Facilities
Part of Coworking space operations
Defining front-desk and facilities responsibilities
Assign the first response, repair owner, approval and member update for common coworking facility problems.
Reception owns the first response: receive and record the report, route it to the right role, and give the member confirmed updates. The facilities contact owns assessment and repair coordination; the building contact owns building-controlled systems and work within their authority. The operator’s decision-maker approves operator spending, and the contractor performs authorised work.
Separate the first response from the fix
Reception receives, records and routes reports; it does not diagnose or repair faults. The facilities contact assesses the issue and coordinates a response within their competence. The building contact handles building-controlled systems and authorises building work within their authority; the contractor carries out the approved work.
Use these role owners as the site’s default. The operator’s decision-maker approves spending by the operator, while the building contact decides on work controlled by the building. Reception tells the member what will happen and shares confirmed updates from the action owner.
| Task | First receiver | Action owner | Approval or decision | Member update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor cannot enter | Reception | Authorised access responder | Responder checks entitlement; operator’s decision-maker approves any exception to the operator’s rules | Reception passes on the confirmed decision |
| Toilet or water point unusable | Reception | Facilities contact; building contact if the system is building-controlled | Operator’s decision-maker approves operator spending; building contact authorises building work within their authority | Reception shares the approved alternative and confirmed status |
| Meeting-room equipment fails | Reception | Facilities contact | Operator’s decision-maker approves spending; reception offers another room only under approved arrangements | Reception shares the action owner’s confirmed update |
| Contractor arrives | Reception records the arrival | Facilities contact coordinates the visit; contractor performs the authorised work | Facilities contact confirms the work scope; operator’s decision-maker approves operator spending; building contact authorises building-controlled work within their authority | Facilities contact confirms completion; reception updates affected members |
A worker should not repair equipment or change access permission merely because they received the report. Escalate work beyond their training or authority to the relevant action owner.
Give the desk a decision limit
Reception may give approved directions, check a booking, record a fault and contact a trained responder. Escalate a blocked exit, failed essential facility, access dispute or repair beyond reception’s training rather than asking the desk to resolve it alone.
Make the facilities contact the primary escalation contact. Use the building contact as the backup for building-controlled systems or work, and the operator’s decision-maker for operator-controlled work or spending. Publish each contact’s coverage hours and contact details; if the primary contact does not respond during those hours, send the report directly to the relevant backup.
For each hand-off, reception passes on the site and location, time reported, observed condition, member impact, immediate action taken and decision needed. The action owner confirms the next update time, and reception gives that information to the member.
Agree hand-offs with other duty holders
At a shared Australian workplace, the operator, building manager and member employers may have overlapping work health and safety (WHS) duties. The model WHS laws identify duties of a PCBU; confirm the WHS law applying in the site’s jurisdiction and each party’s actual control.
Coordinate who receives the report, who acts and who approves the work without treating the role allocation as a transfer of legal duties. When a contractor is involved, the facilities contact confirms the visit and scope, the relevant decision-maker authorises spending or building work, and the action owner checks the service afterwards.
The contractor reports completion to the facilities contact or building contact. Reception updates affected members once the action owner confirms the outcome; attendance alone does not show that the problem has been resolved.
Check the arrangement with a scenario
If a lift serving a member’s work area becomes unavailable, reception records where and when it failed and sends the report to the facilities contact. The facilities contact contacts the building contact if the building controls the lift; the relevant decision-maker approves spending or building work within their authority, and an authorised contractor carries out the work.
The facilities contact checks the outcome with the building contact and confirms what reception can tell affected members. Reception gives an accurate update, including the next update time, and escalates any access or safety concern to the responsible contact.
Review the allocation when staffing, contractors or building contacts change. A member should be able to report a problem once and staff should be able to identify who owns the next step.
