How to Hire the Right Team for Your Coworking Space

According to an
article in Allwork.Space, “the highest hidden cost of operating a coworking space
is building and keeping the right team in place.” A company’s staff greatly
influences the success and profitability of its operation.

High churn rates are associated with high costs and loss
of efficiency. This is why hiring the right people in the first place is so
important. In the coworking industry, hiring the right people will dictate your
workspace feel, vibe, and community. With this in mind, you should have a
comprehensive hiring process that looks not only a candidate’s professional
skills, but also his or her personal (or soft) skills.

Think about a coworking space’s community manager. This
person is responsible for day to day activities like welcoming clients, making
sure everything in the space is running smoothly (coffee is made, toilet paper
abounds, printer is working properly, etc.), and more often than not they’re
also in charge of marketing, social media, admin, and events. Community
managers are the connectors and facilitators of a coworking space and its
community.

To hire the right people, you need to start by identifying
the needs and demands of your space. How many people do you need? What types of
responsibilities will they need to take care of? What type of experience do
they need to have? Will you need to train them, if so for how long?

Generally speaking, coworking spaces tend to hire people
that come with a hospitality background. The reason for this is that coworking
spaces are an experience-oriented service; you want to provide individuals with
a unique workplace experience. Having someone on your team with a hospitality
background will improve your space’s customer service and relationship with
members.

The right person is someone who will understand the needs
of your space, someone who is sociable, and enjoys being around other people at
all times. It’s someone who enjoys flexibility and is able to adjust and adapt
to changes (your membership base can change, the people who come in and out
every day will vary, working hours will vary, etc.).

The most important thing, by far, when hiring is to lay
clear expectations from both parties. For your part, you want to create a great
work experience and you want to retain your staff. This means that you have to
set clear expectations on salary, work hours, and responsibilities. Not doing
this can easily lead to burnout and stress, which can eventually lead your best
employees to leave you.

If
you’re unsure how to start the hiring process or if you need help determining
the skills you’re looking for in people or the staff needs of your space, reach
out to us, we can help you with
the recruiting, hiring, and training process