2021 | VOL. - 04 | ISSUE - 01
www.insightssuccess.com
WORLD'S WHAT'S NEXT? THE FUTURE OF COWORKING: REVIVING COLLABORATIVE CULTURE
BEST MANAGED
OFFICE
SPACES SERVICE PROVIDERS
BECOMING TRENDSETTERS
2021
5 EMERGING MARKETS TO LOOK AT IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO START A BUSINESS
Sean Cochrane
President
Your one stop destination for office management
EDITOR’S DESK
E
legant workstations, lounges, comfortable chairs, well-cushioned sofas, bean bags and much more teamed with state-of-the-art infrastructure, amenities and facilities are what define today’s workspaces in metros and big cities across the world. 2021 | VOL. - 04 | ISSUE - 01
www.insightssuccess.com
WORLD'S WHAT'S NEXT? THE FUTURE OF COWORKING: REVIVING COLLABORATIVE CULTURE
BEST MANAGED
OFFICE
SPACES
Traditional workplaces are making way for modern day office spaces that are nothing short of a star hotel. Enter the era of co-working spaces, shared office spaces and virtual offices that ensure flexible, effective, conducive setting. And these are provided and managed deftly by office space service providers who operate the entire set-up.
SERVICE PROVIDERS
BECOMING TRENDSETTERS
2021
5 EMERGING MARKETS TO LOOK AT IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO START A BUSINESS
Sean Cochrane President
Your one stop destination for office management
The New O ce Space Ecosystem
With number of start-ups on the rise, traditional lease office spaces may not be viable for many. Here is where flexible offices come to the picture whether one wants it on long term basis or short term and as per the budget. With already set up wide range of facilities, high speed internet, utilities ready for you to move in, modern day workspaces eliminate the complexities of the traditional leases by making things simpler. Traditional lease spaces are passe and not feasible for many but with so many options at your fingertips you can now rest assured that no time and energy would be spent in finding the right kind of office suitable for the pocket. It also reduces the hassles of finding the right location, getting the interiors done with all the
furniture, fixtures, furnishings. One can expect a dedicated receptionist, administrative personnel, IT infrastructure and telecommunication services, conference rooms, meeting halls, banquet halls, full-time security and much more without having to look over the intricate details personally. All you have to do is just walk in and start working. Co-working spaces, shared office spaces are preferred by many businesses today as it renders flexible approach to work and maximises productivity in elegant world class spaces. Co-working spaces took shape around a decade ago. Fully furnished, well- equipped office spaces are rented out by operators to clients and these flexible offices are generally found in metros and big cities. It will not be long before the smaller cities and towns followed suit. The concept took off in 1960s in the United States and gradually spread across the world beginning from Australia and United Kingdom. Technological advancements further increased the demand for such offices where working together and shared premises became a norm and convenient for all. The advantage also includes asking for additional space in a short notice to the operator in case of business expansion. Many companies are preferring eco-friendly offices with proper cross ventilation of natural air, natural light and green spaces in the offices with natural plants to boost employees and increase efficiency. A healthy workspace has healthy employees and that increases the productivity as well. And office spaces service providers are leaving no stone unturned in catering to the needs of the time. These service providers build relationships with realtors and
develop the space for companies looking out for readymade offices. So rather than investing in fixed assets this modern way of commercial space works well for many. The service providers will provide you with all the amenities and infrastructure you need, maintenance etc. They manage everything related to the property. This makes it easy for the companies to focus on their operations and growth while the service providers take care of the rest. Understanding this call of the hour we, at Insights Success, selected some of the best office space service providers for our latest edition - World’s Best Managed Office Space Service Providers. Learn more about their services and future plan as you browse through the pages of this interesting edition.
Sumita Sarkar
18
Compass Offices
Redesigning the Flexible Workspace for the Future
26
Kosy Office
Revolutionising the Remote Work Culture
32
The Executive Centre
The Leading Premium Flexible Workspace Provider Empowering Businesses With Choice
CXO
22 5 Things that business leaders shouldn’t do while working with a remote team
C O
08
Cover Story
O N T E N T S
TCC Canada Your one stop destination for office management
16
What’s next?
ARTICLES
The future of coworking: Reviving Collaborative Culture
30
Becoming Trendsetters 5 Emerging markets to look at if you're planning to start a business
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Senior Editor Anish Miller Managing Editor Abhishaj Sajeev Assisting Editors Vrushali, Aditya Visualiser David King Art & Design Head Asha Bange Art & Design Assistant Priyanka Rajage Co-designer Paul Belin Art & Picture Editor Vishal Pawar Business Development Manager Sherin Rodricks Marketing Manager Joseph D'souza Business Development Executives Jenny, Michael Sales Executives Kelly, Mark, Alice Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head Amar Sawant Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Amol Wadekar SME-SMO Executives Gemson, Renuka Research Analyst Eric Smith Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com
April, 2021 Corporate Ofce Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-859-2600 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com
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Company Name
Management
Brief
20Four7VA 20four7va.com
Catherine vanVonno CEO & Co-founder
20four7VA provides end-to-end virtual assistant (VA) services to small-to-medium sized businesses and freelance business owners.
CBRE cbre.us
Jon Milonas SVP
CBRE Group offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services.
Compass Offices compassoffices.com
Hans Leijten CEO
Compass Offices is a leading flexible office space provider in Asia Pacific.
Intelligent Office intelligentoffice.com
Mark Fogelman President
Intelligent Office helps businesses run more efficiently with executive office and staffing solutions.
Jamesandrew jamesandrew.co.uk
Jeremy Grey Managing Director
James Andrew International's experienced team specialise in the Office, Leisure, Residential and Retail sectors in the UK and Worldwide.
Kosy Office kosyoffice.com
Yanis Mellata CEO & Cofounder
Kosy is a Virtual Office to Bring Distributed Teams Together
PS Business Parks psbusinessparks.com
John Petersen COO
PS Business Parks, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant industrial, flex and office space.
TCC Canada tcccanada.com
Sean Cochrane VP of Operations
TCC Canada prides itself on being a leading innovator in the managed and serviced office industry.
The Executive Centre executivecentre.com
Paul Salnikow Founder and CEO
The Executive Centre provides high-end service, seamlessly operated workspaces, unparalleled insights from a global member network and experiences that elevate corporate culture.
The Office Group theofficegroup.com
Charlie Green Co-owner, Joint CEO
TOG is home to one of the most creative, exciting and forwardthinking working communities in the UK.
Your one stop destination for office management
C O V E R S T O R Y
“
“
The old traditional institutional office is the way of the past, we want to help each of our clients with the best possible experience for their staff to WANT to be in the office, not have to be. -Sean Cochrane President
3World's Best Managed Office Spaces Service Providers 2021
T
he way we conduct business has seen a seismic change right from the office space to the services needed to sustain a flourishing business. Considering this growing need in the office spaces solutions market, TCC Canada was conceptualized and has been catering to specialists, consultants, and business for more than 25 years. The traditional office and workforce have changed. TCC Canada picked up the pulse in the market and began providing the business center required for the fragmented professional labor force. This it did by simply providing traditional office management resources ranging from reception to utilities, which helped professionals to focus on meeting the needs of their clients efficiently and that too with limited overhead expenses. With the ever-evolving business community, TCC Canada has also been upgrading its services time and again, providing both physical and virtual office space solutions for every type of business. No wonder it is the leader in providing managed offices space services. The Success Story TCC Canada prides itself on being a leading innovator in the managed and serviced office industry. The word “office” has a different nuance to each customer using it, and our vision stems from this. We aim to provide flexible office options for every business size and type. From entrepreneur to established enterprise companies, TCC
provides customers with the tools and back office support they need to reach their goals. The range of options include virtual services, coworking and shared spaces, a la carte meeting room rentals, and executive offices and suites all the way to custom fully managed private suites. TCC’s journey has been one full of successes, thanks to the importance that is placed on fulfilling the needs of its clients; when they grow, TCC grows with them. TCC is keen on creating the most inclusive, supportive, inspiring workspaces for each of its clients to help them achieve the greatest success in their business. People who are able to focus and do their best work will always succeed over their hurdles and TCC hopes to be there every step of the way to help in each of its client’s success. Dynamic Leadership President of TCC, Sean Cochrane, has been instrumental in taking the company to new heights. Sean is the new president of TCC Canada, who after 15 years in the business has taken the reins from the original founder who has been the head of this great organization for 30 years. Starting as IT support for the clients at TCC Canada, Sean quickly showed his resourcefulness in the operations behind the scenes. Working through many of the key positions in the company over the years in 2015 he took over as VP of Operations.
With the added power behind his title, Sean pushed the growth of TCC Canada into places never thought possible. Growing yearly revenues by at least 100% year on year from 2015 until present, Sean has expanded the TCC Canada portfolio to over 200,000 square feet of managed office space. Opening the doors to direct space management deals with some of the world’s largest IT and technology firms, Sean has pushed the business to being the largest privately owned, shared workspace organization in Canada. Exclusive Facilities and Amenities Carefully noticing each of the new centers that is opened, TCC Canada improves on its designs with each independent location. Taking the local art, architecture, and design from the heart of each of the city centers that it operates in, each location brings its own personal local touch to what office space can be. State-of-the-art technology and design go into every aspect of each of the spaces from the acoustically sealed, digitally equipped zoom rooms to the private, independently ventilated phone booth rooms. Some of the spaces offer common amenities that would make your jaw drop, such as a two-story 300person event space with double spiral staircases. The office is not just four walls and a floor but is also a custom canvas that we can create exceptional and innovative spaces for people to lead their best work lives. Health and wellness, of course, fall into the forefront
of this and is designed from the start. From accessible height adjustable desks, to special MERV13 filters to ensure all particulates are filtered out, to the beautiful plant life and living walls, it is important that the space not just be pretty to look at but the best it can be for our health. Current scenario of Managed Office Spaces industry TCC Canada believes that they are right where they need to be. The commercial real estate industry is changing, customers no longer want that 5-to-10-year lease and capital overlay. They want flexibility and the independence to focus on growing their business. “With flexible office options on the rise, we have positioned ourselves to be able to serve the needs of any type of business requiring managed office space. Our flexibility to change space as we need it allows us to not only have made to order spaces ready for immediate rental but also be able to create ‘office in a box’ custom spaces, team suites, or entire floors to bring the companies’ vision to reality,” say the team of TCC. Looking to the future, TCC is focusing on some of its larger enterprise clients who are going to want fun inspiring spaces for their staff to come in and use on a more flexible basis. Whatever You Want TCC Canada offers everything, from the single use onehour booking of a single space all the way to the custom 400+ person multi-floor office. “We have open workspaces you can just rent a single desk in for whenever you need it, but we have custom private suites for companies of any size. We offer virtual office packages that allow you to run your business from home, while keeping a corporate physical profile” says team TCC. Flexibility is the Name The new normal is going to be flexible! If you are not offering a flexible component to your staff on the other side of this pandemic, then you are not going to be keeping top tier talent, opines the TCC management. App for Ease of Business TCC has a comprehensive internal application that manages its spaces and gives its clients easy access to everything via our APP. With online mentorship and business support services, TCC has been able to help and connect local entrepreneurs to each other using its easy-to-use online app.
The flexible terms of TCC allow its clients to quickly expand or contract their spaces when needed allowing them a sizable advantage to competitors when needs to ramp up scale. “One of the biggest differentiators for us, is we focus on the individual employee. We know that no space is perfect for all people, which is why we look to customize things all the way down to the individual to help ensure a happy successful team,” shares team TCC. Looking Ahead In the next five years, TCC will be opening its branches in all the remaining major markets in Canada as well as starting their push into the American market. Ten years from now, TCC envisions that everyone in North America will know its name.
As a global next-generation cybersecurity company, we have a geographically diverse workforce with hundreds of employees across Canada. Sophos employees obviously need to be working remotely at the moment, but we look forward to returning to the collaborative, flexible office spaces that TCC Canada have helped us create and manage.
-Chris (SOPHOS)
TCC’s flexible model has allowed us to scale up and scale down rapidly in ways a traditional lease never would have. Thanks to their amazing spaces we have been able to grow our business considerably over the past 10 years here. -Albert (Avnet)
Using space as a service provider like TCC Canada is simply a no brainer. We were able to start and build our team locally, scaling up in size as we needed. Never carry useless empty space again, just pay for what you need! Our team is humming thanks to our easy start thanks to TCC Canada.
-Jacob (Google)
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2021 | VOL. - 04 | ISSUE - 01
www.insightssuccess.com
WORLD'S WHAT'S NEXT? THE FUTURE OF COWORKING: REVIVING COLLABORATIVE CULTURE
BEST MANAGED
OFFICE
SPACES SERVICE PROVIDERS
BECOMING TRENDSETTERS
2021
5 EMERGING MARKETS TO LOOK AT IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO START A BUSINESS
Sean Cochrane
President
Your one stop destination for office management
“
Choose E xc e l l e n t, Choose Insights
The FUTURE of COWORKING T
measures the companies can adhere to take on the benefits of the market growth in the coworking space.
he second wave of coronavirus has hit the world. Countries are again stepping back into lockdown shrinking the global economy with it. In turn, it has also taken a toll on the co-working space. The Work-From-Home policy, which was the only alternative during the first lockdown has become the new normal now. While both employees and businesses are seeing the pros more than cons in terms of expenses, the businesses in coworking space have hit hard due to lockdown.
Technology to eliminate touchpoints. Going forward in the post-COVID era, health and hygiene should be on the radar of every business. This leads to determining and eliminating all the possible common touchpoints and replacing those with technology such as automatic door openers, automatic faucets, and smart lighting.
The research done by the Business Research Company, the global coworking space saw a 50% decline in revenue in 2020. And with more organizations adopting a flexible approach and freedom of working from home to their employees, experts see the future of coworking space deemed during the pandemic. Unless the organizations take it upon themselves to reopen with a safer environment. But is this possible to create and maintain a virus-free and stress-free environment at workplaces? Well, with the latest statistics showing the market growth from $8.24 billion in 2020 to $11.52 billion in 2023, there seems a bright future ahead. Let’s see what
Also, consider establishing new cleaning protocols and disinfectant technologies such as nano-tech coating and UV light to neutralize the germs on contact surfaces. Be prepared for a worst-case scenario. Even after taking all the precautions and following social distancing rules there’s no say that your workplace will have zero COVID cases. What if someone at your workplace tests
The smartly operated co-working space will eliminate the need for direct and indirect contact it will also eliminate the fear of infection in your employees encouraging them to return to the workplace with confidence. Social distancing on floor Talking about the safer work environment, what is important and difficult at the same time is maintaining social distancing. However, having a precise plan and infrastructural changes such as increasing space between desks, adding extra steps in the hallway, common areas, and elevators will make it easier for individuals on the floor to follow social distancing rules.
16|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
positive for COVID-19? What steps will you want to follow to disinfect the workspace? Also, would you consider contact tracing applications? Having a plan in place for handling worst-case scenarios will further eliminate fear and risk of contamination among employees and managing daily operations will be easier for businesses. Convenience: The future of coworking Coworking is a community, collaboration, and convenience. And during these tough times what people seek is convenience, which is why more employees are comfortable working from home and wish similar comfort whilst returning to the
workplace. And the very concept of coworking will be the sliver of hope both for employees and businesses to strive in the trying times of COVID19. How, do you think? Sharing space, facilities, and expenses will be a boon for the businesses financially struggling to survive. Susan Ward, a Small business influencer has said it perfectly, “From a cash flow perspective, coworking space is ideal for start-up entrepreneurs looking for a professional workspace without the high upfront costs and long-term commitment.” Another benefit of coworking space that will thrive in the sole industry as well as other businesses is employee
convenience. Consider shifting the coworking space to the area where the greatest number of employees reside. What will be more convenient for your employees than having their workplace in few blocks away from their homes, especially during these tough times? There is a sliver of hope for coworking space and collaboration, and innovation is the path the businesses will have to follow. These innovative ways of creating and maintaining a safer environment will further lead to creative collaborations once again. And businesses will thrive together soaring new heights while collaborating and coworking. – Vrushali R.
17|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
4World's Best Managed Office Spaces Service Providers 2021
Redesigning the Flexible Workspace for the Future
T
he term coworking extended to sharing the same office space with teams from different companies giving rise to a shared space environment in 2009. However, many companies found this new trend affecting the work culture at the office. Most professionals and corporates preferred a private and secure space having an option to step out for networking opportunities and casual meetings or a coffee break to unwind and recharge appeals to this segment. Compass Offices observed this market gap and entered the market with a new flexible office space solution. Hans Leijten, the CEO, shares his motivation behind founding Compass Offices. “We observed that hybrid concept with shared workspace, business lounges, and meeting rooms was the answer to the growing needs of flexible spaces. Our aim was to create a great workplace that meets the needs and preferences of our clients.”
Contemporary designs for inspiring workspaces
corporate and professional market segment,” he further adds.
Hans dedicates a major share of the company’s success to its team providing inspiring workspaces supported by professional services. “Our clients prefer their private and secure offices and enterprise-grade IT while having an option to break out in a corporate lounge for a chat, to relax and recharge,” Hans shares. “To meet with client’s flexible needs at Compass Offices we combine the client’s presence in a business niche with a contemporary design while taking into account the needs of the
Entrepreneurial Spirit Hans ventured into the office space industry in 2008 as Regus Group’s Regional Vice President – East Asia. Later he joined as the Chief Executive Officer of Compass Offices in 2015. His passion for providing flexible office space services further led Hans to open more than 100 offices in over 25 cities in China and the Asia Pacific creating an impact in the flexible office market.
Further with an added professional services and secure enterprise-grade IT solutions, Compass Offices has established its name in 9 APAC cities being the trusted partner to over 20,000 clients including Fortune 500 companies as well as entrepreneurs, independent professionals, growing start-ups, and enterprise teams.
18|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
Words of Worth “What I like about Compass Offices apart from the office (itself) is the network, great and versatile business solutions, service attitudes, I like and appreciate their speedy decision making.” – Billy Yeung, CCO, and Co-owner at HKBN
“
Compass offices creates workspace solutions that support companies and their employees in realizing their objectives.
“
“Now that I have been working on my own, I have to do everything, from administrative duties to marketing, to executing what the mandate or task at hand dictates. The people at Compass are friendly, no-nonsense people, who are also very responsive. The place is comfortable and the location unbeatable. With their help, I can focus on my business.” – Philippe Espinasse, Founder and CEO of P&C Ventures Limited
Hans Leijten, Chief Executive Officer
“In a start-up, the name of the game is speed. Everything from registering your business to finding an office space is the time that you aren’t focused on your core business. Compass Offices allowed us to avoid all that hassle and with the best network in Hong Kong, it supported our business needs to expand effortlessly.” – Chow Shing-yuk, Founder of Lalamove
19|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
Flexible offices: Post-pandemic future The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic not only affected the economy but has also disrupted the work environment. Organizations now demand safe alternatives to the traditional office space that would require less travel and exposure to large groups of commuters or colleagues. Moreover, the long-term fixed and conventional leases have been constricting companies that need to downscale or diversify their office portfolio. This led the decision-makers to consider flexible office space, especially with its benefit of businessready facilities, shorter-term commitments, and scalability of the size needed for a faster-changing business environment.
colleagues is more difficult. This has been leading many organizations to adopt hybrid or flexible office spaces. The latest trend has also opened new avenues for traditional landlords to enter flexible office spaces. And Compass Offices have been making this shift easier during tough times by providing design, project management, systems, and processes to support interested landlords to convert part of their space into flexible office space. “Compass offices creates workspace solutions that support organisations and their employees in achieving their objectives. We also support the workplace transition for companies at any stage of their development.” Hans says.
shares his strategy for the company, “We are continuously focusing on upgrading and rejuvenating our existing facilities. Apart from growing our existing locations, we plan to add new cities to our portfolio by end of 2021 and in 2022,” says Hans. He also adds, “Compass Offices is actively exploring new growth opportunities and look for property owners and landlords to work with. Our industry experience can support landlords wishing to introduce flexible space in their portfolios. They are welcome to contact us to evaluate options.”
Expanding for the future
Even the employees are sceptic about working from home for too long for the fear of loneliness and lack of support as personal interaction between
Flexible offices have been the new normal post the pandemic. And Compass Offices is ready to recover and stabilise post-pandemic. Hans
20|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
Catherine vanVonno CEO and President
22|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
5
ings that
BUSINESS LEADERS
shouldn’t do while working with a
REMOTE TEAM S
ince the COVID-19 pandemic broke out early last year, most companies globally have shifted to a work from home set-up that allowed flexibility and convenience to employees and business leaders.
Catherine vanVonno is the CEO and President of 20four7VA, one of the fastest-growing virtual staffing companies in the world today. She is passionate about helping small business owners scale by giving them access to reliable and highly trained remote talent. She is also deeply invested in providing employment opportunities for skilled individuals from around the world. Get in touch with her on LinkedIn.
According to a recent study, people employed in a remote work setting have increased productivity than those who work in an office. Reasonably, working from home entails fewer distractions and increases work-life balance, making it easier for workers to focus more on their jobs. It also opens up many advantages to your business, such as minimal operational costs, low turnover rates, and improved employee performance. While it may seem to have its fair share of benefits to employees, working from home poses a few challenges to managers who are used to overseeing their team on site. The sudden shift can be mentally tricky and overwhelming since both set-ups have entirely different elements. To reap its advantages, avoid these six mistakes when running a remote team: 1. Micromanaging Before deciding to manage a team remotely, you must establish ground rules and communicate your expectations as a manager. Doing so allows you to set goals and create transparency and accountability between you and your staff. However, this does not grant you the opportunity to nitpick each employee.
23|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
Micromanaging workers to ensure productivity can bring more harm than good. The reason being is that most employees value freedom and flexibility. No one wants someone breathing over their neck every single hour. Instead of focusing on the amount of time spent working, concentrate on the production and quality. As long as your staff delivers tasks within your expectation, there is no reason to micromanage them constantly. 2. Demanding Overtime Working from home does not automatically translate to longer working hours. Just because you can't oversee their work physically does not mean that you expect your team to work around the clock.
seat in a remote work setting, think again. Just because you don't have access to face-to-face interactions does not mean that you put a stop to your team's professional development. A recent survey showed that employees are likely to stay in a company that fosters mentorship, training, and development. Investing in employee career advancement retains top talent and allows your employees to unlock and hone skills that can potentially benefit your business. Look into online training courses or masterclasses that can fit the needs of your staff. You can also set up a group or one-on-one brainstorming sessions to infuse fresh ideas and encourage learning within the group. 5. Not Utilizing Technology
As a leader, you need to give leeway to your team in terms of time management. It all goes back to setting up clear goals and instructions. Set boundaries by establishing a schedule that fits best for you and your team. That way, they can effectively juggle work without having themselves stretched too thin by personal errands. By doing this, you decrease burn-out and maximize employee productivity. Additionally, it is also best to communicate with your team within working hours. Don’t take advantage of the situation by texting or calling them at unreasonable hours. You have to remember that they still have a life outside work. Work and personal matters should be separate – regardless of the work setting. 3. Poor Communication What’s great about working in an office is the ability to socialize with your team — whether it’d be a work-related conversation or just catching up on their personal lives. In a remote work setting, though, you are limited to communicating through the phone and internet. However, don't let these barriers stop you from encouraging social interactions with your direct reports. As a leader, it is up to you to initiate conversations between you and your team to ensure a healthy working environment and promote camaraderie. Set up one-on-one virtual meetings with each staff to check up on their personal and professional lives. You can also organize virtual happy hour sessions to give your team a chance to unwind after a long and stressful day. 4. Zero Development Opportunities If you feel that career development plans should take a back
There are many tools and apps out there that promote productivity and time management within your remote team. Project management tools such as Asana, Trello, and Evernote have various benefits that can help speed up the work process and monitor project status. Meanwhile, time management programs such as Time Doctor, Hubstaff, and Clockify allow you to see how your employee manages time on a specific task. By using technology to your advantage, you can effectively oversee a remote team successfully and efficiently. As a leader, it is your job to learn how these tools can benefit your company. Conclusion Managing a remote team is not as easy as it appears to be. Certain hurdles such as differences in time zones or technology glitches can hinder work productivity and present challenges that are uncommon in an office set-up. While the tips listed above can help you with your remote management journey, there’s no magic pill that will make you an effective remote leader overnight. For some leaders, it might take a few months to get settled in. As a manager, it is your responsibility to learn and apply practices that can benefit your team and help you scale your business effectively while working from home. Remember, it is a two-way street that entails a lot of trust, communication, and flexibility. As long as you foster learning and enforce a healthy working environment, you will undoubtedly see increased productivity and performance, regardless of where your team works.
24|April 2021|www.insightssuccess.com
4World's Best Managed Office Spaces Service Providers 2021
Kosy Office Revolutionising the Remote Work Culture
2
With Kosy, teams can come together to co-work, collaborate, and socialize in a natural, easy-to-use virtual office, leading to high employee adoption and engagement.
020 brought a year of lockdown and teams had to adapt to the new normal of working from home. With this new change, however, came new challenges of maintaining and managing communication and cooperation with employees working remotely. Though the concept of working remotely was put more in limelight due to lockdown, it has been existing for over a decade facing the challenges of team engagement, communication, and collaboration. After years of working remotely, Yanis Mellata, CEO and Co-founder of Kosy Office, experienced the same challenges. Determined to find a concrete solution Yanis with his cofounder Sam, founded the company, which is a virtual office platform that has been reinventing team interaction and paving the way to the biggest work revolution in decades. Yanis shared his motivation behind cofounding the Kosy office, saying, “Kosy was built for employee engagement and social interaction,” he said, “We have been making it easier for companies to recreate the day-to-day social aspects of a physical office, from coffee breaks to parties and events, no matter where employees are located.”
Instead of scheduling meetings, users can seamlessly jump into a conversation or brainstorming session just like they could in a physical office. By giving the right mix of engaging professional and social activities, every company, team, and employee can interact with one another on a single platform of Kosy Office built for employee engagement.
with co-working capabilities,” Yanis shares, “For example, when working on a new project with remote/distributed members, Kosy brings everyone together around a virtual table to co-work and reach out whenever they want. Dedicated project rooms remove communication barriers that can slow projects down.” Kosy also helps customers build thriving remote work culture by improving transparency and trust by setting up online office hours for their HR, IT, senior leadership, and other teams, so employees can quickly reach out throughout the day.
Revolutionising remote team culture Needs led to innovation. Companies have been transitioning towards remote work, especially due to the ongoing pandemic. Teams often choose to connect through virtual conferences and meeting platforms. However, these platforms are primarily focused on structured collaboration and communication, which lack the efforts of employee engagement. Thus, employees struggle to recreate the comradery of being together through these platforms. That’s where Kosy Office proves its uniqueness.
Before co-founding Kosy Office, Yanis and Sam worked for over years in managing teams. Yanis worked at BCG, a top management consultancy helping the leadership of companies all over the world on a range of topics including building productive and high-performing organisations. Sam worked remotely for over 5 years, managing technology and product teams.
“In addition to improving employee engagement, Kosy also creates more productive and collaborative teams
While helping different organisations building highly productive teams and remote management of teams the duo experienced the pain of maintaining highly productive and connected teams
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Exhibiting Excellence “There is something about sitting around the table and seeing the face that makes the vibe feel like an office unlike going in on zoom. And it's simple and straightforward to use.” – Justin Lee, CEO at NextLevel. “We use Kosy for our departmental digital transformation where we need to coordinate with people across various departments and external consultants. Kosy provides us a common virtual office where everyone contributing to the project can get a hold of each other and collaborate easily.” – Matthieu Ullens, Head of Digital at Arvesta
Yanis Mellata, CEO and Co-founder
“Our company is very satisfied with Kosy. We use Kosy daily to communicate with employees who work from home. This way ongoing files can be discussed ‘personally’ without leaving the home office.” – Peter Maes, CEO at Melior Beheer “We tried all virtual office solutions out there and Kosy was by far the most powerful and intuitive. We use Kosy daily!” – Don Pasacola, CEO at Nextpay
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that are not physically together. This led the duo to incept Kosy.
continue to work remotely even after the pandemic is over.
The journey through the pandemic and beyond
Yanis shares his vision of utilising this trend in near future, “Ultimately, we expect all companies to move in the direction of more flexible work arrangements—whether that is fully remote or hybrid-remote,” Yanis says.
While the concept of a virtual workplace is rather old, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic further strengthened the roots of remote working, which led to finding means of keeping employees happy, productive, and connected to their work and with one another. According to Buffer’s 2020 State of Remote Report, 98% of remote workers want to continue to work remotely (at least part of the time) for the rest of their careers. A Gartner survey found that 82% of company leaders are planning to let employees
proves the trend of remote working is here to stay. Going forward, Kosy Office is set to utilise this opportunity to aggressively expanding the company through funding from top European investors.
“Some offices will still prefer physical offices in the short term. However, the longer these companies hold out on building a culture that supports remote work, the more difficult it will be for them to make the transition in the future when they find themselves struggling to compete with remotefriendly employers,” he adds further. The fact that Kosy Office has garnered customers from over 30 countries
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T
he rising COVID-19 cases and faltering vaccination drives are the red alters that the second wave of Corona has taken over the world. Countries are on the verge of lockdown 2.0 and everyone is fearing yet another pin-drop silence on the earth surrounded by chaos due to deaths of dreams and dear ones. Amidst the chaos one thing is clearly heard, the world is not ready to step back, again. The COVID-19 pandemic has not taken only the lives but the hopes of many. Millions were unemployed during and postlockdowns. But the show must go on. So, the aspirants took this chance to venture into the entrepreneurial world. We have just started getting out of our shells with the new hope of starting anew. We can’t afford to
step back, physically, financially, and mentally. But is this a step-back? What if we change our perspective about curfews and lockdowns as well? What if it’s not a step back? What if you take this time to redefine your goals and come back with more zeal and diligence, and with the right strategy? And if owning a business is your goal, here are the emerging markets worth considering for a positive start to your new venture. 1. Online dating Social media has long changed the way we meet and make friends in the 21st century. So why love should stay behind. The old ways of meeting ‘the one’ surely need an upgrade. While few online
dating sites started incepted this new way, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made online dating a trend, especially when social distancing and virtually connecting with your loved ones has become the norm. The aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners desiring to venture into something exciting should consider this niche. After all, amidst this crisis, what would be more exciting than helping people meet and date online while staying safe at home? 2. Organic skincare Natural skincare and home remedies never went out of fashion. In fact, in the past decade more people have adopted natural skincare and homecare products in their lifestyle, and so have the brands. Although there might seem a huge competition already in the organic skincare market, you can always find a room to create your own space by catering to specific consumers and their problems. Think about organic hair colors or at-home hair removal products for men and women with natural ingredients. How about organic cosmetics and affordable prices? There’s still a gap in this niche
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market for the aspirants to fill in. You only need to find out what needs of the consumers you can cater to with your products. 3. Personal Finance When was the last time you went completely broke from boom so fast? Most will remember the global financial crisis in 2007-2008. That was a wake-up call for many to diligently learn and manage personal finances. The huge demand from the lack of knowledge or busy lifestyle gave rise to the whole new niche of managing personal finance. And with the financial crisis in 2020-2021 as an aftereffect of the COVID-19 pandemic is once again boosting this niche market creating strong opportunities for new businesses. Interestingly, this niche itself has collected coins of sub-niches in its piggy bank. From starting a company managing personal finance and taxes to educating people about budgeting through informational sites to something as simple yet effective as how to save on family meals and cable TV, you could impact people’s lives directly. 4. App development Anything related to IT has been a star-tup gold. Mobile applications were once limited to corporate organizations and business tycoons. But the latest innovations in digital marketing have made apps the center of the game. With gaming, entertainment, retail, and now the essentials everything has been made online thanks to the demand from millennials and the recent pandemic. And this is among the trends that are going to stay for longer and evolve with time. So, tech-savvy business aspirants can surely consider entering the app development market. You just have to find your core niche from the niche ocean of mobile applications.
5. Sustainable consumables Individuals, organizations, and governments have been earnest towards global environmental issues. However, in the series of lockdowns in 2020 the humanity got a glimpse of fresh air, brighter sunshine, rivers, and oceans with less contamination, and wildlife breathing freedom in the cement jungle for a change. It also brought us face-toface with the perilous footprints we have been leaving on nature. Until now what was just boardroom and parliament talks, have become living room realities. People are becoming more conscious of consumption, usage, as well as wastage of their high-end lifestyle needs. This has created huge opportunities for businesses in renewable energy and biodegradable products. Aspiring entrepreneurs who are high on innovation can certainly consider this emerging niche and make an impact right from the start. How to choose a perfect niche? This is just a head start and the list of emerging markets is bigger than this. But the question is which is the perfect niche for you? The one with less investment and easy set-up or the one with a huge consumer base? Well, before we wrap up, let’s get you out of that dilemma as well. Remember these STATS to find your perfect niche market: Soul-searching Try to answer these questions: • What skills have you developed possess? • What would you love to do even if you weren’t getting paid for it? • Is there any pain point you or your loved ones have been encountering that you want to resolve? Target Market. Once you get an idea about your preliminary niche survey your target market and try to find out their pain
points. Being active and following niche conversations and trends on social media, Reddit, and Quora will be a good start in the right direction. Analyze competition. You must invest time to investigate your competition. You need not step out and tire yourself running to every store or office in your area. Seek help from technology, start by adding relevant keywords that your target audience would use in Google and find the nearest competition in your niche market. Analyze their offerings, services, and even their marketing content. Don’t mimic but find opportunities and inspiration to be different from your competition. Test your idea. Now, you must have got an idea, a product, service, or way to attract your niche audience. Apply and test those ideas on your friends and acquaintances who might be interested. Search for sales in your close community at the start and use it to build new contacts using social media and marketing techniques. See the potential profit. Now it’s time whether you can make a substantial profit from the chosen niche. While you will get a glimpse of offline sales from your close community and neighborhood, for your online presence you should start with ad campaigns. Search for relevant niche keywords on Google and see the number of searches for each. Keywords with substantial search volume indicate a good consumer base and potential profit for your business. Whatever niche you choose, remember it’s your offerings, customer care, transparency, and your passion to make the difference that will take you farther on the path of success. - Vrushali R.
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The Executive Centre The Leading Premium Flexible Workspace Provider Empowering Businesses With Choice
oday the flexible workspace and coworking industry is bustling with multitudes of choices for the modern-day professional. However, there is a standout leader within the premium flexible workspace segment amidst the competition: The Executive Centre (TEC).
T
footprint. With over 30,000+ distinguished professionals and a 76% multinational corporate (MNC) client base who stay for up to 36 months on average (triple the average tenancy in the industry) clearly there is a demand for a flexible workspace tailored for business leaders and traditional sectors.
Conceived back in 1994 when the flexible workspace industry was yet to be established and the concept of shared workspaces and coworking offices was still novel, The Executive Centre began to build its presence amongst corporate and professional clientele starting in Hong Kong. Today, TEC is the Asia Pacific's premium flexible workspace provider with over 150+ Centres in 32 cities and 14 markets covering Greater China, Southeast Asia, North Asia, Australia, India and the Gulf countries.
Integrated Solutions for The Future of Work
A Formula for Success At the heart of the business is a Member-First philosophy which drives their innovations, product offerings, functional design, aesthetics and sustainable development. By thinking from the perspective of the end-user, whether that's professionals, MNCs or business leaders, TEC has been able to meet the workforce's demands for a flexible alternative to taking out a long-term cost-inefficient lease to access prestigious addresses, grade A buildings and CBD locations. This "demand-driven" approach to expanding their business has proven successful as the company is the third-largest serviced office provider in the Asia Pacific with an annual turnover in excess of US$237 million and boasts over 3.1 million sq feet of collaborative workspace across its global
In listening to the needs and wants of Members and the workforce across a range of industries, TEC has developed flexible workspace solutions that can be customised and tailored to the specific requirements of individual companies. For example, their Enterprise Solutions can be tailored for businesses requiring large amounts of spaces or specific operational needs such as product testing rooms, specialised meeting rooms, private servers and internet infrastructure. Similarly, TEC's serviced office (private workspace) plans also offer a range of customisation in their layouts, workstations and lease terms. Coworking plans and passes provide an alternative to an office designed for the mobile workforce in mind who may need multiple touchdown locations across the city, or even internationally. TEC recently expanded their coworking passes to now offer access to Day Passes which unlock available serviced offices for a day without having to sign a lease of any length. Virtual Offices provide leaders with the flexibility to work remotely and still have day-to-day managed "storefront" with a dedicated mail and call handling service. The advantage of TEC's virtual offices is that you can access any
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3World's Best Managed Office Spaces Service Providers 2021
of TEC’s prestigious business address around the world to use on your business cards, licenses and online listings instantaneously. At The Helm of Excellence It was Paul Salnikow who founded The Executive Centre with the ambition of fulfilling an apparent demand for a corporate real estate solution that could be leased in short to medium term during a time that precursors the coworking fad that bloomed in the turn of the century. For over 25 years, Paul has continued to drive the business forward towards the workforce's ever-changing market demands and flexible needs whilst reinforcing their premium positioning and niche within the crowded flexible office market. Over the last two decades, Paul has successfully navigated TEC through numerous market turbulences and is no stranger to the volatility and economic instability in Asia Pacific. From the Asia Financial Crisis of 1998, to the downturn resulting from the SARS outbreak of 2002-2004, followed by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Paul has been at the forefront of TEC's evolution to meet the demand driven growth, needs and changes of the workforce's workspace requirements. In fact, as a reflection of the demand for premium
Paul Salnikow Founder and CEO
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With a Member-First approach and demand-driven expansion strategy, what is crucial to TEC's growth is the feedback and engagement of our customers and Members.
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and Community Team are a group of highly trained concierge personnel who provide local knowledge and first-class business and administrative support to help Members and businesses transition into their flexible workspace. The Team greet and support Members day in and day out at the front desk or around the Centre setting up events, mail handling, visitor greeting and administrative tasks and acts as an extension of each Member companies' workforce. In many regards, a flexible workspace plan of any sort with The Executive Centre comes bundled with numerous benefits and support systems that make working from anywhere as easy and natural as starting up your computer and putting pen to paper. flexible workspaces by corporates and business leaders, despite the global turmoil last year, TEC opened 14 new Centres across the Asia Pacific. Looking ahead at the future of work, Paul anticipates an increased demand from business leaders in traditional industries as a premium flexible workspace helps shield businesses from uncertainties by increasing business resiliency. For instance, employees who work from home will also have the option to commute shorter distances to access a well-equipped and ready to use workspace for professional activities such as virtual conferences or focussed work which the home environment is not tailored for. Moreover, with the advantage of short negotiable leases, Paul foresees more businesses using a hub and spoke model to give employees more choice and agility; and to allow business leaders to expand and upscale their business without having to take out long, inflexible fixed leases, thereby mitigating risks and saving on capital expenditure as TEC's workspaces all come furnished and ready to use with secure high-speed connectivity.
All of TEC’s workspaces are fully realised spaces and are designed to reflect the local culture whilst intelligently weaving modern designer aesthetics for a professional, premium, luxury audience. Flexible height-adjustable workstations, optimised workstation density and floor plans, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair, Barista Bars, and awardwinning interior designs are all hallmarks of a TEC Centre. These design details ensure that the Centre supports a diverse array of activities and preferences at work prioritising ergonomics and wellbeing for professionals across a diverse industry mix. In a future of work where the space we need to perform a task varies as widely as the work, the importance of flexibility and agility has never been more critical. The Executive Centre is accustomed to embracing traditional companies, ambitious professionals and business leaders who want to incorporate more business resiliency, global scalability and reactivity. With their 25+ years’ experience and impressive multinational corporate clientele portfolio, The Executive Centre continues to prove that excellence built with a demand-driven approach is a formula for sustainable profitability, customer satisfaction and success.
A Community of Ambition With a Member-First approach and demand-driven expansion strategy, what is crucial to TEC's growth is the feedback and engagement of their customers and Members. Therefore, it comes as little surprise that TEC's Engagement
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