Industrious Coworking Space Offers Corporations A Revitalizing Atmosphere For Its Employees

Industrious leads the way with coworking spaces in 9 major cities throughout the United States… and 9 additional locations are set to open around the nation this year.

Jamie Hodari, the company’s co-founder, assures that Industrious isn’t just a coworking space for entrepreneurs, freelancers, start-ups, or tech professionals to flourish in their own businesses. Major corporations with nationally recognized names are cognizant of the contributions coworking spaces make to worker productivity.

“At this point a lot of the more recognizable Silicon Valley companies have some of their regional offices with Industrious… and that number is increasing quite rapidly,” Hodari says. “We’re also seeing that more traditional Fortune 500-type companies increasingly starting to base a lot of their offices out of their headquarters at Industrious.”

Hodari declines to mention specific brands or companies that use Industrious, but reveals many of them have come to depend on the coworking spaces as a place for their employees to work alongside self-employed professionals. One of many businesses known to rely on Industrious coworking spaces is the online social media platform, Pinterest.

Hodari shares that a roster of corporate businesses use Industrious’ facilities.

“In addition to Silicon Valley-type companies, we have several of the major banks, several of the major pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, law firms, etc.,” Hodari reveals.

According to Industrious’ website, it currently has coworking spaces in Brooklyn, Chicago, Philadelphia, Columbus, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Raleigh, and two locations in Atlanta. Nine more are slated to be opened this year in Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Austin, Miami, Nashville, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In a word, coworking spaces revitalize productivity for employees, and is an excellent alternative to conventional office space within a company’s organization. Traditional companies opting for the stylish, hip, and trendy office settings of a coworking space are seeing a significant return on their investment.

The Harvard Business Review released findings in September that showed workers who share office space were “thriving” so much that researchers “had to look at the data again.” Researchers theorize that workers experience a “greater sense of purpose,” according to the study.

“They’ve opted into a workspace instead of showing up at a site designated by their employer, which tends to produce a community effect that makes them feel empowered,” writes Harvard Business Review.

Bloomberg published a report recently that highlighted the benefits of coworking spaces for major corporate businesses in terms of costs associated with real estate. Industrious was on the list of coworking spaces used, which rents space to Atlanta-based HeritageBank Mortgage. It moved a team of four bankers into Industrious for multiple reasons — one being it’s an ideal substitute for expanding office areas. It has the advantages of gaining more works space minus the burden of recovering expenses from relocating, or remodeling.

“If I go and find a space with a five-year lease and build it out, it might take me five years to recoup my expenses,” said Brent Harrell, president of HeritageBank Mortgage.

The home builder, Lennar, is another business renting Industrious space in Chicago and Minneapolis. Vice President of Development Peter Chmieleski says it’s convenient that Lennar can hold meetings in close proximity to downtown construction projects. An added bonus is the stylish office settings Industrious boasts because it helps with company recruiting.

What does an office space at Industrious look like? Hodari explains that Industrious isn’t similar to most coworking spaces in the sense that members or outside employees have an open area to work in.

“You have your own private office,” Hodari reveals. “We’re not traditional cowoking in that sense that you take an open area, but 95 percent of customers have private offices. Because there are so many shared spaces for them to utilize, they can spend part of their days in their private office and part of it in the shared space… depending on what they’re doing.”

Industrious hopes to have between 25 and 30 more coworking spaces by the end of 2016. Hodari also has his sights set on expanding into Europe in the near future.

The company was founded in 2013 by Jamie Hodari and his business partner, Justin Stewart. They have a clear vision of what Industrious represents in regards to quality, interior design, hospitality, and providing the best to its members.

Industrious is a leader in coworking spaces that even traditional companies note as an appealing business model. It’s a win-win for companies and its employees.

[Photo Credit Courtesy of Industrious]