A Day in the Life: Workplace Manager Edition – Part 3
In continuation of our “Day in the Life” at CG series, we asked the Workplace Manager from CommonGrounds Long Beach, Jessica Imani, to share her daily responsibilities and routine. One of our biggest differentiators as a coworking company is our staff – our Workplace Managers are always smiling and making the workday brighter for our members. Read more to find out what truly goes into a day as a CG Workplace Manager.
Author: Jessica Imani, Workplace Manager | CommonGrounds Workplace, Long Beach, CA
Saying goodbye to my kitten when I leave the house in the morning is the hardest part of my day. However, I push past our goodbyes, grab my mask, then make my way to CommonGrounds in Downtown Long Beach where I’m the full-time Workplace Manager.
Since Long Beach is such a walkable city, I tend to travel to work on foot or on an electric scooter. My favorite type of days are the ones where I’m able to leave my home a bit early and stop by one of the many local coffee shops for a latte (usually per the barista’s recommendation). By around 8:00am, I walk through the CG doors into our bright, welcoming space!
My first order of business is to head to the kitchen to brew fresh pots of coffee, so that my members can caffeinate for their workday as I conduct a morning walkthrough of the space. I make sure all our offices, common areas, and meeting rooms are clean, comfortable, and organized. And what would be a good coworking experience without a few snacks stocked fresh every day?! So, once I make my rounds back to the kitchen area, I display fresh snacks (of varying healthiness) next to our kombucha on tap. This is about the time my members have started trickling in, so I take this opportunity to interact with anyone who likes a bit of a morning chat.
Then I make my way to my desk, open my laptop, and catch up on any unopened emails, missed calls, or inquiries. Sometimes I reach out to vendors to put our members’ business names on their office doors, order a new flavor of kombucha on tap, or look up how-to videos on putting together a new shelf for our supply closet.
All of this said, the best days include receiving information regarding potential members or tours. I love meeting new people and making connections with how our CommonGrounds community can help others succeed, so showing off our space and what we have to offer to each individual always excites me!
By the late morning I’m jumping on calls and joining meetings with my CommonGrounds team. Sometimes it’s about market research and sales, making sure our facilities are up and running smoothly, or event collaborating to come up with event ideas. Other times we work together to find the answers to questions we may have. As one of the newest members to the CG team I tend to ask a lot of questions, so it’s been so incredible to have teammates all over the country who go above and beyond for each other, as well as their own members.
As lunchtime comes and goes, I take another walkthrough of the workplace to make sure everything is up to par – I have a second batch of coffee ready for those that need an afternoon pick-me-up, top off the snacks and drinks, and check on any maintenance updates.
Once these tasks are done, I get to be creative with the rest of my day! I explore what activities are happening in Long Beach and find ways to bring the dynamic of the city into the inner workings of my space or how CG can get involved. I regularly work with our marketing team to come up with partnerships we could collaborate on with small businesses, schools, and events. I’m also in constant contact with the Chamber of Commerce; looking forward to networking events and announcements for special occasions.
It’s not uncommon for my members to pop into my office just to share how their day has been! As the only Workplace Manager in Long Beach, it has been so exciting to have members who are conversational and so respectful. Sometimes they stop by to tell me about what their business has accomplished recently or what projects that they are working on. Other times members like to sit down and talk about their goals, or even just connect over our plans from the weekend! I love to hear it all. Nothing makes me happier than getting excited for other people and celebrating them.
As the end of the workday nears, I do a final walkthrough. I double check that offices are secure, office supplies are abundant for the next morning, common spaces are clean, and the dishwasher is loaded. Since we are on the ground floor, it’s always a rush opening the front door to W Broadway, reminding that I’m in the heart of Long Beach.
Although the workday is over, I like to make the most of the hours I have left in the evening. Depending on the day, I might spend it cooking (always using as much butter as I can), going to trivia in an underground pub, taking a long walk on the beach and enjoying the salty air, or just curling up on the couch with my partner and the perfect aforementioned kitten to watch whatever show we’re binging that week (as of October 6th it’s Squid Game). All in all, the average “day in my life” as a Workplace Manager is a pretty good one!
