There are numerous ways to improve your coworking space. But, before you start brainstorming, consider this: office space planning is about more than just having a cool design or lowering expenses; it is also about productivity, culture, flexibility, and, most importantly, the well-being and happiness of the occupants. Coworking spaces are no different. These priorities should, in fact, be underlined.
Below are 5 suggestions for improving your workspace and increasing the productivity, culture, and well-being of your members. But, before we get there, it’s important to note that identifying your objectives will assist you in determining the best improvement strategy. Let’s take a brief look at the goals:
These are the primary goals we believe you should focus on for the majority of coworking spaces:
- The most important is productivity and creativity; your members want to be productive and work in a dynamic setting that allows their creative juices to flow.
- Contact: access to a community of like-minded professionals is one of the most valued added features of coworking spaces; therefore, encouraging interaction among members and considering additional ways to support the community (e.g. events) is essential.
- Flexibility refers to both the flexibility of services (e.g., convenient rent terms, flexible memberships) and the flexibility of physical space (e.g., design, access, and so on).
- Comfort, well-being, and biophilia: pay close attention to your space’s comfort. It is quite important.
- Hospitality: Although it is commonly linked with the hotel business, hospitality is important in coworking – it is about providing a positive experience for people; it is about making people happy and thrilled while using your services.
- It is how people (think members, visitors, and partners) perceive your business – it is about your service, team, communication, interior design, and so on.
- Costs: costs are important in business, especially when you’re scaling; the more you try to minimize your costs, the more efficient you’ll be in managing, and as a result – in moving your resources to upgrading your service, recruiting more staff, implementing new technologies, and so on.
You want to focus your efforts on one or a few goals so that you can stay focused and consistent. Following the definition of your space’s objectives, here are 5 recommendations to assist you improve your coworking space:
1. Create different zones in your space.
- Zoning is a crucial idea in space planning. You should aim to provide as many locations for various uses as feasible, such as:
- Booths for private/study use. For example, when I talk to someone, I like to do so in a private setting. I can’t speak in the middle of dozens of chats.
- There’s plenty of room. This is self-evident in every coworking environment, and you’ve probably seen enough of it.
- Rooms for groups. It’s also a good idea to have some team rooms.
- Rooms and locations for meetings and brainstorming. You must encourage member collaboration and interaction. Consider your audience and location when planning and selecting meeting spaces for your coworking space.
If you want to unleash the creativity of your tenants, you have to provide them with different zones. A change of your working spot even for a while can unleash some very good ideas. I love to work in a different place at least one day a week.
2. Cut off administrative load with a coworking software
The more you delegate administrative tasks, the more time you’ll have to focus on your members and developing your business. Administrative duties like billing, meeting room bookings, and contracts can be managed using coworking management software, which centralizes all aspects of running a coworking firm. It also connects with all important systems, including access control, Wi-Fi, billing, and accounting.
Furthermore, such coworking management software allows you to measure critical business data like income, occupancy, and utilization so you can make smarter business decisions, cut costs, and increase revenue.
3. Manage noise levels
Coworking implies an open floor design, which is part of what makes it so appealing. We are all aware of the benefits of an open office, but it also has certain drawbacks.
Noise in an open environment can be both annoying and inefficient. Not to mention that making business calls in a noisy atmosphere might be difficult. Apps such as Krisp can be immensely useful in reducing background noise during phone calls ( available both for your laptop and your business phone ). However, as a workplace operator, you should also consider the general acoustics of the room. Consider the flooring or the ceiling. Because this one is not so simple, you may need to add some furniture as well.
4. Provide healthy snacks
We all enjoy munching. It would be ideal if you could supply nutritious snacks to your tenants. I’d like to buy some fruits, nuts, salads, smoothies, or sugar-free sugar cookies. Because your target audience is concerned about their health, delivering healthy snacks is critical. Having a snack bar and good coffee is also a fantastic approach to encourage creativity, interaction, and collaboration among members.
5. Put whiteboards or enable writing on walls
If you can’t make separate brainstorming booths or small rooms, you have to find a way to provide enough whiteboards. This is very important to stimulate not just the creativity of the tenants but also their productivity. I often think better when I’m in front of the whiteboard. It helps me structure my thoughts and define them visually.
One very good option is to use a special paint that allows writing directly on the walls. This will not just boost the brainstorming sessions but also give life to your place if you have creative people with painting skills. Other good options include cork boards or even synced TVs.
0 Comments