Most coworking operators don’t fail because they lack ambition, but because they can’t keep up with their growth.
When business is looking good, you’ll have too much to handle. Booking issues, missed invoices, incorrect tenant entries, and unanswered user questions pile up. Staff gets stretched thin. Tenants start noticing. You’ll need clear strategies to handle all that.
If you manage multiple locations, these best practices will help you stay on top of things without burning out your team.
1. Set Clear Staff Roles for Each Location
When your team grows across multiple locations, your staff can end up with access to systems and data they don’t need. They might accidentally change settings for another. Sensitive tenant information may get exposed. These errors that build up over time create real problems.
The fix is simple. Decide who is responsible for what at each location and set their access accordingly. Each person should only see and manage what is relevant to their role.
You can opt for a coworking space management software like Simplified Spaces for this:
- Give team members a dashboard that fits their role. Operators get a full picture across all locations. Managers see what they need for their site.
- Front desk staff only access what is relevant to their day-to-day work.
- At the same time, you get full visibility across all your locations, tenants, and usage data.
So, you always know what is happening without having to chase your team for updates.
2. Keep All Your Locations on the Same Page
When you open a second or third location, you can’t let each site figure things out on its own. Local managers must not make their own rules, and pricing can’t just get tweaked without approval. This way, your locations start feeling like completely different businesses.
So, you might damage your reputation when workspaces offer inconsistent services. To keep things in order, start by handling the basics:
- All locations must have the same branding, tone, and communication style.
- The rules for pricing, discounts, and plan changes must be consistent.
- Every location should follow the same onboarding process for new tenants.
- A common platform must have all policies and documentation for staff.
- Review each location regularly to catch inconsistencies.
Remember, your customers view your coworking zones as a single brand. So, your offerings have to be consistent.
3. Ensure Your Pricing Stays Simple
As you grow, you may add new plans to handle different kinds of customers. You can add a special rate, an extra tier, or a custom package for a long-term member. But it can make your pricing seem complicated across workspaces. That confuses tenants before they even sign up.
To keep your pricing clean and scalable:
- Make sure every plan clearly states what’s included and what costs extra.
- Keep the same pricing structure across all locations.
- Review your plans regularly and remove anything that’s rarely chosen.
- Avoid one-off custom deals that cannot be replicated or managed at scale.
Simple pricing makes life easier for your staff. When plans are clear, your team can answer questions confidently, onboard new tenants faster, and spend less time sorting out billing issues.
4. Make Booking and Space Management Flexible
No two coworking locations work the same way. But a lot of operators try to manage all of them with the same system. When that system is too rigid, your team has to find workarounds just to handle basic things like setting different prices or managing space types. It slows your team down and creates a messy experience for tenants.
So, start by mapping out every space type you have across all locations. This can include hot desks, private offices, meeting rooms, and event spaces. They’ll have different availability, pricing, and rules. Define those clearly for each location.
Then, make sure your team isn’t manually tackling all the bookings using outdated tools. Simplified Spaces can be a useful tool here as it lets you:
- Create and manage any space type, like hot desks, private offices, and meeting rooms.
- Set custom availability and pricing for each space.
- Build plans that match your business model at every location.
You will also have a clear view and insights into locations, tenants, and the services they use.
5. Train Every Staff Member the Same Way
Your staff is the face of your brand at every location. The way they work should reflect the same standards everywhere. That’s why you must train them similarly in every workspace location. Here’s how you can go about it:
- Build a single training process for new staff members.
- Document the most common situations staff will face and how to handle them.
- Ensure managers are trained to the same standards before they train others.
- Update your training material whenever your processes change.
- Check in regularly to make sure standards are being maintained at each site.
Good training done the same way everywhere means every tenant gets the same quality of service.
To Sum Up
Besides these tips, always be aware of what’s happening at each of your locations. That’s why you have to be in touch with all the location managers and the staff.
Be it via emails or messaging platforms, you need to know if your processes are working or not. You can set weekly meetings with all managers and staff to know customer issues, workspace problems, and ideas for growth. Proper teamwork will help you manage everything smoothly.
