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We were able to complement the team's overall compensation with a flexible way for them to choose where to spend their money, in addition to what goes directly into their bank accounts.
The idea emerged as a response to a problem in mid-2013, says founder João Simões. Together with his wife, Sónia, João started thinking of a way to combat the dissatisfaction they both felt with their respective careers. “We wanted something different”, he recalls in a conversation with Coverflex. “What was wearing us down the most was the way people were perceived professionally and in their workplaces. We started exploring, trying to understand what more we could do to enhance people’s talent, so they could acquire knowledge in a more dynamic way, and how we could create more collaborative models. That’s when the concept of ‘space’ came up”.
Yes, that was the starting point: creating a “space” that ensured learning, work, and collaboration.
“We started the company with three business areas, and clearly, our time to market was terrible”, says the CEO of IDEA Spaces. “At the time, no one cared about soft skills”, he recalls. The first decision was to eliminate the talent management pillar, followed by the training pillar. “The only one that was still bringing in some business was the coworking part, so that’s where we decided to focus”, he recalls.
Focusing on coworking as the sole source of revenue was key to IDEA’s growth. Their first space in Parque das Nações started with 400m². After a year, they had tripled that to 1,200m², but the work was far from over. “We went through some turmoil in 2016, when there was market instability, and we were waiting to see what would happen. Then, from 2017 onward, we started growing, opening a new location each year”, says João Simões.
Currently, IDEA Spaces has around 3,000 members and over 300 companies integrated into its ecosystem. It operates four fully functional locations, with a fifth in Beato that will maintain an alternative brand but remain part of the group. Plans for further growth are unwavering: a sixth location is expected by the end of 2023 in Alcântara, targeting a different audience.
But new spaces also mean new people in the “house.” The IDEA team consists of about 20 people working around a shared mission and vision. “We developed a framework - we’re still taking the first steps. Authenticity, passion, simplicity, accountability, and excellence, which doesn’t mean achieving 100%, but rather an invitation to always strive for better”, João notes.
It is within this context of exponential growth that Coverflex comes into play. “We had a standard meal card system, which was clearly insufficient. When we started looking at our people and thinking about how we could remunerate them in a way that wasn’t so costly while giving them flexibility, Coverflex became the answer”, explains the CEO.
The rollout of Coverflex at IDEA was communicated to employees in a simple and direct way. “Before, we only had meal allowance. Then, we were informed that from a certain point - when Coverflex expanded its operations in Portugal - we would also have a monthly amount to spend on whatever each employee wanted, whether on telecom equipment, gym memberships, healthcare, or pension savings. Giving each team member the choice of an extra benefit was very well received by everyone”, recalls Joana Esteves, Community Manager at IDEA Spaces Saldanha.
João adds: “It was really a platform that brought us what we were missing. We were able to complement the team's overall compensation with a flexible way for them to choose where to spend their money, beyond just what goes directly into their bank accounts."
For Joana, the main benefit is Gym & Fitness. “Whether it’s for padel, surf lessons, or even gym memberships”, she says. As for João, he has no doubts: “I spend my entire balance on technology”.
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