I’ve been interviewing lots of coworking space managers, and am noticing some common challenges: (1) attracting and retaining members, (2) maintaining a strong culture and avoiding the “everyone just walks in and puts on their headphones” phenomenon, and (3) lessening the load on the founders and decreasing burnout.
I believe I have a solution that addresses all of those things. It centers around creating a regular structure and schedule that makes the experience of running a space less of a daily rut.
Schools have semesters. Corporations have quarters. Accelerators have classes. The moon has phases. The earth has seasons. Everything has a cycle with a natural ebb and flow.
What would be the ideal equivalent in coworking spaces? The program I’m developing seeks to address that.
How it works
- Spaces focus their recruiting on specific seasonal “kickoff” dates. Members can join anytime, but if they join by this date, they’ll be able to take advantage of programs alongside a bunch of others doing the same. Existing members can re-engage along these seasonal structures as well.
- The kickoff week onboards all the new members, gives them a chance to talk about what their goals are for the season, and invites them to organize into accountability groups.
- For the next 2-3 months, members work towards their goals, checking in with each other on a regular basis. Community programming is oriented around supporting their learning and progress.
- At the end of the season, members present what they’ve accomplished, acknowledge their challenges, review what they’ve learned, and celebrate together in a special ceremony.
- The next season begins!
Benefits
- This gives coworking space owners a really great way to orient their marketing, their community building, and their publicity.
- They can predictably have periods where they can proudly talk about the members they have and what they’ve accomplished.
- People can more easily form stronger bonds.
- The inherently generational nature of culture among members in coworking spaces is designed for.
So… what should we call it?
It has elements that call back to seasons, schools, and accelerators. It should be something self-explanatory enough that coworking space owners could easily communicate what it’s about to their members.
PS – A preliminary version of this will be included with our Ultimate Coworking Toolkit. Pre-order it by February 29 and save some bucks: http://nwc.co/toolkit
Comments