Acing Workspaces in the Era of WFH – Qdesq Keeps Up its Game
How will office-providing businesses survive the lockdown? Acing Workspaces in the Era of WFH – Qdesq Keeps Up its Game That was the question haunting us in early 2020 when the concept of office itself was facing an existential crisis. But as they say, knowledge is the antidote of fear and doubt. We knew our […]
How will office-providing businesses survive the lockdown?
Acing Workspaces in the Era of WFH – Qdesq Keeps Up its Game
That was the question haunting us in early 2020 when the concept of office itself was facing an existential crisis. But as they say, knowledge is the antidote of fear and doubt. We knew our solution lied in gathering knowledge and using it to back our efforts. Perhaps that is why, despite the challenging times, we’re still stronger and, in fact, more ambitious and incredibly excited for the future.
The AIR we breathe
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Qdesq operates on three key values- Agility, Integrity and Respect. While we extract productivity by aligning our workplaces with digital transformation and business goals, we also attentively maintain upstanding character traits and work ethics. This AIR of values has made us come a long way from one seat in one location to 1 million desks listed in 55 cities across India.
Ever since the advent of the flex industry, it has faced several challenges. However, industry leaders have been able to successfully convert the adversities into opportunities in the changing times. Qdesq, being at the centre of the flex industry, has witnessed this evolution towards innovation as well as the turning of flex workspace solutions into a pull product.
Redirecting our sails through the pandemic
To focus on strategies during the peak of the pandemic, along with the growth action plan, we conducted webinars and invited many well-known names in the industry to discuss the future of flex and coworking in the changed landscape post lockdown. Some key insights we gathered were- wide adoption of phased working, increased demand of flex solutions by employees as well as corporate clients, changes in the client decision making processes with differentiation playing as important role as location and budget, growing need of day passes beyond freelancers and MSMEs, etc.
For us, the above findings served as a torchlight to upgrade our current strategies and even plan the future. Many surveys and webinars were conducted and new products were launched with this aim.
We believe that going forward, every company and employee will have their own ideal blend of working from the HQ, home, and on-demand third spaces. To make the arrangements personalized at individual, team and organizational level, we realize we require hardcore planning, execution, management, and implementation of an effective and sustainable hybrid working strategy.
One accelerating trend especially after Covid-19 has been ‘work from anywhere’. The key question it made us answer was: How can homes, hotel lobbies, cafes and restaurants serve as workplaces?
We came up with a solution in the form of Qdesq Flexi: The Uber of the core industry. The system is designed to tackle the inter-operator pass enabling retail and enterprise demand across the country with features- like real-time bookings, no lock-ins, pre- and post-paid use, great infrastructure and sanitization- that prioritize convenience and safety of workers.
Qdesq started benefitting from the standard marketplace network effect in FY 19-20. Some highlights of the defensibility and network effect have been– raised and growing demand and supply cycle (3000 spaces supplied till date) and 250 spaces listed during Covid-19 at zero acquisition cost. Consequently, revenue CAGR is four times the industry CAGR and listing a space on Qdesq has become a rite of passage for a coworking space.
Qdesq, today, is India’s largest and only platform for on-demand booking for day(s). We have a complete grip on the flex ecosystem through the following:
- Demand: Largest and constant demand generation
- Supply: 3000+ venues in 55+ cities Pan-India
- Data: Demand, supply, transaction and occupancy
- Management: Eva concierge, a personal digital workspace concierge app
- Technology: Simplifying overall end-to-end flex office buying experience
- Transaction: 2000+ desk bookings per month and 4500 transactions per annum
Next 5 years
The plan is to continue innovating in the areas of Search, Management and Transaction.
Search and Discovery
- Advanced filters based on quality of supply and gradation of characteristics
- AI-based recommendation engine
Management
- Standardized digital experiences for occupants, operators
- Data generation and analytics-enabling management and optimization
- Early warning client loss system
Transaction
- Industry-wide real-time digital inventory management system
- AI pricing algorithm
Conclusion
Despite the Covid-19 blow, Qdesq feels that there has never been a more exciting time to be in the market. In fact, the fast changes brought by the pandemic may have been a blessing in disguise.
Onwards and upwards from here, building the future of work together!
