When it comes to Servcorp, located in the heart of the CBD with views overlooking the viaduct, it’s hard not to be impressed. It’s a space designed to give your business a corporate profile without the price tag. We sat down with Tanzi Rose and to talk about Servcorp and the coworking landscape.
Tell me about your space and how long it’s been around for?
We started out of Sydney in 1978—so we’ve been around 41 years, 35 of which we’ve been in New Zealand.
What makes your space unique?
A few things, I feel. It’s hard to look past those direct harbour views, for one. But also, our team to client ratio. We have fantastic onsite staff to assist our clients with all aspects of their business, including answering their phone calls; so we’re not just running a coworking floor. We’ve also invested over $100m into our IT platform—so that we’re confident it’s the best in the business. This underpins our clients’ businesses, keeping everything secure, fast, and reliable.
What are the benefits of a coworking space?
Working alongside like-minded businesspeople. We’ve had so many great collaborations form out of our space; there is a really great sense of community. In addition, coworking is hugely cost-effective: there is ultimately a product to fit your business regardless of how established you are. That you can have receptionist answer your calls in your business name and advertise our recognized addresses as your own is invaluable—it creates instant credibility and a real presence for your business.
What are some of the disadvantages of being in an open-plan space? How do you avoid these?
One disadvantage is being unable to make private telephone calls. There are, however, some sound-proof phone booths to mitigate this. Another disadvantage for some coworking areas is the overall level of noise. We’ve answered this by creating an executive-style coworking space—with less noise, and no foosball tables—to ensure productivity.
Tell me about the meeting spaces you have?
We have onsite boardrooms, meeting rooms and more informal booths to hold meetings in. These are bookable using our client portal, with their availability shown in real-time. The power of technology these days, huh; it’s been brilliant for efficiency.
Where do you see the future of coworking spaces going?
I feel this is really only the start for coworking in New Zealand. It’s huge elsewhere across the globe, and I feel New Zealand is just starting on that trajectory. I’ve been in this industry for 15 years and have seen more growth and recognition of the coworking concept in the past 12 months than I did in all the years before!
Why do you think that we are seeing more of a demand for acoustic meeting solutions?
It’s important to know that what you are discussing between the four walls of a meeting room does not travel further than those four walls. And now, especially with the size options that Silent Pod offer, there is ultimately room in any office for a meeting space. It’s a great concept.