Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space

How We Measure Success
in a Coworking Space
or
quantifying community, the “fuzzy” metrics explained
Copyright 2013 Independents Hall LLC. Alex Hillman - @alexknowshtml - alex@indyhall.org

• Founded in 2006 in
Philadelphia. Expanded 5x.
• 200+ active members
• ~10k square feet
First, a little background...

Membership Breakdown
Basic
56.94%
Six-Pack
12.44%
Lite
7.18%
Full Time
23.44%
Basic
13.73%
Six-Pack
12.00%
Lite
12.11%
Full Time
62.16%
Headcount Revenue

Who’s coworking at Indy Hall?
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
0% 12.5% 25% 37.5% 50%
1.75%
1.75%
10.53%
33.33%
49.12%
3.51% Not responded
1.75%
Women
31.58%
Men
66.67%
Age Groups Gender

Employment “styles”
Self-employed
Remote employee
Contractor/consultant/freelancer
On-site employee
“some of this and some of that”
Split on-site/remote employee
Awesome
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
1.75%
1.75%
14.04%
21.05%
22.81%
36.84%

Happiness & Value
Somewhat Satisﬁed
19.29%
Very Satisﬁed
Value exceeds cost
66.70%
Value matches cost
29.84%
Not enough value
3.46%
Satisfaction Value

Happiness & Value
Somewhat Satisﬁed
19.29%
Very Satisﬁed
Value exceeds cost
66.70%
Value matches cost
29.84%
Not enough value
3.46%
Satisfaction Value
Recommend to a friend?
100.00%

• 90% of those who are
"somewhat happy" report
making "a few" friends

• The remaining 10% of those
who are "somewhat happy"
report making "no" friends

• The remaining 10% of those
who are "somewhat happy"
report making "no" friends
RelationshipsMaTTer The Most

Community Happens Offline
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Rarely
Never
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
17.50%
33.00%
10.00%
How often people attend Indy Hall community events
(not limited to events hosted at Indy Hall)

Where Community Happens
• Night Owls
• “B-Team”
• Parties & celebrations
• Happy Hour
• Yoga
• Show & Tell
• Game Night
• Art & Music Shows
• Town Hall
• Poker Night
• Cocoaheads
• Shame On UX
• Dinner Club
• Making Coﬀee
• Barcamp
• Blood Drive

Where Community Happens
• Night Owls
• “B-Team”
• Parties & celebrations
• Happy Hour
• Yoga
• Show & Tell
• Game Night
• Art & Music Shows
• Town Hall
• Poker Night
• Cocoaheads
• Shame On UX
• Dinner Club
• Making Coﬀee
• Barcamp
• Blood Drive
99% Organized By
CoMM
unity Members

Community Happens Online, too
Never
8.22%
Sometimes
32.37% Often
59.40%
Reads Email
Discussions
Replies/
Comments
Never
26.31%
Sometimes
64.92%
Often
8.77%
Starts New
Discussions
Never
40.14%
Sometimes
51.05%
Often
8.80%

Community Happens Online, too
Never
8.22%
Sometimes
32.37% Often
59.40%
Reads Email
Discussions
Replies/
Comments
Never
26.31%
Sometimes
64.92%
Often
8.77%
Starts New
Discussions
Never
40.14%
Sometimes
51.05%
Often
8.80%
Think Beyond
the waLLs

I thought this was about business?
More than once
Only Once
Never
0% 15% 30% 45% 60%
53.70%
12.96%
33.00%
Have you hired/contracted other Indy Hall
members to collaborate on business projects?

I thought this was about business?
More than once
Only Once
Never
0% 15% 30% 45% 60%
53.70%
12.96%
33.00%
Business Collaboration
Many
A few
None
0% 15% 30% 45% 60%
5.50%
55.55%
37.03%
Started Friendships

• 44% of members who shared
work at least once reported
starting a “few” friendships

starting ”many” friendships

• 100% of members who never
worked together report “no”
friendships

• 100% of members who never
worked together report “no”
friendships
Relationships MaTTer
The Most...Even In BusineSS

“Like a super hero team. We have our own titles & adventures but work together in pursuit
of the common good.”
“...creative, friendly people.”“...skilled people of various disciplines, and everyone is super
nice.” “friendly, motivated, and smart people” “wonderful creative people”
“ I always tell people about the various events and activities, and stress the people of the
hall more than anything.”
“...helped me take my work seriously as a freelancer, by exposing me to so many other
independent workers”
“Smart and determined people sharing space, ideas, and personal motivations.”
How Members Describe Indy Hall

“...it's a community of people who are passionate about Philly, about what they're doing,
about trying new things, and about connecting and collaborating”
“...real people are always a better alternative to talking to inanimate objects, house plants
and pets like they are people”
“the reason I have many friends in Philly.”
“people with the goal of getting work done and building relationships”
“getting work done and building relationships”
How Members Describe Indy Hall

“...it's a community of people who are passionate about Philly, about what they're doing,
about trying new things, and about connecting and collaborating”
“...real people are always a better alternative to talking to inanimate objects, house plants
and pets like they are people”
“the reason I have many friends in Philly.”
“people with the goal of getting work done and building relationships”
“getting work done and building relationships”
How Members Describe Indy HallRelationships MaTTer
The Most...Even In BusineSS

How Coworking Improves Your Business
“...has helped me find work, do my work, and find others to join my work. “...several opportunities for work
“It changed ‘I need to work’ into ‘I want to go to work’
“... I can get in a zone to bang out a task or project.
“...great alternative to going into my office, which adds stress and interruptions or working from home, which
is not great for productivity.
“...my work & growth is strongly due to being an Indy Hall member”“My skills have improved many fold”
“...professional advice from experienced folks
“...I like feeling like a part of a much bigger team.
“...support from empathetic peers.
“focus, instead of a 2 year old wanting more from Daddy

“It's a place where people choose to be together for work.
“A clubhouse where amazing people get amazing things done.
“...easy to get inspired by the physical space...
“...feed on the energy in the room...
“This is a place where people are happy to be at work.
“...best working environment you could ever imagine.
“A visit is the best way to understand it. It has to be experienced.
Describing the Place

Just for Extroverts?
“...balance”
“...broadened my horizons.”
“It's bringing me closer to people, which is good for me,
as I am very introverted.”

Just for Extroverts?
“...balance”
“...broadened my horizons.”
“It's bringing me closer to people, which is good for me,
as I am very introverted.”
Relationships MaTTerThe Most...Even FOR Introverts

Thank you.
Interested in updates and more presentations like this?
Sign up here for updates:
http://workshop.indyhall.org

Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space

Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (15)

Similar to Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space

Similar to Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space (16)

More from Alex Hillman

More from Alex Hillman (8)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Quantifying Community: How We Measure Success in a Coworking Space