In a recent Coworking Convo, we talked about how to re-engage your coworking ghosts: the people who stop coming in, don’t engage with anyone, hide in their office, etc. But in all my years of coworking, I’ve developed a theory that people don’t want to be coworking ghosts—they just don’t feel at home (yet) in the space and community.
So, let’s talk about the best solution to coworking ghosts: bring them into the community before they have a chance to start ghosting. Here are nine ways to bring new members into your community starting on day one.
1. Introduce them around
Coworking is not a catch and release thing. There’s nothing worse than onboarding a new member and saying, “Let me know if you have any questions.”
Yes, they do have questions—and lots of them. Starting with the main one: Who are all these people? Introduce them to several members on their first day, a good handful in their first week, and a bunch in their first month. The more names and faces they collect, the more (and more quickly) they’ll start feeling at home.
2. Find out what they do, and what they’re working on right now
You can’t introduce people around if you don’t know something about them. Find out who they are, what they’re into, what they’re working on. And if you don’t know how to start this conversation, start with my favorite question: What are you working on?
You’ll be surprised at how much interesting information comes from that simple question.
3. Encourage them to spend time in the common areas
The default for a new member is to stay at their desk or in their office. But connections happen very slowly for someone who isolates at their computer. So, encourage them to spend time in the common areas. A few minutes each day will do. Just hang out, have a beverage, and start chatting with people.
4. Encourage them to participate
Make sure new members know about the upcoming events, clubs, lunch and learns, offsites, etc. Get them to events, gatherings, and fun things immediately so they don’t get into a pattern of not showing up.
5. Make them feel a welcome part of the community
If you have a community Slack, welcome new members publicly and give them an opportunity to introduce themselves. If you have a weekly happy hour, introduce them to the community. If you have a member board, get them onto it ASAP. And have something on the board that denotes that they’re new.
6. Be mindful of the tone you set in the space
Members are looking to you to see how to be in the space and community. If you’re an engaged, active, fun, collaborative part of the community, they will quickly get the idea that this is an engaged, active, fun, collaborative space. If, however, you set a tone that you’re a receptionist and they’re a customer, that is exactly how they’ll behave.
7. Encourage them to try different work areas
One of the biggest perks of coworking is that you can change up where you work throughout the day. Make sure new members know all of the workspace options that are available to them. Being stuck at the same desk hour after hour, week after week, is soul-sucking for members and the vibe in the space. You want people up and about, contributing to the buzz, so encourage that from the start.
8. Encourage them to truly use the space
This one sounds obvious, but let new members know that you want the space to be their home away from home. Encourage them to pop in for an hour between errands; to come in just to have a coffee; to work during hours that work for them; to make calls and bring clients into the space; etc.
9. Help them avoid being “that person.”
In coworking circles, you sometimes hear about “that person.” You know, the one who talks loudly on their phone for hours, takes conference calls in the community space, doesn’t ever change the coffee filter, leaves dishes in the sink for someone else to deal with—you know, the one.
A new member is not going to know not to do these things, unless you tell them. Bonus points if you have community norms posted for everyone to see.
The Wrap
These are just a few strategies you can use to welcome new members immediately into your coworking community. Hopefully they’ve been helpful.
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