Bringing teams into coworking spaces isn’t as simple as offering a row of desks. Companies want flexibility, employees want connection, and decision-makers are still learning what coworking can offer.
That was the focus of this Coworking Convos discussion, where four industry leaders, Meagan Slavin of 25N, Sam Rosen of Deskpass, Sarah Travers of Workbar, and Brad Krauskopf of Hub Australia, joined Cat Johnson of The Lab to share their insights on how coworking spaces can attract and retain teams.
Meagan Slavin of 25N Coworking and her team has developed a strategy to attract two distinct types of team clients: avatars Momentum Matt and Scale-Up Steven.
“Momentum Matt is the larger team client,” Slavin explained. “He’s focused on the future, not the day-to-day. He values convenience, contract flexibility, and anything that helps with team retention.” This client is often willing to sign longer-term agreements and even invest in custom build-outs.
On the other hand, Scale-Up Steven is a cost-conscious entrepreneur. “He’s exhausted from wearing all the hats,” Slavin said. “He appreciates the hospitality and the onsite support we offer—front desk assistance, mail handling, IT support, and cleaning. He’s focused on today and possibly panicked about tomorrow.”
By understanding these client personas, 25N tailors its marketing and sales strategies. Momentum Matt comes through referrals and brokers, while Scale-Up Steven is drawn in by SEO-driven promotions.
Many coworking operators have a love-hate relationship with real estate brokers. “They don’t always understand coworking,” Slavin said. “We’ve had to wine and dine multiple local brokers to build trust, because they see us as a temporary option.”
But there’s one key to winning brokers over: paying them quickly. “There are too many stories about coworking spaces not paying brokers or taking forever to do it,” Slavin said. “Once they realize how fast and easy it is to make money with us, they come back.”
Sam Rosen, founder of Deskpass and veteran operator, spends his time bridging the gap between other coworking operators and the businesses looking for space. And he’s found that many companies simply don’t know what’s available to them.
“I was on a call today with a Fortune 50 company, and their office manager had never heard of WeWork,” Rosen said. “That’s where we are. There’s still so much education to be done.”
He suggests starting every conversation as if the potential client has no prior knowledge of coworking, and be ready to right size. “People come in thinking they need one thing, but when they understand what coworking can actually offer, they realize there’s a better solution for them.”
Despite all the perks a coworking space can offer, Rosen said the biggest driver in decision-making is still location, location, location.
“When we ask people why they picked a space, it’s almost always about proximity,” he said. “It’s more important than amenities or even community.”
For coworking operators, that means strong local SEO is crucial. “Make sure your Google listing is up to date and ranks well,” Rosen said. “It’s shocking how many workspaces aren’t optimized for local search.”
At Workbar, CEO Sarah Travers has seen a major shift in how teams think about office space. “There’s nothing worse than paying for a big office that sits empty,” she said. “We talk a lot about right-sizing space for teams—not downsizing or upsizing, but making sure they have exactly what they need.”
Workbar categorizes its team products into three clear options:
But every team solution is customized. “No team works the same way,” Travers said. “We map out solutions based on how they actually work—not how they think they work.”
Beyond the desks and offices, coworking spaces offer something traditional offices don’t: built-in community programming.
“At Workbar, we think of our spaces as filling the socialization gap,” Travers said. “People don’t just need a place to work. They need meaningful social interactions. That could be a pitch event, a lunch and learn, or even just spontaneous conversations in the kitchen.”
Her advice? Make sure programming is part of every sales tour. “Team leaders need to hear about it because it’s something they can’t get anywhere else,” she said.
Brad Krauskopf of Hub Australia has spent years fine-tuning how to attract and retain business teams. He’s found that understanding the decision-making process is crucial.
“The person signing the contract is often not the person using the space,” Krauskopf said. “If the decision-maker says yes, but the employees don’t want to be there, that’s a problem. And if the employees love it, but the decision-maker doesn’t understand coworking, that’s a different problem.”
The solution? Trial days. “Let teams come in and experience the space,” he said. “If the employees love it, they’ll be the ones convincing their boss to sign the contract.”
Krauskopf also shared small details that can make a big difference for teams choosing a space:
At the end of the day, coworking spaces aren’t just selling desks—they’re solving workplace problems. Whether it’s providing flexibility, community, better work environments, or location convenience, teams are looking for spaces that support how they work today.
And as the speakers made clear, the best way to attract those teams is by meeting them where they are—whether that’s educating them on coworking, offering trial experiences, building broker relationships, or fine-tuning SEO.
Want to bring more teams into your space? Make it easy, make it flexible, and make sure they know what coworking can really offer.
Coworking Convos is a monthly virtual event series hosted by Cat Johnson. In each conversation, a different topic is presented by guests with real experience, who are subject matter experts and walk the walk in the coworking and flex space industry.
Coworks is a sponsor of Coworking Convos, and we have the privilege of sharing these dispatches afterward — spotlighting the juicy tidbits and powerful takeaways shared in the hour-long conversation.
But by no means does this replace the real value of being there! Check out the next Convo and be in the room when it happens.
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