Australia’s two largest homegrown co-working providers Hub Australia and WOTSO have come together to test a hybrid work model of people working partly in the CBD while also having access to ‘near to home’ locations.
The national alliance will create one ofthe most flexible work offerings in the country, offering up Hub Australia’s premium city coworking spaces alongside WOTSO’s suburban offering.
Benefits from the Hub and WOTSO collaboration
The innovative pilot provides more than 25 flexible work spaces to their combined 7000 members across the country.
Hub Australia’s Business Impact and Economic Survey in December 2020 found that 44% of members wanted closer to home locations.
A further 46% said they planned to attend the office for collaboration and 51% would attend a CBD office for regular business.
Hub Australia and WOTSO sites will be open to all members duringthe pilot, which responds to growing demands for fully flexible work experiences beyond COVID-19.
What’s the stakeholder’s point of view?
Hub Australia CEO and Founder Brad Krauskopf said:“Our new alliance with WOTSO gives both companies’ members the choice to stay close to home, or instead spend the day enjoying our premium city amenities.”
“We firmly believe hybrid work styles are a permanent demand beyond the pandemic and many will spend their week working from multiple locations.”
He added “Our corporate and enterprise customers recognise that they need to embrace flexible work spaces to attract and retain talented staff we believe that offering them a network of work spaces nationally will help them achieve this.”
HUB Australia and WOTSO’s partnership represents an exciting landmark for the flexible work space industry, which will enable data-driven insight into the working preferences of Australians post- pandemic.
Mr Krauskopf said analysing where members work during the trial will identify notable trends related to the future of work. “This program will help us develop measurable data on how people want to use flexible workspace and how their working routines have changed.”
“We still expect to see large numbers of members capitalise on the amenity that CBD locations provide, but there’s no doubt some of our members will relish the opportunity to work from WOTSO sites in their local areas such as Manly or the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Krauskopf added.
Hub Australia offers beautifully designed and hospitality inspired work spaces across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide, with a focus on helping business and their teams love where they work.
WOTSO has invested in the suburbs since 2014 and remains one of the only suburban and regional coworking offerings in the country, with two new WOTSO locations opening this year.
Joint Managing Director of WOTSO Jessie Glew said, “A shift in work trends has meant people are looking for options to spend more time working closer to home, which is exactly what WOTSO’s suburban and regional sites can provide.”
“Our partnership with Hub Australia means we are able to expand on a fully flexible model that supports businesses and offers workers the ultimate combination of days in the CBD along with days near home.”
The initial phase of Hub Australia and WOTSO’s hybrid work pilot is ongoing until July 30, 2021. Members of each company can access any Hub Australia and WOTSO space using complimentary day pass access.
