How to Hire for Coworking

Best practices for building your flex workspace dream team.

Team members at 25N Coworking.

Staffing for flexspace — and getting it right — isn’t easy. Between budget constraints, a need for well-varied skill sets, and the simple fact that almost no one knows it’s possible to get a job in #coworking when they grow up, hiring the right people is challenging, but crucial.

In this article, I’ll share insights on the questions I hear most around staffing — what red flags to look out for, how to develop a synergistic team that’s sold on the mission of the organization, and what compels people to stick around for the long haul. (Hint: write a job description that YOU would want to apply for.)

How should I calculate how much staff I need for my space/operation?

It depends on your unique brand. At 25N, we place a huge emphasis on the high hospitality of our member experience. For a similar workspace, this might mean hiring a 2nd or 3rd person for a front-facing community role well before the competition considers it. It pays to focus on the well-being of your staff (more on that later), so don’t be scared to make room in your budget for additional team members, even if just for morale purposes. Your team sets the tone of the space, and that trickles down to member experience, so I recommend to not compromise.

…What if I’m on a tight budget?

In that case, job trades are your best friend. Offer free workspace to heavy-hitting local freelancers in exchange for their help in the areas you have the fewest resources. Someone who started out doing freelance marketing and graphic design for our company when we had just opened caught the vision and is now part of our corporate team. If you’re known in the community as “the place to be,” talent will gravitate to your company’s mission, even if they’re not for strictly “staff” positions.

Another option is to develop an internship program (paid, of course) and collaborate with local high schools or universities to recruit students. Some of our interns have been with us for years!

How can I create a compelling job description?

Focus on the big picture. It may seem counter-intuitive, but think of the job description as 3 parts “vision-casting session” to every 1 part “list of required skills”. Let the defining question be “would *I* want this job?”. If, when reading it back to yourself, you hear an endless to-do list, you need to start over. Instead, focus on where the position will take the person, describe their growth plan, and cast vision for where the company is going and why they should get on board now.

Here’s the tricky part: as the leader, building the kind of culture that would even drive such a compelling job description actually starts with you. Are you willing to back out a little and turn your team loose, or do you fight the urge to be involved in every little decision? Be willing to put your money where your mouth is when you write: “You, ____, will be the nucleus of the space. You’ll be the face of the brand.”

What backgrounds should I look for in a potential applicant? I.e. Hospitality vs. Sales vs. Customer service?

Look for any background that involves working with people in a highly relational setting. That means everything from barista, to university staff, to hotel concierge, to camp counselor, to dance teacher is fair game (and we’ve hired from all of those backgrounds). Sales backgrounds are often helpful too, but I don’t force that. Anyone who is great with people can also be taught to give a compelling tour.

For bonus points: Things that make me pay extra attention to an applicant: when they ask thoughtful follow-up questions, when a thoughtful comment shows they’ve been really paying attention, or when they show genuine interest in you as a person. Did *I* enjoy my interaction with them? If so, it’s likely members in workspace the space will, too.

Where can I find the best applicants? Referrals, LinkedIn, word-of-mouth, or job boards?

I’ve had the most success with referrals from the local community. Because we place such an emphasis on relationality, our strongest applicants have come through relationships. Another benefit of this is that community leads tend to already have a feel for the vision and vibe of your company before they’ve even applied, as opposed to a source like LinkedIn, where the only impression may be what they’ve seen online. Social media can be a referral base as well, so don’t hold back from posting your job openings to your company’s pages.

What’s your process for taking someone from resume to team member? Number of interviews? Interview structure? What questions you ask?

Step One.
Start with a nearly unreasonable amount of screening calls. Compared to many of my peers in the field, I give 50% more resumes a chance and go straight to a video screening of the applicant. A resume is great, but you get a much better feel for a person’s level of relationality via a video call (Zoom is a great tool for this). Plan for 20–30 minutes per call, and REALLY soak this in. You’ll never get a first impression of this person again.

What to look for? Body language, how much thought they put into setting up their background for video conference, how much research they’ve done on our company, how well prepared and timely they are, etc.

What to ask? About themselves, what their strengths/weaknesses are, what interests them about the role, where it fits into their desired career path. I always take time here to share my vision for the role as well.

Step Two.
In-person interview. For me, this is where I involve the team and other decision-makers. Most often, this interview starts with a team member giving them an extensive tour of the space — at least 20 minutes. The total length of the interview could be up to an hour and 30 minutes.

What to look for? Communication skills, do they answer the question you asked or do they veer off track, did you enjoy your time with this person? Did your team enjoy their time?

What to ask? Competency questions. This places the focus on a person’s overall skills and adaptability, rather than specific job experience. I.e. “tell me about a time when…”

Wild card round: Ask the candidate to give YOU a tour of the space or ask them to join an in-space social or networking event to get an idea of their retention and adaptability.

Step Three.
The final round of in-person interviews takes place with both me and our CEO present. By this time, I’m almost certain I’m ready to hire this person, and this is just a final screening with another decision-maker. Our CEO usually focuses more on resume, and has an eye for the detail-orientedness of an applicant. There’s so much cohesion between us that at the end of the day, it usually comes down to her asking “do YOU like this person?”

How long does your overall hiring process take?

About a month. Spend as much time as you need with applicant generation and resume screening as you need, so that once you actually get someone in the queue for interviewing, it goes pretty quick.

How should I handle an impasse on a hiring decision?

Always — ALWAYS — respect the second opinion. Why does your teammate have red flags? And when push comes to shove, it’s best to defer to whoever will be working closest with that person.

How much weight do you place on overall team cohesion when evaluating applicants?

In short? A lot. This is generally the first place I start in the hiring process. A good place to start is by writing job descriptions through the lens of what kind of talent you’re looking for rather than what kind of tasks you want accomplished.

What red flags should I look for in the interviewing process?

Things that should make you pause:

• A history of many short-term jobs. This can indicate commitment/loyalty concerns.
• If they’ve changed industries dramatically from job to job. Did they switch from mechanics to HR to administrative work? Obviously some career experimentation may be reasonable, but I try to look for threads of interest among career history. I.e. does an eagerness to work with people tie these past jobs together?
• If you can’t find their picture ANYWHERE on the internet. Obviously, for some people, privacy is a concern, but if they’re being hired into a front-facing role, they need to be willing to put their face out there.
• Lack of grammar/writing skills on a resume.
• If they phone call into their first screening interview rather than video call in. Aside from technical issues, that usually means a hard “no” from me. Again, candidates need to be comfortable in a highly front-facing role.

Final thought:

Many companies focus on cutting cost above all, which undermines their success and brand-credibility on the long run. Investing in your employees is — I cannot emphasize this enough — how. you. build. your. company. Ditch the cheaper-faster-fewer mindset and make strategic investments in your people that will win their loyalty and make them delighted spokespeople for your brand. Think through what benefits you can offer your team even if things like salary bonuses are not viable. Attractive shifts, team dinners out, half-days on Fridays, education stipends, and flexibility in their job description — all of these are things that can keep your company from being a resume stepping-stone to someone’s next job. If you want to build a team of the best-of-the-best, start by creating a work environment that’s a cut above. If you build it, they will come.