Hi all,
I am in the throws of planning a womens coworking space in Singapore.
I am struggling with how I will work out access and staffing and would love to know what solutions you use.
Is your space always ‘staffed’ ?
What hours is it staffed / managed?
If it is totally unstaffed - do you assign certain coworkers responsibilities? ie who changes the water bottle in the cooler? Who makes sure the kitchen is clean?
I guess Im wondering, if there is noone there to take care of it, how can I incentivize my coworkers to take care of these things?
Also,
When it is unstaffed how do you give access?
When it is unstaffed how do you ensure the space is safe?
Thanks for your input!
Michaela
Hello there Michaela! Happy to help. Office Nomads is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 6PM. We offer a key card option to folks that need access outside those hours. There is a whole process of a trial period, a special training, a deposit and some paperwork before we give anyone a key card. This sets expectations from the beginning and gives us the opportunity to show everyone the ropes as we go through the process. We open up the space when staff is here and you can just walk right in. After 6 we close up and you need a key to get in.
We have a pretty simple key card system. Ours is made by ISONAS but there are many different kinds. Electronic keys are important so you can turn them on and off easily and don’t need to rekey any doors.
As for staffing, I don’t believe you can run a coworking space without any staff. You can get people in the door with an access system, you can have people sign up and change their memberships online, and you can hire someone to keep the place clean but then you are just a place to sit and get on the internet. I don’t believe people are lacking places to get on the internet and the warm feel you get from being at a coworking space is a lot more then the choice of paint colors and furniture. The intangible human elements that make up a vibrant community are much trickier to facilitate and take care, intention, and presence. We have a staff of three employees and five working members to cultivate our community of 175 members. The process for each individual is different as they integrate into the community and it’s our job as Community Cultivators is to take time with each and every person. Now it’s starting to make sense why it takes a team of 8 and that’s with a lot of help from others in the community. So looking at it all through this lens, it’s not about keeping the kitchen clean, it’s about inviting people to take care of their community by chipping in wherever they can. That’s what I mean by taking the time and it really is different with each and every person.
I didn’t address your questions directly but I hope you find this helpful. 
···
Jacob
Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500
On Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 11:20 PM, Michaela Anchan [email protected] wrote:
Hi all,
I am in the throws of planning a womens coworking space in Singapore.
I am struggling with how I will work out access and staffing and would love to know what solutions you use.
Is your space always ‘staffed’ ?
What hours is it staffed / managed?
If it is totally unstaffed - do you assign certain coworkers responsibilities? ie who changes the water bottle in the cooler? Who makes sure the kitchen is clean?
I guess Im wondering, if there is noone there to take care of it, how can I incentivize my coworkers to take care of these things?
Also,
When it is unstaffed how do you give access?
When it is unstaffed how do you ensure the space is safe?
Thanks for your input!
Michaela
–
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Thanks Jacob, that is really helpful!
···
On Tuesday, March 18, 2014 1:34:37 AM UTC+8, Jacob Sayles wrote:
Hello there Michaela! Happy to help. Office Nomads is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 6PM. We offer a key card option to folks that need access outside those hours. There is a whole process of a trial period, a special training, a deposit and some paperwork before we give anyone a key card. This sets expectations from the beginning and gives us the opportunity to show everyone the ropes as we go through the process. We open up the space when staff is here and you can just walk right in. After 6 we close up and you need a key to get in.
We have a pretty simple key card system. Ours is made by ISONAS but there are many different kinds. Electronic keys are important so you can turn them on and off easily and don’t need to rekey any doors.
As for staffing, I don’t believe you can run a coworking space without any staff. You can get people in the door with an access system, you can have people sign up and change their memberships online, and you can hire someone to keep the place clean but then you are just a place to sit and get on the internet. I don’t believe people are lacking places to get on the internet and the warm feel you get from being at a coworking space is a lot more then the choice of paint colors and furniture. The intangible human elements that make up a vibrant community are much trickier to facilitate and take care, intention, and presence. We have a staff of three employees and five working members to cultivate our community of 175 members. The process for each individual is different as they integrate into the community and it’s our job as Community Cultivators is to take time with each and every person. Now it’s starting to make sense why it takes a team of 8 and that’s with a lot of help from others in the community. So looking at it all through this lens, it’s not about keeping the kitchen clean, it’s about inviting people to take care of their community by chipping in wherever they can. That’s what I mean by taking the time and it really is different with each and every person.
I didn’t address your questions directly but I hope you find this helpful.
Jacob
Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation
http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500
On Sun, Mar 16, 2014 at 11:20 PM, Michaela Anchan [email protected] wrote:
Hi all,
I am in the throws of planning a womens coworking space in Singapore.
I am struggling with how I will work out access and staffing and would love to know what solutions you use.
Is your space always ‘staffed’ ?
What hours is it staffed / managed?
If it is totally unstaffed - do you assign certain coworkers responsibilities? ie who changes the water bottle in the cooler? Who makes sure the kitchen is clean?
I guess Im wondering, if there is noone there to take care of it, how can I incentivize my coworkers to take care of these things?
Also,
When it is unstaffed how do you give access?
When it is unstaffed how do you ensure the space is safe?
Thanks for your input!
Michaela
–
Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.