Lucia Scarborough, Head of HR and Recruitment at Adaptavist, a WeWork member at 10 York Road in London, shares her insights and tips on coworking.
How do you choose the right coworking space for your team?
“ I have personally worked in different coworking spaces and, in some, you feel you are just another business renting a space, but cannot really do anything to ‘make it your own’. One of the most important things for Adaptavist – in addition to the facilities and services offered – was being able to keep our own identity within the coworking space as we have a great culture and wanted to ensure this could be shown in the physical area we worked.
Yes, we are part of the WeWork community, but within our workspace, we have our own branding, signage, and decor, so there is our own Adaptavist community within WeWork (and there’s absolutely no mistaking whose offices you are visiting when you’re there!).”
How do you ensure you maintain productivity in a coworking space?
“At Adaptavist, we are much more concerned with the quality of work. We understand that different employees work better in different environments and that the employees themselves know what works best for them. In our office there are breakout areas, meeting rooms and hot desks alongside our normal working desks – that along with the communal areas in the building mean that employees can take their pick!”
How many of your team members use a coworking space?
“We have over 300 employees globally, and you’ll often find at least 50 employees working in our London office – from those who are based there (over 100) to our remote workers and those visiting from our other offices. We have seen phenomenal growth over the past few years, and our current office space means that we can continue growing.”
Is coworking becoming more of a lifestyle?
“Certainly in the Tech industry, the ‘9-5 Monday to Friday’ job tends to be the exception rather than the rule, particularly with greater awareness of the importance of work/life balance, and co-working spaces can offer many things that you may not be able to get in your run-of-the-mill office. Whether it’s the fitness classes on offer to the free barista coffee, it’s the small things that can really make a difference to an employee’s working life.”
