‘Jonas has never been to Istanbul. And yet, he will start his new job in the heart of the history- rich city by the Bospurus. He looks forward to it, but is nervous just the same. After all, he doesn’t know a single soul here. Sowebuild can help. And will. Here’s how.’

Human interaction, local economy and a sense of belonging are essential for creating sustainable environments. Despite moonshots in revolutionary technology, cities pulsating from overpopulation and 24/7 connectivity, we feel more lonely than ever before. That is why fostering community in the workplace and at home is important: because we want to build thriving places where people love to be. We are social creatures, searching for connection and collaboration in order to survive.

So what about technology? Let’s first take a step back.

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The origins of technology and community

Technology is as old as homo sapiens. Ever since its emergence, it has changed society in ways we never imagined were possible. Being a tool born from our creative minds, we use its leverage to empower our actions: to measure, control, predict and apply. Technology is an extension of our collective body and mind. It advances, adapts, perfects and refines. It is magic: because of technology, diseases get cured, and humans will travel to Mars.

Take fire as an example to represent one of the earliest technologies. It functioned as a source of heating, lighting and beaconing. People used it to warm themselves and prepare food, forge tools, light up a dark cave and signal others at a distance. Gathering around the fire in prehistoric times, people would tell stories while sharpening their flintstone arrowheads. It became the heart of community, where shared values and common belief structures brought and kept us together. A lot of things have changed over time, but communities are here to stay. And so is technology.

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Opportunity or threat?

Comedian and technophile Stephen Fry compared technology to Pandora’s jar: when we open up its potential, we never know if it will be for the better or worse. Since humanity first sparked creativity, technology became part of who we are.

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Fast forward to the 2020s.

We receive this question frequently from property developers, owners, managers and operators. To answer it, we first have to look again at the purpose of modern day communities and their implications relating to technology. How can we establish a fruitful habitat that serves the individual just as much as the whole? What are possible practical applications, and what does such a community look like?

In order to align our technology with the process of building a community, we need to take into consideration all the phases, customs and needs of its members. This means mapping out a complete user journey; from the first point of contact, towards onboarding, until the moment members leave the community, and even beyond.

Following Art of Co and Conscious Coliving’s blueprint for community processes, as described in their Community Facilitation Handbook, we will focus on the user journey and the experience in coliving communities. The idea is that the more a member engages with the different touch points of a coliving brand, the more they commit to the brand and ultimately the community. To explore where and how technology can support, we send Jonas, our imaginary user, on his journey (in italics). Engagement tactics tagged [between brackets] could be potential features and integrations for your future community product.

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Discovery

Inspire members with potential benefits

This is the first point of contact with your residents. Ask yourself: what kind of impression do you want to make? Infuse future members with ideas and imagination about what it is like to live in your coliving space. Inspire them in how they could become part of your community.

‘Jonas browses the internet for places to live in Istanbul and finds Mavi Living. A short website [chat] with MaviBot and a [conversation] with a human agent gets him invited to join the [public community] of ambassador residents. He [signs up] with a [guest account], his [application profile] is approved and he gets access to the [welcoming group]. Scanning through the other [resident profiles], more than half of them come from abroad. He checks the spaces in a [virtual tour] and finds the [memberships models] from a shared room to full private space.’

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Curation

Separate the wheat from the chaff

Which kind of residents would you like to attract and what brings them together? It is key to not just fill your building with residents, but filter your community in a way to create enough diversity as well as a shared common interest or life phase.

‘One of the residents from Taksim Area reaches out with a [public message]. ‘Hi Jonas, I’m Merve! I’ve been living with Mavi for the last 6 months. The area is full of life but our location is peaceful. You should see our rooftop garden! Also, I see from your [profile skills] that you have a UX/UI background... Looking forward to meeting you since we’re working on a project that needs feedback. Are you doing consultancy?’

“I didn’t consult before, but I would love to learn more about your challenges,” Jonas replies.

“Sure!” She added a [job description] and a [calendar invite].’

With our client Common Woods, a cohousing project by Building the New, HolisticDevelopment and partners, user engagement is part of the curation phase in getting selected for buying a house. Future residents are involved in building a diverse neighbourhood, composed of social studios, apartments and villas designed by Space & Matter architects, in the middle of a forest environment in Amersfoort. The more engagement members show during the process, the bigger their chance of getting an option for their house. The CommonWoods App facilitates the resident curation and development process in collaboration with Crowdbuilding, connecting all stakeholders and members of the CommonWoods community, with potential foresight on future sharing services like electrical cars and bikes, garden tools and so on.

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Onboarding

Offer a seamless experience

During the onboarding process, expose your residents with the right information and access according to their needs. Trigger them in a way that they are incentivised to tap deeper into your community.

‘Excited by the immediate connection with Merve, Jonas grabs his phone and sends a [private message] to Mavi’s local community manager: ‘Hi Ozkan, I decided that I want to live with Mavi, what should I do to finish my [digital application]?’

He answers within seconds. ‘Dear Jonas, we [reviewed your profile] and are happy to announce that you’re accepted to our community! Just [choose your membership], your [house] and [roommates] and you’re good to go’.

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Adaptation

Customise building offers to needs

After your members have their first onboarding experience, it is time to let them arrive in your place, get to know other residents and introduce them to their new community. Both the physical as well as the digital arrival process matter for a full experience. Learn what residents are looking for.

‘Two weeks later, Jonas is on his way to Istanbul. He receives a [notification] from Ozkan, the community manager. ‘Hi Jonas, we noticed your flight has been delayed, we can [book a cab] to pick you up’. Arriving at the airport, the cab is waiting for him. It’s a two hour drive to Mavi Coliving.

Ozkan welcomes him. ‘Jonas! Here’s a package with essentials for your first days. Have a look in [our Mavi app] to find [services], [upcoming events] and your [digital key]. This Friday we have a Meyhane dinner evening’.’

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Communal Life

Drive connectivity and interactivity

Let your members feel at home with thoughtful messages to get comfortable and become part of the community. Of course, not every resident is proactive. It is essential to facilitate those residents that want to take a bigger part in the community building process.

‘The coliving area has 150 residents, 10 houses that host between 10-30 residents. The Mavi app has a [public group], a [district group] for Taksim area and different [house groups]. A separate building solely for coworking is available to [book space anytime]. Perfect for Jonas, who’s working two days in Koton and two days from home. His [digital key] is for his room, common spaces and the swimming pool. ‘Hi Jonas, based on her [profile], Sara likes gaming too! Do you wish to meet? Coffee is on us!’

With our client Pharos, a state-of-the art office building by Cairn Real Estate and beacon of healthy working and hospitality, located in the Amsterdam Metropolitan area, we make sure connectivity and interactivity is driven by a team of online and offline community managers. With help of chef Jonathan Karpathios and his organic restaurant The Farm Kitchen, a fitness studio and a top-notch flex office and hospitality team by Frame Offices, Pharos is a vibrant place where work and life are in balance. Using the Pharos App, tenants are better connected with daily member news, stories and events, booking services and amenities (meeting rooms, restaurant meals and products) and a private chat service. Access control for the spaces is provided by SaltoKS, climate control and room occupancy by Octo/HeadsUp. Buildr Apps is currently integrating these third party products into the Pharos App to create a seamless user experience for both tenants and visitors.

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Empower member ownership

Your most engaged residents are the ones that care. It is not easy to keep a constant quality of cleanliness in your place. Make sure to incentivise your members to keep spaces clean by creating a transparent system in which they feel heard and involved.

Entering the kitchen, Jonas notices how clean it is. Another member, Sara, is making pasta. ‘Hi Jonas, we made an [online schedule] dividing [tasks] for cleaning. We’ll add you next week, first take your time to arrive and settle in :)’.

Jonas looks at the [digital board] in the kitchen and a [welcoming notification] comes up: ‘WELCOME JONAS, GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE! We made some Turkish delight yesterday and left a few for you to taste’.

Guy walks in. ‘Going for a run, wanna join?’ Jonas tries one of the sugary candies and smiles. ‘Sure, I’ll meet you in 10’.

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‍Drive local economies

To create an impact for your places and connect them to local commerce, it is important that you facilitate the integration of these businesses into your community. Shops, restaurants, service providers and other business owners will be happy to get involve.

Jonas starts to settle in. ‘I need a haircut!’ He says to Ozkan.

‘Turkey has one of the best traditional barbershops in the world. You can go to Murat and [book with 20% discount]. He’ll do a full facial cleaning, shave and even wax your ears! Also, we have local Turkish lessons available, you can [book a class] from the app. And next week a free glass blowing workshop is offered by Mavi organised by a local shop in Balat. You can [register for free]’.

Our client PLAN-B in Eindhoven is located in a former Philips laboratory building, transformed by Heijmans into a multi-tenant office work/makerspace and place to be for the creative industry. We see a great example here of a thriving local economy, built from the ground up. Starting with just two floors, PLAN-B now houses 160 tenants with 300 members on 16,530 m2, divided over 6 floors. Together with the current owner PLAN-B BV and a team of community and facility managers offered by Gapph, PLAN-B facilitates exchanging projects, trading and selling furniture, services and products between tenants on a daily basis, both offline and via the app. With a platform adoption rate of 95% active users, the PLAN-B app scores high in engagement. Initiatives like introducing new members, events and collaboration ideas on projects kick off via the platform.

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Incentivise and reward active members

Find ways to incentivise users taking on some labour- intensive work that allows your community managers to take a step back and let your community to become more self-sustainable. To learn more about self- organising communities, read Jonathan Anderssons’ article in Coliving Insights No.4 (page 60).

Jonas is having a great time at Mavi. He made friends and [joined] both the HIIT exercise and Yoga [group]. The last is run by an Italian woman, Gaya. She has been living in Istanbul for 8 years and helps out with [frequent questions] like how to deal with Turkish culture, where to buy good food and how legal regulations work. ‘Hey, I used to guide meditations’, Jonas tells her. ‘Let’s organise an event [organise an event] together!’

Gaya replies. ‘We’ll receive [extra tokens] in the app for the local Hamam’. With hosting 3 activities you’ll become a ‘power user’ and get extra benefits in the resident commission group.

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Facilitate carefree living operations

Make it easy and frictionless for your members to use the services and amenities that you offer to your community. Integrate with a set of service providers in facility and property management in order to get the best results.

Sitting in his room, Jonas receives a notification: ‘[your invoice] is paid, thank you!’ Jonas writes in his diary and stares out of the window.

Suddenly: a loud smack from a bird. ‘Bastards’, Jonas takes a picture and uploads it to the app’s [maintenance request]. ‘Window / broken’, appears. A message prompts ‘the property manager is informed, you’ll receive a [status notification]’. After 1 hour, a technician knocks his door. Within 20 minutes the job is done. Jonas [rates the service] five stars and uses the app once more for [laundry service], which he pays with [digital tokens].

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Make buildings smart and accessible

Working with a set of hardware devices combined with platform integrations, you can set up a plan to facilitate workflows for access control, room climate and simple solutions to serve members at the right moment.

Jonas’ table lamp automatically [brightens up] at 5pm. His bedroom has [sensors and tracking devices] for noise, temperature, moisture, oxygen levels and smoke to improve the buildings’ safety and health performance. He set his app [privacy] to [share my location]. When he [checks in] at the swimming pool, he gets a private message from Sara. ‘Hey, I saw you’re around, fancy a chat to gossip about neighbours and stuff ;)’?

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Facilitate wellbeing and conflict resolution

The wellbeing of your residents is essential to keeping places safe and sound. Being transparent in communication is one of the best ways to do so. IoT, sensoring and personal counselling can help to facilitate your members with personal issues.

Staying at Mavi has been great so far. But, dealing with all the new challenges at work after the first two months, Jonas is starting to feel burned out. He is not sleeping well. Checking his app, he finds some basic [tips and tricks for mindfulness] but it doesn’t help. He finds the option [talk to a counsellor]. A response appears. ‘Hi Jonas, please choose a date and time and our counsellor will meet you privately at her office in the coworking space’.

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Use social data to empower your community

By gathering information from members (profiles, ratings, messaging, etc.) and insights on who is regularly contributing to community building, you get an understanding on the dynamics of your place, and measure metrics and KPIs like cleanliness, liveliness and service rates.

Ozkan is checking his [dashboard] and sees that there was a great [attendance] for the glass blowing workshop. He also noticed that a lot of active [posts, messages and comments] are centred around sports. The HIIT group has [25 members] and they are chatting about it daily, sending each other [daily videos] to share progress. A [multiple choice poll] on sports scored as best [post of the month] from a Turkish guy with 65 likes and 23 comments. Ozkan decides to use this data to propose more events and initiatives focused around sports.

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Offboarding

Let members review your place and offer benefits

Every adventure has an end, and so does the one for your residents. When the final week is approaching, it is a good moment to get more insights on their overall experience. This is almost your last move in finalising the experience.

Jonas is in his last week staying at Mavi. The next phase in his life is about to start. As a [goodbye gift] from his co-residents, he received a [digital picture album] with moments they shared during his stay. ‘Hi Jonas, we would like to thank you for your stay with us! Please let us know about your total experience by [rating our services]. We offer you a [coupon] for a 3 day stay in one of our new houses that we recently opened in Berlin, [invite a friend] to come with you’.

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Afterlife

Keep an alumni database, with members that stay connected. If you do well, you want your members to stay a part of your community. First of all because they can opt in again any time in the future, but also because you want them to share their experience with newcomers. The bigger your community grows, the more potential benefits you’ll get from your community.

Jonas had an excellent time at Mavi Living. It was an experience he will never forget. Living with Mavi was so much more than just renting a house. He shared a [public review]: five stars. One month later, Jonas received a message from a friend. ‘Jonas! How are you doing? I’m planning to move to Istanbul, Turkey soon, looking for a place. Tom told me I should talk to you?’...

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Building your Tech Stack

Features, features, we all want features. A big challenge implementing technology for your place is where to start and how to scale. The options are endless: Should we use social media, public messaging apps, marketing, project collaboration tools? PMS, CRM, ERP? Community/tenant engagement platforms, IoT? What can we build or integrate, how and why?

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Integrate platforms and products into one system

From a user-centric perspective, we strongly believe that creating a single interface is essential for the end user to embrace and adopt your tech solutions and services fully. This doesn’t mean that you need one single product that can do everything.

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Choose from a plethora of solutions that are out there

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There is no straightforward answer to which technology to use for your place. It depends entirely on your company’s size and growth phase. We recommend getting advice from a tech consultancy to set up a clear program of requirements together, according to your current priorities, budget and needs.

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Scaling your tech and community with patience

It is not so important how advanced your systems are in terms of technology stack. The amount of features don’t guarantee success either. What is essential
is how you - with help of the solutions that suit your current budget and needs - are able to provide a seamless user experience serving your community exactly what it needs.

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Combine your technology with community strategy

Together with Art of Co and Conscious Coliving and a team of community experts worldwide, we offer a Co-Liv Community Mastermind centred around community management and help educate the market by sharing knowledge on engagement tactics. If you want to tap into the conversation and become part of our growing community of managers, please join us here.

Finally, let’s not forget one essential factor about coliving: tools don’t build places, humans do.

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