When Tribe47, a digital marketing firm, realized that the office they had been working out of was no longer working for them, they knew it was time for a change. The company turned to ShareSpace for help in finding a space that staff and management would enjoy coming to.
Martyna Łapaj, Senior HR Specialist, Management Team Member at Tribe47, and Head of Recruitment at Talent47 sat down with us to discuss how her office search process changed since using ShareSpace and how the new location is helping Tribe47 achieve business goals while bringing the company together.
To start us off, can you tell us a bit more about Tribe47? What is it that you do?
Right now, I would describe Tribe47 as a digital partner for digital companies. We are a 360 marketing agency offering consulting, creating, and implementing strategies for our clients. At Talent47 – which is also part of Tribe47, we focus on recruiting digital marketers.
Between digital marketing, recruiting, and consulting, the work you do at Tribe47 is quite versatile. Did you face any challenges in supporting these various types of tasks while at your previous office?
Yes, we had challenges with even basic things such as the internet connection in our previous place; meanwhile, everything we do at the company is digital, so a good Wi-Fi network is essential. Additionally, we had problems with the location and providing parking spaces for our clients. Our old office was also too “official,” we’re a really young and energetic company, while most of the other businesses in the building were lawyer’s offices. We just felt we had a different “vibe.” The last important thing was more on the side of how the office was run. We were looking for something better in terms of our communication with office administration. They were not easygoing in that way, as they were more old school and not digital at all.
You recently leased an office using ShareSpace solutions in just 2 months. Looking back what was your office search process like before? How has it changed since partnering with ShareSpace?
Our old process was less intuitive and simply more time-consuming. Before, I had to do all the office search work, though I had no knowledge in this area. I was told, “This is your budget; this is the number of workspaces, find something nice.” Since I was searching on Google, it took me a lot of time and was really messy. Now it changed a lot.
What I want to say, and I might repeat it again, is that ShareSpace helped me save time. That was a big improvement! Also, in the beginning, I only thought of ShareSpace as a search engine but then realized you can do everything there, including research and scheduling meetings.
When it came to the requirements, you mentioned you wanted a place that matched the company culture and was well located. Did you have any other requirements? If so, what were they?
Wi-Fi and a good central location of the office were for sure really important, but I wanted to find a place that also offers various workspaces where you can hide away to focus and definitely an open space – we could not go without it. A space where we could be in a big room together, without anyone complaining that we are too noisy. And yes, we definitely needed big meeting rooms. It was really important because our clients can have up to 6 people in their team, and we can have 6 to 10 people in our team when we meet.
We wanted a better vibe with the community within the coworking space – our team is made of open people, who like networking, so I was looking for an office that could save me time on needing to figure out various integration activities. The WeWork community here organizes things like competitions and meetings. We wanted to find somewhere that has a rooftop terrace or patio – a space where you can work outside. It’s something people really liked about the previous office in the summer.
What about your work model? How many employees were you looking to accommodate?
Before, we were an office-based company that allowed remote work, and we rented an office that could fit us all – 39 people and 39 dedicated desks. Because of the pandemic, our work model became more of a “do as you like.” Right now, you could say our model is “hybrid.” At the new WeWork office, we decided to have around 24 desks, we know that sometimes not even 20 people come in. Though we grew in terms of how many employees we have, we now need less space.
The office which best matched your requirements was WeWork Cedet which offers great facilities at an even better location. What platform features did you find particularly useful in your office search process with ShareSpace?
What I like is that with the communication panel, you can have a conversation with the Office administrator through ShareSpace. It was really important for us that I always do all the office management-related things through ShareSpace. My time management is not so great, and if I really need someone to help, I know that someone is there to handle things. I felt like ShareSpace was there to help and remind me of the next step – read this or respond to that. As I said, we’re super digital. So when our partners are also opting for digital solutions – also when it came to the signature tool – it’s like “music to my ears.”
“I liked the search engine for sure, but also the help from the advisors. I like the fact that there are people on the other side – account managers who know what they’re talking about and who know the market. We got advice on every office-related topic from them.”
Can you tell us a little about your experience using the ShareSpace tools?
For me, it was obvious and easy. My first thought was, “Oh, it’s just like a search engine for offices.” Most people on earth know how to use a search engine, and for me, it’s even easier to use ShareSpace in this case because you have more options to refine what you want. It’s so clear, and there’s not much to figure out. I knew how many people I wanted to have there. I knew the location where I wanted the office. It was a way easier experience than searching using a regular search engine.
At Tribe47, one of your values is that “work is about achieving goals and enjoying it in the process.” In what ways does your new office let you do that?
First of all, if everyone feels they have space to sit together and brainstorm, that already boosts effectiveness! If you like your office, you can also just stay after work to hang out – there are beer taps at our WeWork office – and that relieves the tension – you can talk to others from your team who understand what you’re going through, so then you can really go home and rest. As an HR, I really would like people to have that work-life balance – it’s part of our company culture – and I definitely believe that the right space supports that. If this office wasn’t liked, I would have a really hard time keeping our company culture going.
In addition to helping all engage and grow as a company and become productive, has your new office encouraged further integration within the firm?
Yes, definitely! Honestly, besides sticking to the designated budget from my CFO, my only goal was to find an office that people would like because our culture is not to force anyone to come into the office at all. The space has to encourage people to spend time together. If people didn’t feel comfortable here, they would not come.
Would you recommend ShareSpace to other companies, especially those in the digital marketing industry?
Yeah, for sure. Especially for companies in my industry! Everyone wants to save time. Time is money. I believe that b2b services should be about saving time, and I really believe that ShareSpace did it for me because, basically, there are people who do everything for me. I ended up telling them what I would like to write. So yes!
Are you a start-up or a large company relocating or expanding your business and looking for a flexible office solution in Warsaw? With ShareSpace, finding the place where you want to do your business has never been easier. Use the ShareSpace search engine to view the wide range of locations across the market. We also offer a bespoke 360° consultancy service and an on-demand app for booking desks and meeting rooms.
