A Different Kind of Teamwork in a Coworking Space

Since the lockdown, coworking has become a popular trend in the professional community. It allows people in professional spaces to interact, network and collaborate on different projects. If you are looking to share a workspace with colleagues, then it's important that you read this. Here, we discuss the nitty-gritty of teamwork in a shared space.

What Is Coworking?

The idea of coworking is to allow freelancers, entrepreneurs, teams, and remote workers to share a collaborative workspace. The goal of joint workspaces is to promote community, network, and productivity. Although the word "coworking" was first introduced in 1995 by Bernard DeKoven, it has become more popular over the last 4 years as a flexible and affordable alternative to traditional workplaces.

How can Teamwork Change in a Coworking Space?

Here are some ways in which teamwork can be influenced in a shared area:

Allowing Freedom for Your Team

The environment can allow group members to feel free and autonomous in a joint workspace. In such environments, teams take better responsibility for their actions and often develop initiatives to solve group problems and create coworking solutions. Hence, the role of the team's leader shifts from being the sole decision-maker to guiding the group.

Working Together as a Team

In the proximity of a shared space, group members are expected to work as a squad. Some tasks may be divided among teammates to ensure that the squad's goal is achieved. During this period, every member feels valuable and important to the squad's success. They, therefore, have one goal and are forced to communicate effectively and respectfully to ensure that the goal is achieved.

Working Separately across the space

Division of labour is one key tool in a coworking office. The squad's lead will often outline and divide the task among teammates, forcing each member to succeed at the task they have been assigned. At times like this, teammates will work independently in the joint space.

While teamwork often involves collaboration in a shared space, it allows individuals to work separately across the area.

Keeping Track of the Team – Setting Best Practice

In a coworking office, the manager or group leader is responsible for tracking the squad's progress and ensuring that all teammates are playing their parts. The leader also has the duty to instil best practices and ensure effective teamwork, collaboration, and productivity.

These are the best practices to keep track of a team:

Adopt collaborative platforms and tools to organise and access team processes.
Practice etiquette to create a productive, friendly, safe, and healthy workspace.
Implement time-tracking practices to monitor and manage the squad's activities and progress.

Organise group bonding activities to foster stronger interpersonal relationships and interdependence among teammates.
Set and communicate clear group and individual goals.

With these coworking solutions, any squad leader can create an environment in a shared space that allows them to track the squad's progress and ensure the team's goals are achieved.

Maintaining Communication

In a shared area, maintaining effective communication among group members is crucial. Effective communication fosters collaboration among group members and increases their productivity. To encourage effective communication, the group leader can do the following:

Create shared spaces that facilitate communication and interaction among squad members. This can include communal areas like a kitchen or lounge.
Define professional communication standards that promote respect.
Motivate teammates to discuss and share ideas.
Ensure duties and expectations are communicated clearly.

These strategies have been proven to work for decades. The best managers use these tools to ensure and maintain effective communication.

Supporting New Recruits

New Recruits often have a hard time finding their way in a new organisation. It can take a couple of days to several weeks for new recruits to adjust to the operations of a new team. However, a shared space is an innovative environment to support and onboard new recruits. These spaces provide an excellent platform for new recruits to expand their professional network and collaborate with more experienced colleagues. This interaction will lead to collaborative opportunities.

Using the software and resources of a shared space can streamline the onboarding process for new recruits, making it more efficient and less time-consuming. It also creates a welcoming environment for the new recruits to integrate into the community.

Social events in shared spaces can provide new recruits with the opportunity to experience the community first-hand. This also helps them adjust comfortably to the different members of the team, and to get a grasp of the team's operations.