When you hear the word automation in coworking, what do you think of?
Maybe you think of a cold, inhuman experience, void of the human touch? Maybe you think of an intricate, intimidating, technological challenge that takes months to set up? Or maybe you think of an out of reach goal, something far off in the future?
Now what if we told you automation wasn’t any of those things, but instead is something much more exciting and beneficial to every aspect to your job, and your business.
What if we told you that automating your coworking space operations can help you create a more personal experience, can be set up in minutes, and can be used to completely change your business right now?
A brief history of coworking technology
In a previous 2022 Coworking Insights article, I introduced the three phases of coworking technology. Now, we have entered phase four.
Let’s take a look at how running a coworking space has evolved over the last 15 years.
Coworking technology has moved through four distinct phases. Now we are in phase four.
Phase 1: Manual Processes
The first coworking spaces were managed with manual processes like pen and paper, spreadsheets, and a collection of disjointed tools. It was cumbersome, prone to errors and inefficient for all, but options were extremely limited at the time.
Phase 2: Fragmented Tools
As the industry grew, so did the need for better tools. Operators started using a variety of tools to perform specific tasks – booking rooms with Google Calendar, managing memberships in various CRM apps, and manually invoicing and tracking payments. The challenge was that these tools didn’t talk to each other, and operators found themselves juggling multiple platforms and filling in the gaps.
Phase 3: Integrated Software
The rise of integrated “all-in-one” software was a significant leap forward. Platforms like Optix brought everything from bookings and invoicing to member communication together into a single, cohesive platform-based solution. It significantly improved efficiency and reduced the need to navigate between multiple tools. Yet operators were still dedicating over half of their time on manual tasks within their software platforms.
Phase 4: Automation
We’ve now entered the fourth phase of coworking space software – Automation. Thanks to advancements in technology, automation-based solutions can now help operators spend less time with tools performing manual tasks, and more time with their community. Coworking software is evolving to do more and more of the manual work for operators.
So what exactly is automation and what does it mean to your business?
When we talk about automation in coworking spaces, we’re referring to using technology to do work that would otherwise be done by a human, and doing that work without the need for human intervention.
The table below maps out some common tasks in a coworking space before and after automation.
The key benefits of automation in coworking spaces
A whopping 88% of coworking operators say automation is important to their business. But why is that? What are the benefits they’re seeing in their business?
1.Time-savings
The average coworking space operator is spending 53% of their day using technology tools performing manual tasks. Much of this time is being spent on lower-thinking tasks like sending email reminders or updating accounts.
Automation helps operators take back their time by automating recurring manual tasks in technology systems. This could include:
- Monthly invoicing
- Daily check-ins
- Email reminders for tours
- Follow ups on late payments
By automating these time-intensive tasks, operators and their teams are free to reinvest their time into other, higher-thinking tasks that move their business forward. For example, KWENCH work and social club in Victoria, BC leverages automation to simplify work for their front-facing team and enable them to spend more time with their community.
2. Increased operational efficiency
The reason why operators moved away from excel spreadsheets to dedicated coworking software is to help them find efficiencies in the daily workflows. These platforms could do a lot more than a spreadsheet could with a lot less input.
We’re seeing the same thing happening right now with the shift towards automation. Operators are moving away from traditional coworking management software to robust coworking automation software because automation can unlock efficiency that no other systems can.
Companies can lose up to 30% of revenue due to inefficiencies. Creating more efficient back-end processes can help operators find cost-savings in their day-to-day and unlock new levels of profitability.
3. An elevated experience
Ask your community manager what they want to be doing with their time, and it’s unlikely they’ll say processing invoices and offboarding members. However, our recent survey showed that they’re spending nearly 60% of their time interfacing with technology.
Furthermore, when asked what they wish they had more time for on a day-to-day basis, 77% of community managers said they wish they had more time to connect with members in the space.
Automation can help operators elevate the experience of their team, giving them the time they need to do the intangibles, like build a robust, thriving community.
What can you automate in your coworking space?
When it comes to automating a coworking space, most operators understand the basics like billing and payments, check-ins, and invoice processing. However, there are virtually endless processes that can be supported with automation.
It’s recommended to start by automating the time-intensive and repetitive tasks in your space first. Here’s what that could include.
Member onboarding and offboarding
In a coworking space, member onboarding is a multi-step, time-intensive process. It may involve:
- Sending a welcome email
- Collecting key documents and information
- Introducing new members to others in the community
- Educating members on SOPs and processes
Offboarding may involve signing paperwork and removing payment information from your system.
If your community manager is currently completing these steps manually, there is an opportunity to create an automation using an automation workflow builder like Zapier or Automations in Optix, to complete these tasks automatically each time a new member joins.
Feedback collection
Regularly asking for and collecting feedback can help you optimize your business offering and make better, member-driven decisions in your day-to-day. Automated email surveys at key intervals, like after a member’s first week or after their first six months, can ensure a regular stream of feedback is collected without you needing to remember to send out surveys.
Member communication
Regular ongoing communication with your members enhances community engagement. To communicate with members, most operators rely on some combination of:
- Direct messaging via a digital communication tool or email
- Email newsletters
- Email reminders of events and important announcements
- System-wide communication (i.e. push notification on a mobile app)
Automation can support this type of communication, as well as open up an entirely new way of communicating with members via automated email and messages. An example could be sending an email if someone hasn’t booked a desk in 60 days inviting them into the space with a promo code.
Communication with leads
Regularly communicating and nurturing leads can help you shorten your sales cycle and convert more prospects into paying members.
Automation is in a prime position to support lead communication with ongoing strategic email nurture sequences. Let’s say you host a happy hour in your space for your local community, including non-members. Registering for the event requires sharing their email address.
Rather than trying to remember to send out emails each week, you can set up an automated nurture sequence containing a series of emails over the next 30 days to help convert those leads.
Implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
SOPs ensure a consistent, high-quality experience across multiple locations. This is especially important for scaling coworking spaces or coworking networks.
By automating SOPs, operators can trust that things are happening as they should across multiple locations. Examples of SOPs include:
- How your space addresses and deals with issues (ie. WiFi isn’t working)
- How and when your space follows up on an overdue invoice
- How your team manages information on accounts
All of these processes can be managed via automation, reducing human error.
The future of running a coworking space
Automation is changing how operators run a flex space business for the better. We see this trend not only continuing, but growing exponentially over the next 2-4 years as technology advances.
In the future, spaces will be able to run autonomously, requiring less manual human intervention over time. Coworking technology will become more intelligent, more predictive, and more personalized. As a result, operators and their teams will be able to trust technology to do more of their work for them. They’ll be able to spend less time with their tools each day and more time with people, investing in hospitality, human interactions and cultivating community.
Through automation, operators can do less of the things they don’t want to do, and more of the things they do. It’s the first step towards creating a more human-centric coworking experience.
