Creating workspaces focused on human-centered design
The Educational Partnership & Innovation Trust (EPIT) is a philanthropically-funded organization that works to remove inequity from the education sector. They partner with and grant funds to nonprofits that meet their criteria to expand their vision. Some nonprofits become permanent resident organizations working from EPIT’s shared working space (The Nest), and others use the facilities on an as-needed basis.
One of EPIT’s founding funding partners, Hugh Green Foundation, had a vision for a collaborative space that functioned as an innovation and education hub back in 2017. It was Covid19 that led to EPIT taking over the management of the 1,000 square meter (~11,000 square feet) office space. It is unique in that it's a collaborative coworking space for a number of partner nonprofit organizations.
EPIT chose Skedda to help them manage their flexible workspace for the various organizations using it. The soft-launch of Skedda in September 2022 saw an immediate and significant increase in usage in just a few months.
The Problem:
Many nonprofit organizations are transitioning to hybrid work but do not have a collaborative coworking space for their teams, mostly because of cost limitations and frustrations surrounding facilities management. “Organizations were paying rent on office spaces where less than 40% of their workforce was coming into the office,” says Jane Treadwell-Hoye, Executive Director at EPIT. Additionally, the nature of work for these nonprofits means workers travel to various locations throughout the week. It didn’t make sense for them to continue leasing office space and paying rent when it wasn’t being fully utilized.
However, people still wanted to work in person with their colleagues and needed space from time to time for meetings. EPIT’s permanent residents said they missed seeing human faces in the office and were all looking to do a “three days in, two days out” hybrid work schedule. The flexible workspace EPIT provided them — with video conferencing rooms, meeting rooms for team collaboration, and hot desks for individual work — was perfect.
“The beauty of hybrid work here is it puts ‘human’ back into the construct of work.” - Jane Treadwell-Hoye, Executive Director at EPIT
The Solution:
EPIT looked for desk booking software to help them manage who came into the office, resources, and available spaces. EPIT wanted a system where people could seamlessly book with their own email addresses (so they didn’t have to create new ones). They also wanted a solution that’s easy to use, visible, mobile-friendly, and provides payment options. Skedda checked all of these boxes.
EPIT created their workspace focusing on human-centered design and experiential thinking, recognizing the need to offer a range of meeting room types. Telephone and video conference use was high, and it didn’t make sense for one person to occupy an entire meeting room. Hot desking was needed, but it could also be loud. EPIT considered these factors when designing their space and ultimately decided on the following:
“We worked with Sam to plan and design the workspace and custom interactive maps. He was amazing.” - Jane Treadwell-Hoye, Executive Director at EPIT
Pūkeko - The Flexible Space
EPIT carved out about 250 square meters (~2,700 square feet) of space toward the back of the office to be completely flexible, meaning people can choose how to configure it. The flexible space is named Pūkeko after a bird species that’s widespread in New Zealand. An 85-inch TV on a cradle is always present, but people can add flip charts, mobile whiteboards, tables and chairs, bar learners, stools, bean bags, instruments, and more to the workspace to fit their needs.
Pod Desks
EPIT set up pods of 4 or 8 for their permanent resident organizations to use as a part of their desk hoteling solution. Organizations sign a license agreement (usually for 12 months) to keep this space. These workspaces have electric stand-up desks, ergonomic chairs, and double monitors, as well as dedicated virtual private networks on the LAN providing them with 1 Gb internet speeds. Secure WiFi is provided throughout the floor too. The permanent resident nonprofits pay a small monthly per desk fee to cover overhead costs to use the space.
Hot Desks
EPIT has a designated hot desking area with desks, ergonomic chairs, power outlets, and a flat-screen TV. This hot desking area is especially popular for workers visiting Auckland when they are part of a company headquartered elsewhere. Visitors can easily book these hot desks through Skedda.
State-of-the-art Video Conferencing Rooms
EPIT also has three dedicated video conferencing rooms with additional cameras and sound systems. These have a more “traditional” setup, with large-screen TVs, whiteboards, tables, and chairs. The rooms are soundproof, allowing for efficient in-person and virtual team meetings. There are also small meeting rooms for more intimate meetings each with a whiteboard and large-screen TV for presentations.
All partners can use these rooms for a nominal charge, though permanent resident partners do not pay a fee to use the space. Even for-profit businesses can book these rooms at commercial rates, though partner bookings take priority. EPIT uses Skedda’s payment feature to charge nonprofits who are casual users and for-profit businesses wanting to access the facilities.
EPIT focuses on giving nonprofit organizations the same playing field that corporations have. The workspace also has a full kitchen, showers, e-bike parking and charging stations, and parking lots that people can reserve through Skedda. In terms of equipment, people can reserve big monitors and other technology for their flexible working space.
Permanent resident nonprofits usually secure a pod to use for a year and have access to all other amenities in the workspace during that time. Other partner organizations enjoy coming in to use the workshops or meeting rooms and pay for the space as needed. Everyone can book all the spaces (meeting rooms, video conferencing, hot desks, parking lots) through Skedda.
Read More: How to Create Hybrid Office Neighborhoods With Skedda
The Result:
The workspace has given organizations a real sense of having a “home base.” Permanent residents are based here but then go out to their worksites. Organizations with permanent office space elsewhere also benefit from EPIT’s office space because they can bring their workers in for meetings or workshops when they’re in Auckland.
EPIT has successfully built a physical community — and their spaces showcase that. People have a place to lounge, eat, and chat with others. The space, designed to look like a living room with comfy sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, and plants, has helped convey this message: don’t eat over your keyboard.
The physical space is also one that EPIT uses to further bring the community together outside of work. They host monthly community morning tea and physical events like ‘lunch and learn’ sessions and ‘movie and pizza’ nights in the office to help people connect. Most importantly, seeing each other and collaborating in the physical office has helped to connect the dots between the philanthropic and educational sectors and the ecosystem. By having various groups come in, they’re much more aware of who they’re working with, and these connections have expanded the nonprofits’ impact overall.
Looking to transform the way your organization manages bookable spaces? Sign up for your free Skedda account today.
