Angel, John, and Trek's responses are the kinds that remind me why this
group exists. Today is a good day on this group in my eyes.
So, we've hit this a couple of times in Indy Hall's history as well. A few
notes without repeating the already great comments so far.
- The first time, our response was "oh crap, what do we do about this!?".
The second time, we realized that *we* weren't the ones who needed to do
anything - *we needed to make our expectations of our members clearer*.
The "self selection" of members who are motivated to do things on their own
that Angel mentions works very, very well. But through growth, the self
selection filters get weaker if they're not maintained. If you watched the
video I posted from our 4 year anniversary closely, you'll notice a sign
that says "Don't bother asking Alex, the answer is yes". It's tongue in
cheek but generally true - when members ask for things, my default response
is yes, with a caveat: you have to do it for yourself. Something really cool
happens when new members see existing members who aren't the owners or
community managers or office managers doing things around the office. They
realize that maybe they can too. They'll probably ask for permission the
first time. Then, once we made it clear that it was their office too, they
started taking ownership of things - everything from interior decorations,
events and gatherings, newsletters & communication, group initiatives, etc.
- There's an acclimation period. I know that MOST people don't get
acclimated to Indy hall until their 3rd visit or so. But acclimation is just
the first step to being "in", and seeing/feeling the vibe that I think this
member (and any new member) couldn't find. I've heard more than once that
it's taken people up to 6 months to really feel like they're "in". So
there's two options: make sure you're retaining people past the 6 month
mark, or shorten the time it takes for them to feel "in". We've worked to
shorten this in a few ways:
1. Our onboarding of all membership levels encourages people to upload an
avatar and introduce themselves on our Basecamp when they get in. We've
noticed those people are welcomed quicker in face to face
interactions, in
the kitchen, etc. I've noticed that if you start with the tone
of "introduce
yourself", people are more likely to do that in the future when
they're NOT
the new members anymore. Start good habits early.
2. Rituals are great because they create a rhythm of activity, but
also an opportunity for new members to jump into those rhythms at
predictable rates. It can be something as simple as a weekly
welcome email
that says hello to new members to something as goofy as "drinking your
keys". When new full time members get their keys, we give them
the option to
receive them from the bottom of a pint of beer. This doesn't work
everywhere, but social drinking is a big part of our culture at Indy Hall
and people enjoy this silly ritual - both the participants and the people
cheering them on.
3. Speaking of keys, we had a MAJOR undermining of trust - a theft
conducted by a new full time member. After booting him, we considered our
options. Lock things down and take away the most critical element of Indy
Hall - trust - or make it clear that it was in our expectations of our
members that they work to earn each others trust. If they
weren't getting to
know each other, there's no way to know "what's weird". So we
came up with a
social security system that forces all new full time members desiring
keyholding access to get signatures from 3 other keyholding full time
members. This forces our existing keyholders to be reminded that the
community's security is in their hands, quite literally. It also
forces our
new members to get to know at least 3 other members. Since
introducing this
process, the quality of interaction from our full time members, and their
assistance in onboarding new members of all levels, has increased
dramatically.
- Figure out your "higher purpose". I learned this one in the early days
from Chris and Tara, but having a purpose that is bigger than any one person
is one of the strongest things to help people bond. At Indy Hall, our higher
purpose is "to make Philadelphia a better place to make a living doing what
you love". That's not just something we say, but something we do, something
our members do, and something our members have in common. I think Trek's
story is similar to this: the "higher purpose", even if it wasn't defined,
is what let the community members decide that's what they wanted more of -
and less of the "renters". Look for this in your own communities. Try to
help it be communicated better to new members. If nothing else, it gives
them something to talk about when they take out their headphones.
Susan, the ideas you posed in your original email are all fantastic as well.
I'd look at each one closely and figure out which ones need to be *you
leading them*, versus which ones are opportunities for you to actively help
form new leaders in the community. The quality of membership not only goes
up, but the perpetuation of new leadership means you're less likely to find
yourself at this impasse again.
*T**his* is my favorite part of developing a coworking community.
-Alex
/ah
indyhall.org
coworking in philadelphia
On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 2:32 PM, Susan Evans <su...@officenomads.com> wrote:
> Thanks, John & Angel! I've had a few folks email me off list, and I'll
> repeat a bit of what I've said to them:
>
> I think that community cultivation will always be a part of running a
> successful coworking space. But this particular issue goes way beyond
> worrying about antisocial members. Some of our most collaborative and
> interactive members are shy and take a little nudging to get out and
> chatting from time to time. What we're seeing is an influx of members who
> don't really see the space the way it's intended to be - as a community
> platform where great work gets done. This is an issue, and we've never had
> to redefine our space to people who currently use it.
>
> I just think it's critical to keep talking about challenges we face as we
> grow our coworking spaces. This one has taken me by surprise, but is a
> challenge I'm excited to see addressed. I also know that the older coworking
> spaces are going to see this come up again and again over time, and I'm
> hoping to be able to share my experience with the hope of helping other
> spaces move through this phase with a bit more ease.
>
> Keep the thoughts and input coming, y'all.
>
> S
>
> __
> Office Nomads
> officenomads.com
> 206-484-5859
>
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 8:55 PM, john.wil...@gmail.com <
> john.wil...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Even with Uncubed only a month old, we've noticed that a fair number of
>> members headphone it up, and it's fairly quiet.
>>
>> On those days we play some music, the controls are right on the middle of
>> the room so when someone wants a bit more quiet they've turned it down, then
>> back up when done.
>>
>> The days folks seem naturally more talkative the music isn't needed.
>>
>> John Wilker
>> Founder, 360|Conferences
>> twitter: jwilker <http://twitter.com/jwilker>
>> johnwilker.com | Ignite Denver <http://ignitedenver.org>|
>> Denwhere<http://denwhere.com>|
>> 360|Flex <http://360flex.com> | 360|iDev <http://360idev.com>
>>
>> “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as
>> something to aim at.”
>> ~ Bruce Lee
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 12, 2011 at 8:25 PM, Angel Kwiatkowski <fccowork...@gmail.com
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> First off, you're not airing dirty laundry...you're merely having the
>>> experience we've all had where we're trying our best to keep it
>>> together while looking all fresh and crisp on the outside until
>>> someone pulls back the curtain and we're just standing there in our
>>> underwear.
>>>
>>> I've gotten the same feedback and worse about Cohere. There are
>>> absolutely ways that you can help the members engage with one another.
>>> And I believe that you ALREADY know how to do that. There's also got
>>> to be a 50/50 partnership where the members feel responsible enough
>>> for themselves and their experience to go up to strangers and
>>> introduce themselves or ask someone out to coffee.
>>>
>>> Have we had people say that Cohere isn't the social hive they thought
>>> it would be? Absolutely. Have those same members left? Sure. Have I
>>> changed Cohere because of it? Not really. Is that bad? Maybe. How many
>>> more questions do you want? :D
>>>
>>> We certainly provide intentional avenues for people to get talking but
>>> at the end of the day when there's no event scheduled I want members
>>> who aren't afraid to get a little out of their comfort zones and talk
>>> to each other without needing me or a staff person to help them do it.
>>>
>>> Angel
>>>
>>> On Sep 12, 4:12 pm, Susan Evans <su...@officenomads.com> wrote:
>>> > Happy Monday, coworkers,
>>> >
>>> > I often only share information online when I have something positive to
>>> say.
>>> > It’s just the kind of person I am. But today, my coworking cohorts,
>>> that is
>>> > changing. Because it’s time to air some of my dirty coworking laundry.
>>> I am
>>> > speaking for myself in this email to you all, but I know I have the
>>> full
>>> > support of my fabulous business partner Jacob Sayles behind me. So here
>>> we
>>> > go:
>>> >
>>> > Today I came across some feedback pulled from our Office Nomads
>>> coworking
>>> > survey, which we send to members who have been with us for more than 2
>>> > months:
>>> >
>>> > *I like Office Nomads days when the alternative is working at my desk
>>> at
>>> > home. On days when I have client meetings, I don't come in. But for
>>> all
>>> > the talk of Office Nomads being a social, collaborative space, that's
>>> not
>>> > how I've experienced it at all. A handful of people are friendly. In
>>> > general, it is a clean place for people to plug in headsets and laptops
>>> and
>>> > work on freelance work by themselves. *
>>> >
>>> > *
>>> > *
>>> >
>>> > *By themselves. *
>>> >
>>> > *
>>> > *
>>> >
>>> > Oh my.
>>> >
>>> > Typically when I look into our coworking survey data, I find it full of
>>> > positive, thoughtful comments about what a delightful space we’ve
>>> crafted
>>> > here. I’ve written about some of the great
>>> > data<http://officenomads.com/2011/06/a-few-things-weve-learned/>that
>>> > comes from this survey in the past. Members wax poetic about how it
>>> > has
>>> > saved their business lives, saved their personal lives, and has opened
>>> them
>>> > up to new opportunities they never would have had if they’d continued
>>> to
>>> > isolate themselves in private workspaces.
>>> >
>>> > This little bit of feedback made me sit up straight. And it wasn’t
>>> because
>>> > it was different. It wasn’t because it seemed off base. *It was because
>>> I
>>> > found it to be completely true.*
>>> >
>>> > *
>>> > *
>>> >
>>> > Now, please note that *I tend to be my own worst critic.* I tend to
>>> take
>>> > reviews of my business as reviews of myself. But I also know when a
>>> review
>>> > is just one person having a bad day, or when there clearly wasn’t a
>>> cultural
>>> > fit between a potential member and our space. I know my business better
>>> than
>>> > I know myself in that way. But I have to admit that after nearly 4
>>> years
>>> > running our coworking space, we’re coming up against completely new
>>> > challenges. Our space is doing better than ever in many ways, but in
>>> others
>>> > we're hitting some new walls. So it's time to start talking about 'em.
>>> >
>>> > I read this bit of feedback and thought: *my coworking honeymoon is
>>> over.
>>> > The true challenge of the relationship between my coworking space and
>>> me
>>> > begins now. *
>>> >
>>> > So, how do I move forward? How does the Office Nomads team (made up of
>>> Jacob
>>> > Sayles, our Community Cultivator Alex Kruse, and several volunteers)
>>> steer
>>> > our ship back to a better course? How do we maintain the priority of
>>> our
>>> > space being a great place to get work done but encourage the new folks
>>> who
>>> > come in to build the community?
>>> >
>>> > Please, don’t tell me to get a ping-pong table.
>>> >
>>> > Here are some of the things, little and big, we’ve thought of so far to
>>> > address our “cultural crisis:"
>>> >
>>> > - *Bring the issue to the table. Getting this feedback happens to
>>> > naturally coincide with the next scheduled State of the Nomads
>>> meeting,
>>> > where we talk about how Office Nomads is doing, where we’re going,
>>> and
>>> > anything else members want to discuss.*
>>> > - *Hone in on and improve upon our “onboarding” process of new
>>> > members.*Continue to improve upon how new members are introduced to
>>> > the space and
>>> > introduced to one another. It often comes down to the little things
>>> that
>>> > make people feel at home here, and it usually is up to us to get
>>> people
>>> > started feeling comfortable from day 1.
>>> > - *Don’t allow “comfortable” to turn into “ambivalent.”* As an owner
>>> of
>>> > the space, I have hit a spot where we’re relieved that the space is
>>> full and
>>> > vibrant each day, but truthfully I've allowed myself to pull back
>>> and not be
>>> > as engaged as I have been in the past. This is incredibly hard to
>>> admit, but
>>> > I think that it's the easiest bit to change. I love Office Nomads
>>> and am
>>> > easily re-energized to jump back in full swing.
>>> > - Continue rocking out a great event schedule for our members, full
>>> > of *brown-bag
>>> > events hosted by members for members. *They have been one of the
>>> most
>>> > successful aspects of our space, and are a great way to get members
>>> to know
>>> > one another.
>>> > - *Move desks.* *And encourage members to do the same.* We’ve built
>>> our
>>> > space to be flexible, but we find our resident members in particular
>>> tend to
>>> > anchor themselves into a particular spot. This means they don’t meet
>>> as many
>>> > new folks over time.
>>> >
>>> > Got any other great ideas for us? Are you a coworking space that has
>>> been
>>> > open for many years and are coming across similar issues? I’d love to
>>> hear
>>> > from you. Better yet, I’d love it if you joined me in LA and sat down
>>> to
>>> > talk about it all at the Coworking Weekend in
>>> > October<http://coworkingweekend.eventbrite.com/>.
>>> > That'd be awesome.
>>> >
>>> > Thanks for listening, everyone.
>>> >
>>> > Susan
>>> > __
>>> > Office Nomads
>>> > officenomads.com
>>> > 206-484-5859
>>>
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