Flexible workspaces are increasingly in demand by companies of all sizes. This is a fundamental trend accelerated by the health crisis, which is pushing them to opt for a hybrid way of working for their human capital, and therefore less use of real estate space. Explanations.
Moroccan companies are asking for more and more flexibility in office real estate, that is to say that they are looking for adaptable, customizable and above all accessible spaces in terms of budget. This is confirmed by the experts of professionals in the real estate transaction and the management of real estate assets invited around a round table, organized by the multinational International Workplace Group (IWG), within the premises of Spaces, its brand premium business centers and workspaces. The event, in fact, dealt with an increasingly present topicality on the national market, that of “Hybrid work: flexible space solution or conventional lease”.
Paradigm shift
Precisely, hybrid work has accelerated sharply with the outbreak of the health crisis. This new way of working has imposed itself on companies of all sizes around the world and Morocco is not to be outdone. In order to manage the vagaries of health restrictions, operators have sought flexibility solutions, which allow them both to manage their human capital and ensure their business continuity. Thus, faced with this ongoing situation, companies had to find new forms of management of real estate assets while controlling the costs specific to the constraints linked to remote working.
To set the scene for the debate, Mohamed Moudiyne, Francophone Africa Commercial Director at International Workplace Group (IWG), said that “hybrid working is a trend that took shape following the pandemic, and offers concrete solutions for employees, but Not only that, companies can also manage their human capital with more flexibility, but also their real estate costs. This without forgetting, on a larger scale, the environmental side, because by reducing journeys to their place of work, employees contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions”.
In this sense, Moudiyne notes that companies are increasingly seeking the solutions offered by the spaces belonging to the IWG group, in this case the Regus business centers, or Spaces which has just inaugurated its offices at Anfa Place in Casablanca.
Cost control, an important aspect
Also present at this event, Arthur Viseux, Partner and Maghreb Transaction Director at JLL, said that “over the past two years, we have seen a new phenomenon of transformation in tertiary real estate.
Our clients are using their office space less and less. So, with coworking spaces, we offer users well-appointed, comfortable and connected places. These spaces also represent complete cost control for corporate companies”.
William Simoncelli, CEO at Carré Immobilier, shares the same observation, assuring that “the transformation of spaces, as we experience it today, is a heavy and profound trend. Management methods have changed, accompanied by the development of technology”.
As for the value proposition to clients, Simoncelli affirms: “Before we offer flexible real estate solutions to our clients, they are the ones who ask us. This confirms that there is a real demand and a well-established trend in this direction”.
For him, the choice of a model, rather than another, depends on the size of the company, its current position on its market and its very activity. The conventional conventional lease, which covers periods ranging from 3, 6 to 9 years, symbolized the stability of the company vis-à-vis the employee, but also the customers. Following a survey conducted in France by Colliers, in 2021, 50% of companies surveyed think of flexible solutions.
“The health crisis has, in fact, demonstrated the limit of a 3, 6 and 9 year lease. Some companies have experienced delicate situations, following the obligation to break their conventional lease in the period of the pandemic”, declares, for his part, Ahmed El Akel, director of consulting and marketing at Colliers International. For him the weight of real estate, often substantial for a company, can be optimized with business spaces.
In this logic it calls for a more detailed analysis of the opportunities on a case-by-case basis to identify the best options.
Spaces inaugurates its premises in Casablanca
Spaces, a specialized brand of the multinational International Workplace Group (IWG), present in more than 1,000 cities across 120 countries – including Morocco for more than twenty years -, has chosen Yano Offices as a strategic partner to carry out the opening of its new premises in Casablanca, more precisely at Anfa Place, over an area of 3,500 m². A second Spaces center is planned in Rabat in the coming weeks. Spaces that are adaptable, customizable and accessible to all budgets and all types of businesses are offered to users. Spaces and Yano Offices are aiming for national coverage as part of the consolidation of IWG’s solid network in Morocco (20 centers) and around the world (3,500 centers).
Sanae Raqui / ECO Inspirations
