Around the world, companies of all sizes find space to succeed at WeWork. Our case studies share their unique stories.
The challenge: A real estate giant needed a new office to keep pace with their ever-evolving business
LJ Hooker is one of the largest real estate groups in Australia, with a network of more than 5,000 people. For over 90 years, they’ve helped Australians buy and sell homes to realize their real estate dreams.
Although some companies with nearly a century of history can be resistant to change, the LJ Hooker Group has pushed themselves to continuously evolve, developing proprietary proptech to help each generation of customers with their real estate needs.
While they were improving the home-selling and buying process for their customers, LJ Hooker realized they had not taken the same thoughtful approach to their headquarters.
“We’re a company that’s going through an evolution, and our office just didn’t work for us anymore,” says Ruth Trewhella, chief operating officer at LJ Hooker. “We didn’t want to be restricted by the space that we were in. We were split across floors. Teams weren’t collaborating as well as they could have been. The timing was just right for us to start to look for new office space.”
The solution: an inspiring, centrally located office suited for an enterprise company
As a company that has helped millions of people find their perfect home, LJ Hooker knew they had to team up with the right partner to find a new home for their business.
“When WeWork was suggested as an option, I was quite surprised because my preconception was that it was for small startups looking for hot desks,” says Trewhella. “But then I saw 161 Castlereagh St—I never imagined a space like that.”
WeWork 161 Castlereagh St is located in Sydney’s central business district, near a number of public transportation lines as well as shops, restaurants, and Hyde Park. The location also features sweeping views of the harbor. LJ Hooker was convinced it was the right place for them.
“It was perfect for enterprise,” says Sarah Dickson, head of communications at LJ Hooker. “We seamlessly moved our entire headquarters in.”
The LJ Hooker Group relocated more than 100 of their team members to WeWork 161 Castlereagh St.
The results: improved collaboration, productivity, and talent attraction, with the flexibility to grow and evolve
Being in the new office space has ushered in a positive cultural shift at LJ Hooker and offered the company a chance to reinvigorate the way they work.
“We’re always looking for new ways of doing things and a mindset of continuous improvement, so working with WeWork, who is obviously very innovative, gives us an opportunity to piggyback off that and continue to drive that innovative mindset,” says Trewhella.
Now that all of their teams are housed on the same floor, Dickson has noticed more collaboration happening.
“People are just naturally having more corridor conversations—those quick conversations that get things sorted without having to call a meeting,” she says. “It really allows everyone to come together and problem-solve on the fly. And then everyone is more productive in the long run.”
LJ Hooker also finds that the new space makes them more appealing to prospective employees.
“WeWork has definitely helped us with talent attraction,” says Dickson. “Being able to move into a central business district location like the one that we’re in has helped us to widen the talent pool that we can now attract.”
According to Trewhella, the WeWork community team at their location is another great perk, essentially becoming an extension of her own team.
“The community managers are wonderful. They’re really supportive. It’s like having a concierge, receptionist, and extra team member all in one,” she says.
LJ Hooker expects to continue to grow as they continue to drive innovation in the real estate business. And now with WeWork, they’re confident that they have a partner who can grow with them.
“One of the biggest costs a business incurs, both from a productivity and a physical cost point of view, is moving. It’s a massive, massive cost,” Trewhella says. “To know that we just need to flag to WeWork that we need more space is so much easier than going through another search for a new space.”
“WeWork also has given us access to premium space,” Dickson adds. “We’ve been able to stretch over three levels of premium space, with expansive views, significant facilities, common areas, and a variety of meeting rooms that wouldn’t have been available to us if we were going down a traditional path.”
It seems fitting that a real estate innovator now has a headquarters that’s as forward-looking as their business.
“I’m not sure I could ever go back to a more traditional working space. I think it really has shifted my expectations of a workplace now and shown me that any company can work in a space like this,” Trewhella says.
Key highlights:
- Three private offices on one floor of WeWork 161 Castlereagh St
- Prime location in Sydney’s central business district
- Premium space with amenities, common areas, and various workspaces included
- Improved employee collaboration, productivity, and talent attraction
- Ability to expand as company and head count grow
WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.
