Free beer and cider on tap. Weekly breakfasts, massages, business presentations, networking and sport events. It’s like working in a groovy hotel … and pets and babies are welcome. WeWork is an organisation delivering shared working spaces to 90,000 people in 30 cities around the world. The secret, according to the company’s Director of Community in Australia, Balder Tol, is understanding the importance of delivering a personally fulfilling work experience, not just a place to work.
John: I’m sitting here today with Balder Tol, who is the Director of Community for Australia for one of the fastest-growing companies, WeWork. WeWork is a sixteen-billion-dollar business after just seven years of operation, founded in 2010. It provides shared office space to more than ninety thousand people in thirty different cities at one hundred and twenty different buildings. It’s a remarkable story. It includes the building we’re sitting in today at one hundred Harris Street in Sydney. Balder has just been awarded globally for his community management efforts, and I’m really looking forward to having him explain a bit about WeWork. Welcome, Balder.
Balder: Thank you for having me, John.
John: Before we get to the business that is WeWork, you’ve made a career in the shared economy. I’m really interested to understand a little bit about how you came to be in Australia from your native Netherlands and how you came to be involved with Airbnb and subsequently the business owned by the guys who run Airtasker in Australia.
Balder: My background is in hospitality in the Netherlands. I completed a Bachelor in Business Administration of Hospitality Management, and that really set the groundwork for a hospitality focus with a business management degree. Following my degree, I was going to do my Masters in International Business Management at the Erasmus in Rotterdam, although I could start in Sydney three weeks later. So, I made my way to Sydney and completed my Master of Management degree at the University of Sydney, after which I ran into recruiters for a company called Airbnb. That was a very interesting discussion around community building within the shared economy, and they hired me as their first employee here in Australia. That was the first time I really started to build communities both online and offline. I was lucky enough to be part of the founding team here in Australia, and we grew Airbnb significantly over time. Following that, it was the founders of Airtasker that took roughly seven hundred square meters of CBD office space and asked me to run the operations, as they were involved with Airtasker. That set the groundwork for a CBD-focused coworking space for startups where community is central. Together, we built the coworking space up to three hundred and fifty members over the course of four years, and in May last year, I joined WeWork as their Director of Community for Australia.
John: Tell me a little bit about what WeWork is, the model, and how it works. Obviously, I have a bit of insight being a member, but I think a lot of people will be very interested to understand what it is and how it operates.
Balder: WeWork is really a platform for creators. Our mission is to create a world where people create a life and not just a living. With that in mind, the member experience in any WeWork location is central to our operation. If you look at the company that is WeWork, we really provide beautifully designed office space, services, and a global community.
John: The thing that blows away the old serviced office space model is the way in which the culture is brought to the table. Can you tell me what you do to create culture? I notice, for instance, that you don’t refer to the women who work on the desk as receptionists; they are community managers.
Balder: Everything is focused around community. That comes from one of our founders who grew up in a kibbutz, which is a collective community focused on agriculture in Israel. It is based around the idea that you can achieve more together than when you are alone, and that is core to what WeWork is and what I do. We have our community team that is the heart and soul of our operations. The community managers are not just there to provide assistance when you have visitors or ensure that everything works in the space, but they’re part therapist; they help on a lifestyle level and a business level. They are really there to facilitate meaningful connections between different companies and all of our members locally in the space, but globally through technology as well.
John: One thing that blew my staff away: every Monday there’s a “Thank God It’s Monday” free breakfast. Often, members of the businesses in the community of WeWork are running presentations, and those presentations are usually catered so you can wander out and hear something interesting. There’s free beer on tap after two o’clock every day, which is quite extraordinary. There are pets in the building—I even saw a dad asleep with his baby on a beanbag.
Balder: That sounds like the perfect environment at WeWork. WeWork is redefining success, and it is measured by personal fulfillment. Across the globe, we see a macro shift in how the world of work is changing, and it’s changing toward a more meaningful life. With that, we create a culture that supports not only the business founders through meaningful interactions on a business level but by supporting all the employees in creating the best office environment you can find. We do that through a number of different ways. You mentioned the beer; people are always surprised about that, but it is really that we see our members as adults, and the beer is there to make those connections outside of the private office environment. The community team does a whole range in terms of our programming. We do something every day for our members. In a general week, we celebrate the Mondays both for our members and for our employees, so TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday). We welcome everyone on a Monday morning with a full breakfast in the space. On a Tuesday, it tends to be more business-focused. On a Wednesday, it is Wellness Wednesday, and that is something we do globally as well. We provide masseuses, we have nail salons, there are running groups—anything that has to do with wellness and mindfulness. On Thursdays, again, it’s a lot more business-focused, and on Friday, it is happy hour; you’ve got to finish the week with a drink.
John: Fantastic. One of the other things that strikes me in terms of the core business model is that I’m leasing some dedicated space. It’s much smaller than the space and probably more expensive per square meter than the space I’ve come from; however, there’s a ton of communal space and people tend to be thrust into the lounge of what feels like a groovy hotel. This is quite deliberate; I think you’ve deliberately engineered a lot of communal space.
Balder: It is the communal spaces that really act as an engagement platform for all of our members to come together. There is a lot of thought that goes into the design of these areas because they inspire collaboration between all of our members. Where your private space might be a little bit smaller than you’re used to, you actually gain a whole range of different facilities and amenities that increase your work-life balance. With that in mind, you mention cost, but if you actually factor in all the different services and amenities, we tend to be cheaper on an annual basis than traditional leases. Comparisons and research show that can actually be a reduction of two to three thousand US dollars on an annual basis per employee.
John: Can you talk a bit about how the role that you have works? What do you actually do on a day-to-day basis, and what surprised you about what you’re doing compared with what you might have imagined?
Balder: What I do on a day-to-day basis is different every day. It really runs on what the day brings and what we can organize for our members. As Director of Community, I make sure that our members have the best possible experience day-to-day in any of our locations here in Australia. I work intensely with our team of community managers that are on-site every single day to make sure our members get the best experience.
John: How do you motivate that team? What are the tricks of the trade? How are you getting these guys to be so ebullient? They are terrific team members you’ve got here who make everyone feel welcome and excited by what they’re doing. How do you instill that in them?
Balder: It starts with the hiring process. We are looking for self-starters with an entrepreneurial spirit—people that can solve problems on the spot in front of members but mainly create the best experience possible. It is really those extroverted personalities that bring that quality for our members. That’s sometimes a little bit harder to find, especially in a new market, but we’ve seen huge interest in the positions available because the experience we create for our members, we create for our employees as well. We do team meetings on a Monday with a full dinner to really set us up for a great week for the team. On a global level, we have a summer camp where we not only invite our employees for a three-day summer camp experience, but that is mixed with our members as well, again to create that interaction on a global level.
John: Now you’ve just won a global award in the WeWork business. Can you tell me what you won and how you were selected for this award?
Balder: It is called an Employee of Excellence award. It was awarded to me, but it is really a team effort. In Australia, we’ve seen that the WeWork model has been very well received. Over the course of the last four months, we have over sixteen hundred members that joined our global community, and that in a new market has been a great achievement for us. So, that award was recognition not just for me but for the entire team and the relentless energy they put into their day-to-day work life here in Australia.
John: The other thing that might surprise people about the business model is that it truly is joining a global community. My financial controller worked from three different WeWork spaces in London on three different days because, as a member, she gets a certain number of credits and can choose to use those credits to take a hot desk in another building in another city. It’s a remarkable concept. Has that been something that has been important?
Balder: Yes, hugely important. Not only to create flexibility for our members to not be solely limited to one location, but our members now have access to over a hundred and twenty locations in the world that they can call home. This allows for making valuable connections in those locations and creates flexibility for travel and international expansion on a business level. It allows members to make international connections that can actually help you. The best example we have here in Sydney is that, even before we opened the location, a member joined us. The moment they join, they can get access to our members’ network, which is the digital platform that connects members internationally. He posted that one of his newly hired employees was actually stuck in London and had some immigration issues. We put the platform to the test and posted a question on the member’s network asking if there were any immigration lawyers in London. Thirty-five minutes later, we had a response from an immigration lawyer. An hour and a half later, they met up in a WeWork in London, and two hours later, that entire problem was solved. He couldn’t have imagined a quicker resolution to that issue other than being part of the global WeWork network.
John: It is important. Maybe if you could explain a little more about the WeWork App, because in some ways I see this almost as a physical manifestation of LinkedIn as well as virtual. How was the app conceived, and what’s the role of technology in your disruption model?
Balder: Technology is obviously a huge part of what we do here at WeWork, and that comes through that global connectivity. We don’t only want to create very strong communities on a local level within the space but connect all of our hundred thousand members in the world. You do that through technology. We’ve created a members’ platform that not only allows our members to directly reach out to any other company within the WeWork community but to steer business opportunities and business development opportunities to the businesses as well. Automatically when joining WeWork, you create a company profile that allows you to create more visibility on the digital platform. Because we’re all part of the “We generation” in that global community, we feel that there’s a certain level of trust and connectivity and more willingness for our members to help each other out. Whether that is on a financial transaction or on goodwill, it is really that platform that allows members to find each other in an easy way.
John: And how are customer expectations driving the way in which a business like yours operates?
Balder: Obviously, members come in with an idea of office space and quite quickly they realize it’s so much more than just an office space. It is truly the service and member experience that they receive every single day. You’re a member, so if you remember your first day at WeWork, we welcomed you with mimosas and a tour of the business. It is truly a different experience that adds to your daily life, so we tend to exceed member expectations on a daily basis.
John: In some respects, the way I look at it is that you’ve identified how important culture is for organizations, for small companies and large, and to some extent, you’re not just providing space; you’re providing what might be seen as value-adding HR.
Balder: Correct, and that goes a lot further than just the office space. If we look at our network in the United States at the moment, our services part is a huge value-add for all of our members. We provide HR services, payroll services, and even health insurance, and obviously, we’re planning to roll that out on a global level as well.
John: Just speaking about the growth of the company, can you tell me how quickly it’s growing and what are your forward plans in Australia?
Balder: If we look at 2016, we actually doubled in size. 2016 was a great year; we added fifty-eight locations in eighteen new cities in six new countries. We have a very, very quick growth expansion plan. In Australia, it’s been so well received that obviously we’re expanding into multiple cities as well; this morning, we announced our expansion into Melbourne later this year.
John: Fantastic. Finally, Balder, any tips for businesses who are trying to survive in the shared economy? The landscape is profoundly disruptive. Having spent time working inside the shared economy, what do you think it means for traditional businesses and what should they be thinking about as they navigate the changing world around them?
Balder: There is a complete shift in multiple industries. It is a shift and almost a revolution where people want to own less and experience more. You see that in the models of Airbnb, WeWork, and a lot of different industries. I would definitely take that into consideration when you’re expanding your business. I think it is a more connected world, so the more valuable connections you make on a day-to-day basis, the more measurement for success you actually have.
John: Well, thanks very much for joining us and sharing your time with us.
Balder: Thanks, John.