A leader in the restaurant tech space, Chope is headquartered in Singapore, driving dining discovery, restaurant reservations, and deals. As Chope’s VP of People, Anand Wong was faced with the challenge of minimizing cost and dealing with an underutilized permanent office space. Chope turned to Deskimo, a flexible workspace solution, to optimize office costs and adopt a hybrid work model for their 80 employees in Singapore.
What were the main factors that led your company to consider reducing office costs and a hybrid work model for your team?
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced our company to adapt to new ways of operating, and one of the most important ways we can adapt is by supporting our employees in achieving better work-life balance. To embrace post COVID-19 realities, we implemented flexible work arrangements for the long-term.
With the changing needs of the business and economic conditions, we are constantly trying to maximize productivity while minimizing costs. One of the areas where this is particularly important is in office space utilization. As the team downsized, we still wanted to have an office space that enabled employees to work together once or twice a week, but that didn’t come with an expensive and full-time office rental cost that would be underutilized.
What were the challenges your company faced with your office space before turning to Deskimo?
We had a fixed office space that could accommodate 120 desks, but was underutilized by more than 30% on any given day. Terminating the office lease early meant that it came with penalty fees, but we could not justify continuing to pay for an office space that was underutilized. However, we still wanted to have an office space for 80 of our employees in Singapore to work together in person once or twice a week.
How has Deskimo has helped you save money on your hybrid office model? What cost savings were realized as a result of implementing Deskimo’s flexible workspace solution?
Essentially, we let go of our fixed private office space for 120 desks with contract lease commitment and transition to working from office once a week. There are so many co-working space companies, but none like Deskimo offering flexible workspace solutions which are better suited to our needs.
This has resulted in savings of more than 80% with Deskimo’s flexible workspace solution and cuts in other office administration expenses. We needed a custom blend of workplace solutions – including a small private office space for dedicated servers and storage, a once a week access to private office space for our team to work together, and on-demand, pay-as-you-go access to other coworking spaces has been helpful for employees who may need to work outside of the dedicated in-office schedule or need access to additional meeting rooms or event spaces.
“I am using different Deskimo’s co-working spaces in town and my experience has been consistently positive. The app provides a variety of spaces to choose from in great locations and the booking process is always easy and straightforward. The workspaces themselves are quiet and provide suitable conditions for me to get my work done,” said Niko Kalinowski, a Strategic Partnerships Manager.
What advice would you offer to other companies considering downsizing their office space during a period of economic uncertainty?
Companies need to be able to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Rather than signing a full time office space for several years and being locked into a lease agreement that could be difficult to break, ensure that you are able to break leases easily, avoid upfront commitment fees and explore flexible workspace solutions like Deskimo so that you can respond quickly to any changing landscape.
Also, embrace hybrid working arrangements and make it as part of your long-term employee retention program.
Would you recommend Deskimo to other companies looking to save money on their hybrid office model?
Yes, absolutely. We all know that the hybrid working model is here to stay, and Deskimo is at the heart of it by enabling companies to operate flexibly without having to invest heavily on fixed lease durations and upfront commitments.
“Deskimo has assisted us in transitioning to a more flexible office concept. This has allowed our sales teams to be more productive by having access to a variety of cool working spaces within accessible distances to work from. It’s super easy to search & find a great space instead of wasting time to find a space to work from after sales meetings,” says Arvinder Singh, an Assistant Sales Manager.
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