Coworking spaces are more than merely shared spaces that help your business organization focus on its core offerings. Most coworking spaces across the world offer several features and prerequisites that can create a significant impact, which often goes underutilized.
While you will get a better understanding of how best to utilize your particular coworking space by talking with your coworking service provider, there are some common features on offer that your business can make the best of.
In this post, not only do we cover these common features, but also mention certain features that you might need to talk to your coworking service provider about, making this a truly definitive guide on how to make the best out of your coworking subscription.
Utilize Different Workstations
Coworking spaces usually have more than just one common workstation where everybody works. Different areas cater to specific coworkers needs – workstations with aesthetic views and different seating arrangements (for collaborations, presentations, and individual cubicles) among others.
Make sure to explore the best options like meeting rooms, conference rooms, lounges, phone booths, etc. and utilize all workstations curated to fulfill various needs.
If privacy is crucial to your business, you may also arrange for private workstations. However, all coworking spaces might not offer private workstations, so make sure to talk to your desired coworking service provider about your requirements before signing up for a subscription.
Use Meeting Rooms And Lounges
Even though there are dedicated workplaces for client meetings and presentations, switch things up and conduct meetings in lounges from time to time. This boosts the employees’ mood, makes them more aware, and thus encourages to bring new insights to the table. Nobody likes the same routine every day, and going out of your way to break the monotony for employees is bound to boost morale.
Sometimes, a casual environment may be more suitable to close a deal with your clients, than the formal setting of a meeting room. In cases like these, make sure to switch things up, and use in-built lounges, or cafeterias, or even in music rooms, if that’s what makes your clients tick.
Use Phone Booths
One of the major hindrances, on paper, is the perceived notion that businesses can’t have private and sensitive phone calls in coworking spaces.
While, on paper, this sounds logical (due to the shared nature of all amenities) most coworking spaces do offer private phone booths that will allow you, or your employees to have private, sensitive discussions that you might not want others to hear about.
Despite popular belief, privacy is not as big an issue as the public perception puts it to be when it comes to coworking spaces.
Workshops and Events
Most coworking spaces provide frequent workshops, and events for their coworkers and community related to not only soft skills but also other lectures on various topics to boost knowledge. Making use of these workshops to upskill your employees are conducive to a smooth workplace environment.
From education, upskilling, personal development, hobbies, or even entertainment, all sorts of events and workshops are conducted.
Do Networking With Coworkers
Coworking spaces offer your business the unique advantage of sharing the same physical location with coworkers from other businesses. This allows you and your employees the opportunity to network with a wider array of people with similar or different skills, knowledge, hobbies, and interests.
Human beings are social animals after all and are proven to thrive in social environments. By allowing your employees to network across organizations, will get better outcomes and many unthinkable opportunities may also come up.
Do Explore other Centers of Your Provider for More Exposure
Frequent changes in the workplace environment help the employees feel afresh every single day. There is almost no room for burnout, thereby increasing employee productivity and retention.
Usually, coworking spaces offer multiple offerings in the same city, and a tour can often inspire you based on how employees in other organizations perform.
Apart from mere inspiration (yes, mere, there’s more to touring other centers than meets the eye), visiting other centers puts you in touch with more people in a similar capacity as you.
Networking opportunities are plenty, providing you with all the exposure that you will need to help you succeed in your business venture. Often, you can also opt for events at these centres.
Initiate and Collaborate with Service Provider for Any Events or Activities
Curating different technical events or celebrations for your coworkers need not be difficult anymore. Coworking space service providers are usually open to collaborate and take initiative to make your ideas become a reality.
Knowing what your employee base likes and catering to their needs by arranging events (including fun sessions) from time to time will help reduce employee burnout. Also, these events for the community could be putting you in a good position within the community and networks.
Host Workshops to Share Your Knowledge and Skills, for More PR
Remember the workshops we talked about earlier? You can collaborate with your coworking service provider and organize one too! Not only would it allow you to showcase your expertise and skills, but it also serves the additional benefit of publicizing and promoting your business to the outside world.
Apart from this PR, workshops (and other types of events, like fairs) can help attract potential employees to your business.
Save On Starbucks’ Coffee Cost by Utilizing the Complimentary Beverages
Coworking spaces offer refreshments, snacks, and beverages for the coworkers. These are usually complimentary and unlimited in supply. Letting your employees know about the offerings can help them cut down their costs on complimentary things like these.
While the average cost per day an employee spends on food and beverages might be perceived less, the total money spent cumulates to a huge amount.
Utilize The Partners for Any of Your Requirements
Most Coworking spaces partner with brands and will allow you to get attractive discounts on restaurants, gadget offerings, and rentals, tend to be partnered with coworking spaces and other software business products, and these discounts can save a buck or two for you in the long run.
Note that different coworking spaces partner with different types of business entities (and thus different benefits for your business). If these discounts are a priority, make sure to talk to your coworking service provider in advance, before signing a coworking subscription.
You Can Promote Your Service
If you’re a B2B offering, you’ll often find your ideal clientele sharing the same building as you do. With the permission of your coworking service provider, you’ll be able to market directly to your target customers, without having to jump through a lot of hoops.
While most coworking spaces do allow businesses to market their products to other members of the coworking space, they do have methods and rules set around this. For B2C businesses, having direct access to a wide array of audiences helps you gain genuine and valuable feedback on your offerings.
Talk to your Coworking service provider to learn more.
Host Interviews for Better Hiring Success Ratios
Coworking spaces are popularly known for their aesthetic workplace environments with vibrant wall decor and wise choices of lighting. These have a positive psychological impact on human minds and utilizing coworking spaces to conduct interviews increases the hiring success ratios. The environment also creates a good first impression.
Host Your Launch Events, Webinars, Seminars, Etc.
Have you ever looked at Apple’s one more thing event, and wished your launch event had similar levels of production quality and buzz surrounding you?
With the right infrastructure (usually on offer by most coworking spaces), your launch event will look just as good, with your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) right there in the audience.
Not only launch events, but most coworking spaces also offer the adequate infrastructure to host webinars, seminars, or other similar virtual events that might be necessary for your business to succeed.
Utilize Customization Options
Companies are often given a choice of customization when it comes to opting for a coworking space. Talking to your service provider and inquiring about the options will give you better insights on what things are customizable and what things are not.
The seating arrangements, tech equipment, and choice of refreshments are some things that are custom-tailored for different companies.
To Conclude
These are all the ways that you can make the best out of your coworking space. However, this list is not exhaustive, and other innovative ways to make the best out of your coworking subscription do exist. However, depending on your coworking service provider, the benefits and the features on offer would be unique to that service provider.
The best way to make full use of coworking spaces is to talk to your coworking service providers. It is the key responsibility of coworking service providers to keep your business happy and will be more than happy to accommodate any queries, you might have to make the best out of your subscription.
Open dialogue is one of the key steps to ensure you benefit the most from your coworking subscription.