Coworking spotlight: How Hashtag Workmode stays connected during the COVID-19 outbreak
Meet Hashtag Workmode
Founded in 2015 by Emilie Sobels, opened up the first Hashtag Workmode coworking location in Amsterdam with the mission to create a space where ambitious and entrepreneurial women can work together and learn from one another. Today Hashtag Workmode has over 5 locations in the Netherlands supporting hundreds of female founders. Hashtag Workmode has been using Knowork for over 6 months to build its online network, simplify room-booking and automate membership plan payments.
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Keeping the Hashtag Workmode team aligned
Spread across multiple locations, keeping the management team aligned and connected was one of the first priorities for Emilie. To do this the team follows a weekly remote work routine that she has shared with us:
Monday Mornings:
We start each Monday morning with a long meeting for the Hashtag Workmode team, usually from 9.30 to 11.00, aimed at discussing all open topics for the week.
Tuesday — Friday Mornings:
Every other morning starts with shorter meetings for the team members actively working that day. This usually happens from 9.30–10.00 and we discuss everyone's to do’s for the day. Usually people that don’t work that day still want to join because they like to kick off their day with the group :)
End of Each Day:
At the end of each day we have a short meeting from 17.30–18.00 to discuss any open points that came up during the day. We also take this time to give the day a grade — so we know how everyone performed but more importantly how they currently feel in these uncertain times.
Friday Afternoon
Friday afternoons are great! We’ve started a series of Digital Borrels (after work drinks) for the entire member community every Friday afternoon. So far turn out has been amazing. Its a great way to keep everyone up to date socially. We’ve been using Zoom to host the group video calls and let members know about the event through Knowork.
Expanding the online community
While Hashtag Workmode consistently engages with members on Instagram and on their private member community (hosted on knowork.co) — the team wants to take #RemoteCoworking one level further by offering online courses, 1: 1 sessions, and creative activities on the Hashtag Workmode Academy.
The team started by putting together an event calendar, summarizing all the online events and courses they can offer:
To leverage the power of the Hashtag Workmode network, Emilie also reached out to the entire member community to find out if any members wanted to share their knowledge:
What can you offer to these special women? What knowledge can you share that makes someone else develop their skill set or simply feel better? Is it an online yoga class? A legal sparring session? An online master class on how to get your LinkedIn in order? A walk in the park? Please send an email to _@hashtagworkmode.com with your idea!
Setting up the Hashtag Workmode Academy with Knowork
The Knowork team is actively working with Hashtag Workmode to expand the functionality of Knowork to allow for a more flexible Academy environment with video sharing. But in the meantime, here is how the Hashtag Workmode Academy work on Knowork.
Articles on the feed
The team will post text and article based Academy content directly on their Knowork activity feed. By adding specific #’s to each post, relevant to the content, community members with knowledge or interest in those topics are automatically notified by Knowork that something new and interesting is available for them. Learn more about posting on Knowork.
Online courses & 1:1 sessions
While normally used for onsite events, Hashtag Workmode will be using the Knowork Events module to list and keep track of things like online group courses, 1:1 sessions, and other digital events. Members with ideas for events can also use the Event Request form to submit ideas to Emilie and her team directly from Knowork, this helps them reduce the number of back and forth emails and puts the members in charge of their content. Learn more about events on Knowork.
What’s next? A customizable page for private content!
The Knowork team is working on a new module that will enable workspace operators, like Hashtag Workmode, to create a completely customizable page to share private media and content with the member community.
Are you working on your own #RemoteCoworking academy or have ideas for our new, customizable Knowork pages? We would love to hear your thoughts! Get in touch via hello@knowork.co
Helping members work from home
Although members can still visit the office, Hashtag Workmode recommends everyone to practice social distancing and work from home. Embracing the idea of #RemoteCoworking — Emilie wanted to help her team and Hashtag Workmode members stay productive and created a list of tips for working from home:
(IN DUTCH ONLY)
- Sta op je normale tijd op en houd hiermee je ritme vast.
- Kleed je wel aan in gewone kleding (nop, niet in pyjama of badjas) en maak je op. Dan voel je je direct al een stuk meer wakker en actief.
- Bereid je voor op de aftrap die we dagelijks hebben: bedenk zelf wat je wil gaan doen op die dag. (only for her team, ofcourse).
- Weg met de omgevingsruis: zet je noise cancelling op of zet concentration muziek op via Spotify.
- Zet je push meldingen uit van social media: zo kun je tijdens je pauze rustig even scrollen, maar word je niet gestoord door een trilling of geluidje als iemand je foto leuk vindt.
- Maak een echte kantoorsetting, zodat je deze ‘s avonds ook weer kunt ‘verlaten’. Anders zit je op dezelfde plek als waar je ‘s avonds lekker aan het Netflixen bent.
- Plan je lunchpauze in en neem die tijd ook écht vrij: ga een rondje wandelen — op 1,5 meter afstand van anderen weliswaar — maar zorg dat je ook even loskomt van het werk.
- Vink alles af wat je hebt gedaan en bedenk wat je morgen gaat doen. Dan heb je direct weer een goed uitgangspunt voor onze dagstart en is de cirkel weer rond!
- Ruim aan het einde van de dag je werkspullen weer op: dan kun je het ook echt loslaten.
Do you have other #RemoteCoworking tips? Let us know at hello@knowork.co to share them with the community.
TLDR;
Running a coworking space during these uncertain, rather isolated times is no easy task. Workspaces must embrace the temporary shift to #RemoteCoworking, take action to connect their members and provide digital value, now more than ever. Hashtag Workmode is an inspiring example of how to you can use technology to
- Build a remote work schedule for your coworking space management team
- Create a series of online and community-generated events and activities.
- Provide value to members when they are forced to work from home.
Big thanks again to Emilie Sobels and the Hashtag Workmode team for sharing their strategies to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak. If you are looking to join an incredible community of female founders and entrepreneurs visit HashtagWorkmode.com
If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share about #RemoteCoworking or want to launch your own coworking community platform — schedule a time to chat with us or visit Knowork.co to launch your own coworking community platform for free for 30 days.
