The sun is setting on 2021. This time of year invariably brings with it a period of reflection, as well as renewed focus on what the New Year has in store.
What can we say? No one can pretend these past 12 months have been without challenges. But through the adversity presented by the pandemic and changing dynamics of the ‘new normal’, there have been examples of great innovation and progress.
At infinitSpace, we have witnessed first-hand how, by catalysing the move to flexible working practices, the pandemic has encouraged businesses to think more creatively about when, where, how and why they work. For many organisations, purpose now sits at the heart of their operations.
For our team, 2021 has been filled with excitement and progress. And we cannot wait to be able to reveal all of the exciting news that we have in the pipeline. But before that, here are five of our top highlights from what has been a remarkable year:
1. Making connections and refining our proposition
We have spent this past year meeting with hundreds of commercial landlords. Our mission is to empower office building owners to create amazing, inspirational flexible workspaces, so to meet with these individuals and share our vision for the future of work is extremely gratifying.
We see “purpose” as being critical to many businesses today – they want to act with purpose and give employees a sense of purpose. And crucially, this means that businesspeople need a purpose to head into their place of work.
Traditional offices often fail to deliver this. But flexible workspaces can, so long as they have the right facilities, technology, design, branding, networks. And we are excited to be helping commercial landlords on this journey.
This year we learned an incredible amount about our proposition and have made multiple pivots as a result. And although we have 90% right, as the real estate industry, and in particular the flexible workspace market is rapidly changing, we will continue to adapt to the demands of our clients, existing and new.
2. Building our pipeline, with big announcements comingThere is nothing we’d like more than to deliver an early Christmas present by revealing our big news, but for now we have to keep our lips sealed. That said, we are delighted to say that we do have several brilliant flexible workspaces that are currently being agreed or, in some instances, are just undergoing final touches before they open to tenants.
To put it in context, we have seen our pipeline increase x10 in just six months this year, and it continues to grow larger every week. We are delighted to have opportunities in 11 cities across five different countries.
Watch this space for some major announcements in early 2022!
3. Developing exclusive insights
Did you read our previous blog? If not – you should! But if you did, you will know that infinitSpace recently commissioned an independent study among more than 200 UK office landlords.
Our timely research provides unique insights into the challenges that many landlords are currently facing as they try to attract and retain tenants. More than that, it reveals just how many are looking to transform traditional offices into flexible workspaces so they can meet businesses’ post-pandemic requirements.
4. Growing and nurturing our team
Behind the scenes, infinitSpace has been growing its team at an impressive rate throughout 2021. In fact, in the space of just six months, we grew the size of the infinitSpace family three times over.
We have welcomed some amazing, talented international team members from Berlin, London, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Amsterdam. Of course, connection and engagement are hard for a remote team, especially during Covid. So, as a team we worked hard to connect multiple times per day, with separate meetings for business purposes and for personal chats.
It has been clear to us that team meetings, whether in person or offline, are required to maximise our individual and collective potential. Therefore, we also organise a full company summit twice a year.
We are proud that the feedback we receive from the team confirms that everyone feels strongly connected with each other and to the company. This puts us in a position of strength heading into 2022.
5. Making noise in the mediaAnd finally, in 2021 we have also begun sharing our story, and our vision for the future of office buildings, with leading media outlets. infinitSpace and its founders have been featured in the likes of the Financial Times, Business Insider, PropertyWire, Handelsblatt, Property Reporter, Workplace Insight and more.
We love engaging in discussions about how we can create workspaces that best meet the ever-changing needs of businesses. And we look forward to doing much more of this in the months to come.
But for now, we want to take this opportunity to wish all of our followers a very happy festive period and a fantastic New Year. Without doubt, 2021 has been a remarkable year, and we cannot wait for what 2022 has in store!