What is a coworking space? The ultimate guide from the coworking experts in Vietnam

Coworking has become increasingly popular since the pandemic made many people and companies realize that five days in the office or at home don’t work. Coworking spaces offer options that allow for more flexibility in when and where to work and for how long. 

Globally, there are almost 19,000 coworking spaces. In Vietnam, the supply of coworking space grew 13 times between 2017 and 2021, according to data from Knight Frank. 

Needless to say, coworking is here to stay.

Definition of coworking space

So, what is a coworking space? 

A coworking space allows you to enjoy professional office space and amenities with high flexibility in how much you pay and how long you rent the space.

Since the first coworking space opened in Berlin in 1995, a lot has changed about what coworking spaces are. Modern coworking spaces like Dreamplex aren’t just a place for young startups to build their dreams. Freelancers, digital nomads, and solopreneurs still find professional amenities and a community in working spaces. But coworking spaces have increasingly become an attractive alternative for traditional companies and innovative scale-ups across legal, finance, IT, investment, and more industries. 

According to a research report by Acclime Vietnam, “continued economic expansion, the increase in startups and SMEs, and changes to traditional office models” all have made it more difficult for “businesses to find appropriate office space in central areas such as Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City.” 

Additionally, new workplace trends such as hybrid work have caused companies to rethink how much workspace they need and how often people come to the office. Coworking spaces’ flexibility, where companies can have a professional office for rent for up to hundreds of people, has made it an attractive alternative to a traditional office.

What are the benefits of coworking?

The benefits of coworking space are flexibility, increased productivity, less work for the company, great IT, accommodating a Hybrid work strategy, and a better employee experience.

Flexibility

Coworking often offers move-in ready offices that allow companies to expand and contract as they want. In an unpredictable world, this is worth a lot to companies.

Cost Savings

Because you share amenities with other companies, your monthly costs are typically lower, while your upfront costs are zero. You don’t have to invest in expensive furniture and fit-out costs.

Productivity

Companies don’t want offices; they want a productive workforce. Coworking spaces are expectedly designed to foster productivity and collaboration.

Less Work

Running an office – from design to operations to maintenance, is now the operator’s job. The company itself can focus on what it needs to focus on growth.

Professional internet and IT

As more work occurs online, enterprise-grade IT is required. These IT solutions like high-speed internet and Wi-Fi, security, and printing services are often out of reach for smaller companies. In a coworking space, large investments have been made to ensure connectivity. 

Hybrid work-readiness

More companies have adopted hybrid work or agile work. Coworking spaces help businesses combine work from home, work near home, and work from the office. All under one platform, from one provider.

A better employee experience

Providing a competitive employee experience allows companies to attract, engage, and retain the best talent. And a great office is key to this. Coworking operators like Dreamplex are specialized in delivering a strong employee and workplace experience.

Who is coworking suitable for?

Coworking spaces attract many types of audiences these days.

Small businesses and startups

These are the most logical customers for coworking spaces, as they look to optimize costs while capitalizing on the advantages of professional amenities and neighboring tenants so they can grow their business.

Scale-ups and enterprises 

Large companies embrace coworking to support their employees with a more flexible workplace in a setting that doesn’t feel like a traditional office. This strategic move prevents miscommunication and increases the company’s efficiency.

Freelancers and solopreneurs

Freelancers, digital nomads, and solopreneurs, known for their autonomy, also gravitate toward coworking environments. Here, they can balance working alone while enjoying the camaraderie of a conventional office setting and the potential for unplanned encounters that could spark new opportunities.

The narrative of coworking has shifted from being confined to startups and freelancers. While the cost-conscious aspects initially attracted these groups, industry giants like Nike, Amazon, and big banks like Standard Chartered today embrace coworking, recognizing its many benefits.

How is coworking different from a traditional office?

To explain how coworking space is different from a traditional office, let’s start by imagining a regular office. As a company:

• You must sign up for a long lease, usually 3 to 5 years or more.
• You need to hire a designer and design your office, even though you most likely don’t have experience designing offices.
• You have to put everything you want to offer your employees inside the space you rent, even if you only use it sometimes, like a boardroom, pantry, or event space.
• You then need to hire a contractor to build that office and oversee that work, likely without prior experience.
• You must buy all interior elements – from the IT equipment to the desks and chairs.
• From that moment on, you must operate and maintain the workspace, from refilling the water tank to repairing furniture.

Now, imagine the opposite: a place where experts have put their years of experience designing offices and their understanding of what employees want into a fantastic design. A design that’s created around collaboration, inspiration, and productivity. In a great coworking space, it doesn’t just stop with a better design. The interior, furniture, and equipment have already been paid for and installed. You can just walk in and get to work.

You have a team that operates the space for you. You can now just mention anything related to the office to the on-site team, and they’ll arrange it for you. And what’s more, you only pay for the space you use. Often, you can pay for only 15m2 for a small team and get up to thousands of square meters of space and facilities to use whenever you want.

It’s no surprise that more and more companies are moving into coworking spaces, making it a modern way of having an office for rent without the downsides of traditional offices.

How does a coworking space work?

A coworking space – and especially enterprise coworking spaces, also called flexible offices, like Dreamplex – takes everything you need in an office and delivers it at a fixed monthly fee. Think of it like the office version of Spotify: instead of buying individual CDs or MP3s, you simply pay one monthly fee and can consume as much music as you’d like.

Companies who have run an office before know that maintaining and operating it can be a huge hassle. You have to deal with so many vendors, from the mail service to the maintenance and from the coffee machine vendor to the cleaning company. On top of that, there’s usually no one to keep the office looking good, let alone to make it exciting to step into it continuously.

At coworking spaces, all of this work is done for you. A company can sign a membership agreement for as little as a few employees up to hundreds of team members. That agreement can be short or long, although most companies start off with a one-year commitment. After all, you’re moving your team here, so you want them not to have to move again soon. From that moment on, anything that has to do with the office is now the work of the coworking space. The company needs to focus on its own business and leave the office management to the coworking operator. Simply said, a coworking space allows companies to outsource all their office needs.

Can coworking spaces work for large companies?

Traditionally, coworking spaces have been for smaller companies, startups, and freelancers or individuals. But as work has become more distributed, and companies are all vying for the same talent, there is more pressure on companies to deliver a compelling employee experience.

This has driven more companies to partner with flexible office providers for a premium experience driven by innovative design, hospitality, exciting activities, and great workspaces. With Dreamplex, for example, even within one location, employees may have access to over 2000m2 shared spaces, including a coffee shop, lounge, garden terrace, training room, event space, meeting rooms for 4 to over 100 people, and more.

Some of the largest companies in the world, like Standard Chartered, HSBC, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Facebook, are now partnering with coworking providers. For large companies like them, the benefits are clear:

1. Businesses are seeking a place that supports flexible scalability: this allows businesses to only rent offices when needed, thereby saving costs. With a lease contract at Dreamplex, you can receive flexible assistance in expanding or adjusting your business scale as required, with a minimum term of 1 month.
2. Professional work essentials: Desk and chair, high-speed WiFi, telephone booths, lounges, unlimited coffee & tea, and more. Additional services such as printing, mail service, meeting rooms, and event spaces are available with a unique member discount.
3. Hospitality-level care: The dedicated support team is trained in Hospitality and has many years of experience managing operations for international corporations, ensuring that your team always feels welcomed.
4. Savvy Community: This assists businesses in expanding their network, seeking collaboration opportunities, and development. At Dreamplex, numerous entrepreneurial and technology experts have chosen to join the community, creating a network of experts collaborating and developing across various industries and generations.

How expensive are coworking spaces?

A coworking space can save many companies a lot of money. Delivering an employee and workplace experience at the level of professional operators – who make this their core business, is hard to replicate for companies under 200-300 employees. The amount of people it takes to do this and the resources across IT, facilities management, and more would be too costly for most companies.

Additionally, having access to meeting rooms and event spaces but not having to rent them 24/7, like in a traditional lease, also saves companies a lot. Even things like printing systems, a reception, digital access control, and more would all require upfront and ongoing investments that companies wouldn’t like to make for themselves. In the flexible office model, all these costs are shared by a group of companies.

No wonder research from DeskWanted shows that coworking spaces can be up to 50% cheaper than workspace in a traditional office. The actual savings will differ based on the size of the company and the level of employee and workplace experience the company aims to provide.

About Dreamplex

Dreamplex creates “A Better Day at Work” by perfectly meeting the needs of rapidly growing companies that understand their young employees expect more from their workplace.

With professional, flexible workspaces, top-notch hospitality services, and a collaborative community for mutual growth, Dreamplex helps businesses work productively while optimizing operational costs.

Join the community with tech experts and startup founders from TIKI, Zuhlke Vietnam, GFT Group, Vietcetera, at Dreamplex’s flexible office spaces in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Contact

Get a quote and explore September promotions at:

• Hotline: +84 706 023 545
• Email: sales@dreamplex.co