MyWheels: Use only what you need
MyWheels runs the largest car-sharing fleet in the Netherlands; with roughly 3,000 cars across more than 75 locations, most of them electric and booked by the hour through an app. Its proposition is simple: most people don’t need to own a car to use one. It's all about greater flexibility and lower impact, and this is the exact same thinking they applied to their new office space when it came time to move.
“We’re not about making you drive more kilometres. We’re about making the kilometres you do drive more efficient,” says Hans Rombout, who was the company’s office manager when it moved and now works in HR.
“It was ready to move in.”- Hans Rombout, MyWheels
When MyWheels outgrew their office near Amstel station, there were two things he knew he needed from the start. The first was flexibility: room to grow but as they needed, in real time. The second was efficiency: a space ready to move into, with the ability to customise.
The team anticipated their headcount would fluctuate in the coming years, so committing to an office designed around a fixed number or goal didn’t make sense. And as a team committed to reducing impact and excess, they wanted something that aligned with their mindset. Then, he found work.club’s Zandkasteel office.
“It’s a flexible company. We didn’t want to stick to an office with 100 desks, but wanted the flexibility to maybe rent an extra room, or just let it go, or use flexible working spots, which Zandkasteel offers,” says Hans.
Like all work.club locations, the Zandkasteel office provides communal spaces such as social areas and co-working pockets, meaning clients don’t just have access to the private offices they lease. They also have the flexibility to spill out beyond those areas and make use of the shared areas too.
Beyond the shared spaces, the flexibility comes from being able to customise their own space at any time.
“It’s very easy to say you want an extra room, or can we just use an extra office space for maybe a month or two. They’re always helpful, and are willing to think about options in whatever way we need,” says Hans.
The fundamentals ready from day one
As a lean company, Hans did not have the time to manage a full move himself. So he needed something that was pretty much ready to go, with some space to bend to their needs.
The climate system, ventilation, acoustics, power and connectivity were already installed and working before MyWheels signed, with partitioning walls put up by work.club to create MyWheels’ desired layout.
“It was ready to move in,” says Hans.
MyWheels took three offices next to each other along one of the building’s 'internal streets' - shared co-working space. . The team turned them into a desk area, a clubhouse for lunch and two meeting rooms, with work.club’s design and build lead Yalcin Ol handling the construction.
Hans brought the requirements and ideas; work. club translated them into a floor plan and built it. The resulting meeting rooms are now used every day.
“They took a lot of things out of our hands.”
Contractors, infrastructure and the foundations of a thoughtful office were taken care of for them.
“I think in the end it’s the cheapest option to be flexible.” - Hans Rombout, MyWheels
Plus the ability to adapt
With the fundamentals set, MyWheels were able to be flexible with the extras too. For the first two years, MyWheels rented their furniture rather than buying to work out what they liked. The team could try different arrangements, move things around and see what worked before committing to a final setup.
Once the layout had settled, the company bought the furniture.
Then the team needed more room again.
In July, the company occupying the other three offices besides MyWheels moved out. Hans took the newly available space and moved its parent company The Sharing Group across from the other side of the building. The two companies now share meeting rooms and a lunch room.
It was the second change to MyWheels’ footprint in two years. Neither required a new building, a new lease or another fit-out from scratch.
“I think in the end it’s the cheapest option to be flexible,” says Hans.
And money aside, it took away the hesitation to get going, too.
“Whatever you do, you always have the opportunity to change. So it’s just a thing of, just do it, and in the time being you will create the space you really wanted to have.”
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