connections, there are also intangible benefits such as easy networking.

"We wanted to tap into the resources office sharing can offer. Our web designer wanted to be able to chat to other designers. It's a creative process. There are now three people sharing the same space," says Greenbox Designs' co-owner Alex Kirsten.

The close corporation's four members first came across office-sharing during a six-month stint in Barcelona, Spain. "We are fortunate in that we don't need a lot of face time with our clients. They are happy to use Skype and other conferencing tools. We went there to try something new and see how businesses are run there. It opened our eyes to how beneficial office-sharing is," Kirsten says.

Advantages

Office sharing allows companies to rent a better address than they might be able to afford if they had to rent or buy full offices, and with rental contracts as short as three months on offer, it is much easier to take an office and "see how it works out", says Cape Town Central City Improvement District chairman Rob Kane.

"We charge between R120 and R130/m² (a month). We provide the kitchen, cutlery and crockery, security, access to a boardroom, an address, Internet access - it's almost risk-free and most people can find that money if they really want to get going.

"A few years ago, the big thing was to work from home, but I think those people are getting lonely. The trend in the US for people working from home is coming down. The reality is it is not much fun," says Kane.

"If you cluster entrepreneurs together they find they are all struggling with the same things, funding themselves and attracting new business. Our CBD (central business district) building has been 80% let and we are getting good rentals."

Kirsten says Greenbox was "adamant" they wanted a CBD address, for "the atmosphere, the entrepreneurs, the hustle and bustle.

"There is a feeling of progression and we wanted to feel part of that, like we are moving forward with the CBD," he said.

Anthony Manes, the chief executive of Cube Workspace, a company that rents office space in Cape Town and Johannesburg, says this form of renting can save a firm more than half its monthly costs, with the bonus of "just one bill at the end of the month" for a range of services, from cleaning to Wi-Fi.

"That's massive and the beauty of it is they are not tied to a long lease. It's the way the world is changing. We had a company in the beginning of the year, rent free, to test our massive background infrastructure and they now want an executive office with three support staff. They began with one person."

Manes says the work-sharing trend is "quite big" in SA, and was spearheaded by large companies such as Regus and The Business Centre.

Source: Business Day via I-Net Bridge