Post COVID-19, there is a drastic increase in coworking spaces worldwide. These are places that even CEOs and managers can use before showing up for a meeting. Since many companies are switching to hybrid and remote work cultures, the popularity of coworking spaces globally is increasing.
According to the latest statistics, more than a million people will be using coworking spaces in the US alone by 2022. Additionally, 42% of coworking space members globally are freelancers and 20% are in the IT sector.
Although they may prove to be better than a cafe, home office, or restaurant, coworking spaces are also associated with their own set of challenges and concerns. Nowadays a good coworking space transcends a fine desk, WiFi, charging portals, and all-cool toilets. It must be well-maintained, and comfortable with a positive work environment to help users stay engaged in their work at all costs.
Engagement is a major concern in workplaces and to make matters worse, loneliness levels are on the increase in young people, millennials inclusive. Amidst the rising personal and professional concerns, mentorship can help people become more motivated and resilient. A few ways to solve this issue can be mentoring, conducting engagement events, maybe a simple interactive quiz platform etc. Mentoring is known to increase employee engagement and motivation in workplaces.
Shared working spaces bring together different workers i.e entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote employees. Ensuring high engagement levels in these spaces can help users become more creative and productive. At this juncture, we would like to look at the different mentoring programs coworking space managers can introduce to boost members’ engagement.
7 Mentoring Programs For Coworking Spaces
1. Stress Management Programs
Coworking spaces are seen as an excellent option for not only employees who work remotely, but even those seeking a work-life balance. Many employees prioritize a positive work environment as it contributes a lot to their mental welling. For that reason, many of them see coworking spaces as an escape zone from unhealthy work environments.
As coworking spaces are becoming a delicacy for employees to collaborate on tasks, coworking space managers can introduce stress management programs to help users learn how to deal with stress. Some employees opt for coworking spaces because they find their offices stressful and draining. Any unhealthy work environment causes emotional distress and when left unattended, this leads to behavioral issues in the workplace.
The American Psychological Association (APA), stresses that a healthy workplace should include work-life balance, health and safety, employee recognition, and employee involvement. Employees perform better and grow in workplaces that prioritize their well-being.
By introducing stress management programs, you would have helped your coworking space users attain the help they need. They will be motivated to use the coworking space more often because of the added advantage.
You can introduce stress management programs such as de-stress sessions, gyming, and reading sessions to help or teach users how to navigate stress. Through these sessions, users can express their fears, and stressors and learn how to cope.
2. Training & Development Programs
Employee training and development programs have become more essential than ever, particularly for enhancing digital skillsets, career development, and achieving financial goals. The need for digital skillsets and career development are some of the major reasons why workers are ever on the lookout for training and development programs. Apart from staying relevant in the competitive corporate landscape, employee training programs also increase job performance.
Coworking spaces are gathering points for workers of varying experience and skills. However, there are many of them who also use coworking spaces without having desirable skills. Through other users’ proficiency, workers can realize the skill gaps in their professional lives. With that, coworking space managers can introduce training and development programs to help users obtain crucial skills.
The decision will provide a common platform where the most experienced can provide training to others or where those who are inexperienced can receive the training they need to kick-start their careers. Your training and development programs can cater to different fields like finance, digital skillsets, data entry, and analytics. These will help users obtain skills and knowledge for efficiency in their jobs and stay up to date.
Note that training techniques also matter and the most prevalent these days include gamification, Virtual Reality, cross-training, and job-shadowing. Identify and choose the best training methods depending on the coworking space users’ preferences.
3. Emotional Intelligence Training Programs
You’ve probably found many instances where some people are good at managing their emotions whereas others can’t. That brings us to the question of whether emotional intelligence is a gift or a skill that can be developed? Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability of one to identify and manage their feelings and emotions and those of others. Emotional intelligence is a vital skill for all individuals, however more desirable for those in leadership positions.
Studies show that emotional intelligence accounts for 90% of what sets high performers apart. More to that, EQ contributes to up to 58% of job performance, apart from technical skills, knowledge, and intelligence quotient (IQ. For leaders, emotional intelligence is very important because it sets the tone of the organization.
When leaders are emotionally intelligent, it helps them understand employees' situations as they tend to develop cognitive empathy. It also sets their leadership styles apart and renders them successful. Apart from those in leadership, possessing emotional intelligence can make a difference in anyone’s life.
Providing mentoring in emotional intelligence helps coworking place users learn how to deal with their emotions. It will help them reason and think critically before retaliating to any conflicting situation, especially in public places. It will also help the coworking place managers create a positive work environment for users. The more professionals become emotionally intelligent, the more they exhibit empathy and develop strong relationships necessary for career success.
4. Diversity & Inclusion-Focused Programs
Coworking spaces are excellent grounds for networking opportunities, acquiring skills through collaboration, and expanding influence. However, these are possible only through successful inclusion. These spaces attract users from all walks of life generally categorized as per gender, age group, nationality, ethnicity, etc. That means a great deal of diversity. To make such places favorable for all potential users, there must be an all-inclusive environment.
All-inclusive coworking spaces help users to feel supported and also increase the sense of belongingness. Without inclusion, there is no successful diversity. Mentoring programs on diversity and inclusion can help coworking place users realize the importance of diversity and the value of inclusion.
Such initiatives on diversity and inclusion help users learn how to co-exist, especially in new environments. It will also help them develop a growth mindset toward themselves, others, and life at large. Besides, pushing for inclusion helps in creating equal employment opportunities and promoting equality.
If you’re a coworking place owner, you can introduce a diversity-focused mentoring program to help users learn more about diversity, inclusion, and belongingness. This will also create a positive work environment in your coworking space.
5. Leadership Mentoring Programs
Leadership skills are essential for a successful career and they can’t be taken out of the equation. Managers and team leaders who possess quality leadership skills tend to become successful at working with people. Understanding people and displaying high leadership ethics makes anyone good at collaboration and team management.
Leadership mentoring programs help participants to obtain a leadership mindset. A leadership mindset involves various facets that include inclusion, respect, empathy, accountability, and emotional intelligence among others. On more common ground, it can lead to self-improvement and self-awareness.
These programs also help those who desire to become leaders learn about the different leadership styles and theories. If you manage a coworking space, introducing or incorporating a leadership mentoring program to your list can increase members’ engagement.
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6. Collaboration Programs
To attain greater goals, collaboration in the workplace must be at the center point. It not only plays a vital role in idea sharing, but it also helps build knowledge and skills. With the fact that hybrid and virtual work cultures are becoming a norm, learning how to collaborate is necessary.
Coworking spaces are excellent collaborative places and will continue to gain fame. In these places, users become more creative and engaged in their tasks since the environment caters to that through dedicated cubicles and resources. Collaboration mentorship programs can help coworking place users collaborate better and this can lead to the achievement of bigger goals, and also minimizes resource wastage like time.
By providing mentoring programs in collaboration you will help participants coordinate better among teams, improve teamwork, and learn how to use the different collaboration tools. Mentoring people in collaboration can help them become more efficient and productive.
Many people get the opportunity to connect with more experienced entrepreneurs which helps them gain more insights and knowledge in their area of interest. It also leads to better adaptability in workplaces.
7. Mentorship in Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is a lifelong skill desirable for managers and people in leadership positions. However, mentorship in problem-solving can also help anyone learn how to make better decisions. Learning how to solve problems is a mental process and results tend to show with time. It generally helps one become a proactive thinker.
Mentorship in problem-solving helps participants learn how to analyze situations, think critically, and brainstorm solutions. The exercise can also help them know that there can be weighty repercussions with every decision made aggressively or without a thorough assessment of events. The consequences, especially when dealing with people in an organization can lead to revolts and losses in terms of resources.
With the fact that coworking spaces attract users from different fields, mentorship in problem-solving can boost engagement and also help attract more members. There are generally higher chances of coworking with people who would love to obtain quality problem-solving skills to impact their careers and working practices.
For example, for business analysts, you can help them learn how to form a framework that can help them identify the actual problem and come up with the best solutions. You can also guide them on how to leverage data for effective problem-solving. In the case of developers, you can help them familiarize themselves with new technologies or how they can use the existing resources to solve intricate projects, or split complex goals into simpler ones.
To encapsulate, coworking spaces are gaining fame worldwide because of the need to work remotely. These spaces are designed to help users achieve a unique satisfaction, perhaps which they wouldn’t have achieved in their workplaces. If you’re a coworking space manager who intends to open one, introducing mentoring programs can help increase members’ engagement. Besides, they will also help you attract more members to your coworking space.
The article was written by Jessica Robinson. Jessica loves to write interesting and knowledgeable blogs regarding business management, education and life to satiate the curiosity of her lovely readers. Currently, she is serving as a content manager at the ‘Speaking Polymath’. Every piece of content that she writes demonstrates her immense love and passion for her profession.
