How To Navigate Virtual Meetings In A Coworking Space

As we prepare to go back to the office, many of us are also navigating a new office environment — the coworking space.  Coworking spaces rose in popularity in the mid-2000s, when the San Francisco Coworking Space was launched in the Spiral Muse in the city’s Mission district. At the time, the organization offered five to eight desks two days per week, with free WiFi and amenities including shared lunches, meditation, and bike rides, all for the low cost of $300 a month.

Now, 16 years later, the coworking model has exploded across the country and around the world. Companies like Impact Hub, WeWork and Industrious have a huge impact on the global market, with more independent businesses operating at a smaller capacity. 

In San Francisco, it’s almost impossible to find a coworking space for the low-rate of $300 a month nowadays; according to the Runway Innovation Lab’s recent list of the best offerings, most coworking spaces now range from $400 to upwards of $900 per month, and that typically means a “hot desk” (a workspace that is not reserved for you, but first-come, first-serve).

While this issue alone can lead to a host of situations, we’re mainly focusing on one: how to navigate virtual meetings. Of course, these spaces are designed as offices for everyone from the lone freelancer to the 30-person start-up, but that does sometimes mean that things can get hectic and even louder than you may have anticipated. So what is there to do?

Below, we’re sharing some of the top tips that you should keep in mind as you delve back into the office space and run virtual meetings with your colleagues.

Find a quiet space.

Yes, this seems pretty straightforward, but it’s imperative to keep this item in mind from the jump. Even before you e-sign your contract with a coworking space, you want to ensure that there are some quiet spaces — or else you may be in more trouble than you anticipated.

According to cloud communication advisors GetVOIP’s Video Conferencing Statistics from 2020, companies ranging from B2B and B2C to higher education and hospitals have all adapted to video conferencing options since the start of the pandemic. By their estimates, 43% of remote and in-house teams use a video conferencing solution, with 78% of corporate companies using video calling software. 83% of businesses with higher than 250 employees are interested in purchasing video calling tools; over a quarter of small businesses are also looking to purchase video calling tools.

On top of creating opportunities for students to stay engaged in coursework or for homebound individuals to receive telehealth development services, video conferencing also allows you to develop your own office system, in a way. But In order to do so successfully, it’s important to ensure that you find a quiet space for meetings, whether it’s your weekly one-on-one or a larger all-hands discussion.

Utilize the private offices.

Outside of the open floor plan of many coworking spaces, there are also typically private offices that you can either lease directly from the company, or claim on a first-come, first-serve basis. In such cases, you can also use lease management software to manage lease contracts. They also offer additional features that can help you in tasks like tracking payments for the lease, streamlining lease accounting, ensuring compliance and more. 

Be sure to make note of these offices during your preliminary tour of the coworking space, and ask the sales manager or site manager about the private office rules.

If you’re looking more toward leasing a single private office, that could drive up your monthly office budget by quite a bit. Based on estimates for WeWork offices in the greater New York City area, you could be looking at a range of $1,400 to $2,100 per month. This option would allow you to set up your space in a way that singularly works for you, but would also be a fair portion of your take-home salary, should your company not deem this as a necessary business expense.

If you were to focus your efforts instead on the first-come, first-serve private offices, you’ll be up for some challenges. There may be limited offerings of these spaces, which means you won’t be able to guarantee that one will be readily available for your meetings. They could also have time-limits, which could hinder you from longer meetings if other coworking employees are awaiting their turn.

Test out the space in advance of your meeting.

Much like ensuring that you’re able to take your meeting in a quiet space, you also want to make sure other aspects of the space will support your meeting needs. Here are some additional items to consider:

• Is the lighting conducive to looking presentable on camera?
• Is there an echo in the room?
• Can you hear other employees in nearby office or lounge spaces from the space?
• Is the Wi-Fi working adequately in this location?
• Is there a time limit on using this space?
• Are the lights on an automatic timer/could they switch off during your meeting?

If you’re in a coworking office with other people, communicate.

There are many coworking spaces that offer a membership where you can share an office with other employees. These may not necessarily be employees within your same field, and they may even have different work schedules than you do — but it’s a good option to keep in mind, especially if you want to have a dedicated desk space.

If you do have a meeting while working alongside other people, be open and communicative. Make sure you’re not bothering their work as much as they aren’t bothering yours, especially if you’re planning for a large team meeting that might be more disruptive than normal. If need be, set up a dry-erase calendar in the space so you can write down the big meetings you’ll be a part of that week. You can also establish a communication pattern with the other employees every morning or afternoon, to give them a heads up of what you have coming up on the calendar.

Additionally, if you think you’re going to be in distracting meetings throughout the day or in elongated meetings that could interfere with the other employees’ schedules, move around and find other areas to work in. This could be those first-come, first-serve rooms, or even an outdoor space if there’s adequate Wi-Fi and limited excess noise.

Get soundproofing headphones.

One of the best items you can get in any office — whether when you return to your physical office or are in a coworking space for the long-haul — is a good pair of soundproofing headphones.

Your AirPods may have worked at home or on your commute, but you may need some additional tech to really ensure you’re successful in all of your forthcoming projects, assignments and meetings. TechRadar and Wirecutter from The New York Times both reviewed their top picks for 2021, with options ranging from $60 to $349. You really want to assess how often you’ll be using your headphones (at least a few hours during the work day) and how comfortable they are, the battery life, and the look before making your final purchase. 

As crazy as it sounds, this one minor item could be the reason you’re that much more successful as an employee and as a coworker in the coworking space.

Be courteous.

This is quite possibly the most important thing to keep in mind — no matter what, you want to be courteous to the other employees in the space. This applies not only to the time you spend in meetings, but also in general: don’t leave your trash in shared spaces, don’t take loud phone calls, and don’t — we repeat, DON’T — use speaker phone in open office spaces.

By being as thoughtful and respectful of those around you, you’ll likely receive the same treatment in return — which makes those virtual meetings all the easier to navigate.

Want more tips to help you master your new way of working? Check out the Hive blog for more expert advice on all things virtual meetings, from team building activities to how to stop interrupting your colleagues. You can also evaluate the best Zoom integrations to see how you can level up your Zoom experience with just a few clicks. Happy meeting!