3 Key Things To Consider When Staffing A Coworking Space

by Roxette Miranda, Workspace Specialist for WUN who works in the Miami Office. WUN is an industry leader in providing a complete package for software, data, internet, voice, as well as 24/7 door access for Coworking and shared spaces. Currently, she works with several locations and has a passion to keep to her Latin American roots by collaborating with spaces there as well as all over the world. This year she was on the host committee for GWA.
Roxette makes sure that anyone new to Coworking are welcomed in a way that has become customary in her culture.

Coworking operators know that having the right staff can make or break the workspace experience. Customer service, operations management, member management, marketing, IT–there are various areas that need to be taken care of on a day to day basis in order to offer members a unique, memorable and seamless experience.

We recently hosted a webinar with two industry experts, Scott Chambers, Co-Founder of Pacific Workplaces, and Nancie Dudash, COO of Quest Workspaces, to learn more about staffing best-practices and what operators should focus on when hiring new people. Both experts also discussed about what it takes to keep staff lean and efficient in order to provide a service that is quick and personalized at all times.

Below, you will find three key takeaways from the webinar. If you’d like to watch the full webinar, you can do so by clicking here.

How Many Employees Do You Need to Run a Coworking Space?

Dudash’s belief is that when it comes to hiring, it’s always best to hire as many people needed in order to account for projected revenue and client density. Focusing on these two metrics will help operators establish which areas they need more support on.

Nonetheless, there are a few key positions that need to be filled: community manager (member manager), salesperson, and an operations manager. After hiring, Dudash states that’s it’s crucial for operators to train, trust, and support staff in order for them to perform their best–by doing so, staff members will feel empowered and their performance will positively influence business.

Hiring The Right Qualities.

Scott Chambers explained that attitude is one of the most important qualities you should focus on when hiring people for your coworking space. Regardless of the exact positions to fill, whether or not your employee is a team player is indicative of whether they can go the extra mile. Excellent communication skills are also a key quality. Your staff will be the face of your coworking brand, they will be the ones interacting with members, which is why it’s important that they are able to communicate well and efficiently.

Hiring Tips

Dudash suggests asking the candidate about their experiences and views on customer service, prompting them to outline a case of receiving exemplary service, as well as what expectations they have as a customer. Dudash believes that what makes an employee thrive in a coworking space is their ability and willingness to learn, and then for them to know how to apply that knowledge.

Chambers, for his part, is a fan of using local, employee, and member referrals, as well as online job recruiting services. Chambers goes for a more hands-on training, explaining that comprehensive methods like this one allow staff to better understand what it is like to work in a shared workspace.

Remember, if your staff isn’t happy, nobody’s happy. Kathlene Buchanan, Founder of Metro Offices, said it a couple years ago: your employees are the ‘secret weapon’ to your success. So make sure that you dedicate the right time to hiring, training, and nurturing your staff.