Our office manager role is "part time" in the capacity that it's someone who's at Indy Hall full time (open to close), but works on other things for themselves. This role has been one of personal and professional development for all three people who've done it for us, and it's now a very sought-after role in the office.
This means that we DO have a person who is responsible for tracking attendance, which we've simplified to day-rates only. Also, only full-time keyholding members are able to enter the space during staff hours - though they can stay as long as a keyholder is present. It's not so much about "minding" being tracked - again, we do it too but we do it in a way that intentionally humanizes the transaction. We're not anti-automation, mind you. We've automated a lot of our systems, but prioritized the automations of systems that don't provide a clear opportunity to interact with a member. I've written more about this here, including some examples of what we've chosen to automate. http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/06/how-to-automate-your-coworking-space-and-why/ -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 8:21 AM, Bianca Rico <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > I agree, as much as we would love to have the honor system, members are > far too busy to worry about tracking their own days. The honor system in our > space would not work given our hours and access, while MiamiShared employees > arent here. Plus, they really dont mind when we track and weve noticed when > we invoice members for additonal days, they actually upgrade, because they > realize they use the office more than they thought. > > > > On 6/16/2011 7:00 AM, Marc Harrison wrote: > > *"Even as we approach 150 active members, Indy Hall can't be the only > place that values a human interaction as the foundation of a transaction. > Who else is actively avoiding swipe card systems and looking to introduce > efficiency in other ways?"* > > Interesting. I don't think of such automated systems in this way at all. > For me, even though we don't have such a system, I regard them as a service > to members, not a hindrance or lack of human interaction. > > If I put myself in the position of a space member and I was given a choice > between (a) an automated system and (b) the ultimate honor system whereby I > am just asked each month to tell the space owner how many days I came in and > pay the correct amount, I would chose the former without a doubt. > > My thinking is... would I rather just get a correct invoice each month > and just pay it, or would I rather have to keep my own diary of attendance, > worry that I forgot to record a day and bug people about whether than can > remember if I was in on day X, and then pay hoping I got it right because I > don't want to unintentionally take advantage of my wonderful trusting space > owner even if they promise me they don't care? I would MUCH rather have the > automated system that takes care of such a trivial thing (even taking the > money straight from my bank account if that could be arranged) so I can > spend my time and energy on working on projects with other members or > playing our pinball machine and the attendance and fees just take care of > themselves by me doing nothing more than touching a button as I come in each > day! But that's just me, and I understand I often see things differently to > others. :-) > > Marc > www.six8bromham.com > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/coworking/-/N-LhVWUisn4J. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > > > -- > Sincerely, > Bianca Rico > Client Services > MiamiShared.com > Tel: 305-929-8688, ext. 143 > Fax: 305-397-1250http://www.miamishared.com > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
