People Represent: Hiring For Your Coworking Space

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Culture is your coworking space’s main differentiator. And your staff are the ones who shape that culture. In a traditional office space, a single company dictates culture and brand. In coworking, it’s you as the “host” who molds the culture. Welcoming clients, visitors, and prospects into your coworking space is a bit like welcoming people into your home. As the host, you set the tone and expectations around behavior and service.

Here’s what to consider when staffing your coworking space.

Your Staff Are the Face of Your Space

A brand is the sum of a series of interactions. In the coworking world, those interactions happen in your space, among tenants and with your staff. Your staff should have the skills, attitude, and personality needed to represent your brand. They should be just as comfortable interacting with an enterprise organization as a scrappy startup and comfortable acting as the “face” of your business.

Key attributes include:

  • Ability to meet needs of both tenants, visitors, and management
  • Ability to work independently
  • Ability to juggle a variety of tasks
  • A customer service sensibility
  • A passion for growing the space and its culture
  • Excellent communication skills
  • The ability to go above and beyond

A background in coworking isn’t strictly necessary just so long as your staff is aware that various tenants will have specific needs and work cultures of their own, and are willing to adjust their approach accordingly.

What Roles Do You Need to Fill?

Depending on the size of your space, you may have multiple staff with specialized roles, or you may have a couple of people juggling a variety of responsibilities.

However you divide up the job roles, make sure you have the following covered:

Note that your emphasis on each of these elements will vary depending on whether you want to offer a full-service approach to your tenants, or a slightly more self-managed approach.

Finding the Right People

When hiring, tap into local networks and ask for recommendations. Word-of-mouth and networking are key for drawing new tenants, and the same approach is excellent for finding staff who will mesh well with your culture and operations.

Plus, locals can easily help out with recommendations for local spaces, services, and businesses, helping deliver quality personalized service.

When hiring, be sure to gauge potential staff members’ views around customer service and what it means to provide a customer-centric experience. Once you’ve made your hires, take staff through a comprehensive skills training program together so that they know what’s expected in your coworking space.

Launching a coworking space and need some help? Drop us a line!

 

Also Read:

Enterprise Coworking: How to Build It For Your Organization 

Finding The Perfect Location For Your Coworking Space

Shared Office Space: Five Business Lessons From The C-Suite

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