In a previous blog post, the topic regarding laying the groundwork for your coworking space to ensure that your coworking space turns out to be the first choice for the tenants that you want was covered.
With the physical infrastructure for your coworking space taken care of, let's take a closer look at how your coworking space management team can help build and direct your coworking space.
1) Ingredients for your coworking management team
There is a good guide for coworking staff that provides useful numbers such as budget allocation, hiring practices, and skillsets that need to come along with the job as advised by seasoned coworking operators.
However, attitude is key as the requirements for staff to work in coworking spaces go beyond the tasks and interactions within your team and extends to interactions with visitors and tenants. Every member of your coworking team represents the culture and community that they will inherently be part of, and what your coworking space stands for.
Asides from their main roles, being able to handle suggestions and feedback from your team as well as visitors and tenants and having the competence to serve and assist unsupervised are things to look out for and inculcate.
2) Making your team members an asset for your visitors and tenants
Some coworking spaces have a clear focus to cater to specific industries, an example of this can be found in Fuigo, a coworking space in NYC for interior designers that provides a full complement of services and support to its clientele.If your coworking space has a business approach to address the needs of a single industry, check out the following QnA for greater insight on Fuigo’s working model.
For most other coworking spaces, there should be a focus on the top 3 to 5 industries that you have as targeted mainstay tenants. Equipping your coworking management team with better knowledge regarding these industries will make them an active asset to your long-term tenants by anticipating the challenges that they will face. This allows them to have a targeted approach in filling up empty desks with people having the right skills and attitude for rewarding collaborations within the space.
3) Sync calendars and automate processes
Once the layout and composition of your tenants and visitors begin to firm up, sync calendars to important activities and events. Being up to date with crunch times and project cycles for your members to know when they will more access to resources and facilities will be a major help in taking a load off their minds. Knowing the right kind of MICE activities to draw attention to your tenants and to attend to learn more from will be beneficial for everyone in the coworking space.
There are many software platforms that help automate payment gateways, security access and keyless solutions, as well as workspace management platforms. Get your team and tenants on board as soon as you can.
4) Let your culture and community be a beacon
Big corporations have started to see the benefits that coworking spaces offer, where they are able to run smaller units and take a page from startups. After HSBC had taken up to 300 hot desks as a coworking space, Andrew Connell, HSBC’s Regional Head of Digital, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Asia-Pacific mentioned that “creating the right environment for our staff, working in the same location as other like-minded teams, including Hong Kong’s fintech and other startups, is important to us as we continue to attract, develop and invest in the talent we need to meet our digital ambitions.” The right environment can be nurtured by your coworking management team to find and attract the attention of bigger players. Having larger companies show faith in your coworking space will give greater credibility to your coworking space as the place to be, with the right people, culture, and community to provide growth to fit and scale.
