Fifty-eight per cent of Brits think flexible working will be the most popular way of working in the future. But, here in 2019, hot-desking, co-working and virtual offices are already a regular fixture in the modern business. However, as an increasing number of businesses turn their hand to flexible working, the market is expanding and there is more choice on offer.

Whereas co-working may have historically been the territory of freelancers, there are flexible working options to suit business of all shapes, sizes and sectors, including business clubs.

Put simply, membership to a business club provides access to a range of business lounge workspaces across a city, accompanied by service to support a business through its working day such as IT help, support with travel arrangements or organising lunches. Could this new approach bring flexible working to your business?

Having a variety of spaces available within the workplace – such as breakout areas, meeting rooms and privacy booths – allows employees to choose to work where best suits them for their current task, meaning that noisy collaboration naturally moves toward communal zones and in-depth research can happen in quiet offices.

This also allows businesses to maximise their use of communal spaces and so commit to a smaller private office – a great cost-effective plan for a growing start-up.

What’s more, the variety of spaces available to members of a business club means that your team can work from whichever space suits their current project. Employees can choose each morning a workspace that makes for the easiest commute, or is closest to a meeting later that day. The productivity benefits of using the working day more efficiently are clear.

Time saved from commuting can be worked into wellness initiatives or allowing employees more time to spend with family, or pursuing hobbies.

From a business perspective, the amount of time and effort flowing into work remains the same, but from an employee perspective, less time travelling means more free time and a comparatively shorter ‘working day’. Employees that are engaged whilst at work and able to spend enough time doing things that they love outside of work are far more likely to produce quality results.

Service is key 

One of the largest obstacles to productivity and growth is the inertia of admin tasks, whether that’s fixing IT issues, making reservations for a working lunch or organising travel across the city. By working from a business club, the service team take care of all the little things, freeing up time for you and your employees to focus on fee-earning work.

In fact, the freed-up time can be directed towards tasks that often get left by the wayside like training or new business projects. What could be achieved if you had the ability to focus 100% of your energy in the working day into improving your business?

Not to mention, having a trained body of staff responsible for your workspace also ensures that visitors are given the strongest first impression from the start.

First impressions count

First impressions can also prove particularly key for SMEs that are growing their profile in the market. In London, for example, a Mayfair letterhead or email footer with an address on Pall Mall can support the growth of a brand image.

Leveraging your address can be an effective way of adding value to your business, and with a business club you can select which of a number of locations best suits you.

2020…

By combining flexible workspaces with service, business clubs can bring a new option to the world of flexible working, one that suits all businesses, rather than just freelancers and tech start-ups. As we approach 2020, businesses should consider how a more flexible approach to the working day could open up pockets of time, increasing employee engagement and productivity in their business.

Beth Hampson is commercial director of The Argyll Club.