A Day in the Life of a Community Manager

We spoke to our fabulous Community Manager, Amy, about running two Runway East locations, understanding our members needs, and of course, the importance of great falafel.

A typical workday

06:45: My alarm goes off.

On a typical morning, I’ll try to get up and go for a run, but equally as often I’ll hit the snooze button for an hour or so! Once I’m moving, I’ll have some breakfast, and have a quick check through my emails. We have team members on-site quite early, so I’ll make sure there are no issues that have popped up overnight which need my immediate attention.

08:00: I live quite close to the Runway East Bristol offices (they are only 5 minutes apart) and it’s a lovely 30-minute walk for me to get into work. The Runway East team is based in the Bristol Bridge site , so we typically congregate there first thing.

08:30: There is always lots to do when I first get in. I’ll go through my emails again, and respond to anything I didn’t get to earlier. I’ll then check reception and make sure that we have cards ready for all new members coming in that day, ensuring they’ve been onboarded onto our system correctly.

10:00: We have a daily Site-Ops meeting at 10am every morning, alongside the London team. Each Community team member will take it in turns to say what they’re doing that day, as well as bring up any challenges or blockers. It’s a great opportunity to help each other out, learn from teammates and have accountability for my to-do list.

10:15: The Site-Ops meeting is generally quite quick, so after that, I’ll make a coffee and look at our ‘Hit List’. This is a list of all the repairs, fit-outs and office modifications that need doing in the building. I’ll then make sure we book the right parties to come in and sort it. If we have new teams joining us, I’ll also use this time to make sure their offices are ready for them, i.e double-checking the layout and bespoke fit, and getting their welcome pack ready. At some time before lunch, I’ll also nip over to our Bristol Temple Meads site to make sure everything is running smoothly there too.

The beautiful Bristol Bridge cafe
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13:00: At lunch, I like to head to a nearby Falafel Bar called “Eat a pitta” I can't recommend it enough. I’ll generally get a takeaway from there and head up to our amazing roof terrace to sit in the sun and chat with some of our members.

If the weather isn’t that good, I’ll normally sit in the cafe. This tends to be my favourite spot to work in the afternoon too. I think it’s important as the community manager that members can just come and grab me if they need something.

14:00: After lunch, I’ll do another site walk at both our Bristol Bridge and Temple Meads sites. I like to make sure everything’s running smoothly, and we can address any problems straight away.

I’ll then head back to the cafe and typically check through the budget and make stock orders for the honesty bar and cleaning supplies. We’re hiring at the moment, so I’ll sometimes join an interview for new team members which is exciting.

15:00: 3pm on a Wednesday means Cake Time! Every Runway East location provides our members with afternoon tea and cake on Wednesday afternoons, and as Community Manager, I take cake very seriously. It’s a great opportunity to chat to the members, find out how business is going, and tell them about upcoming community events.

15:30: Today, I’ve got a 1-2-1 with my manager Adam. We have a great feedback culture at Runway East, which works both ways. I’ve found it really valuable and amazing how the whole team is continually aiming to improve. We also do something called GAD walks, which stands for ‘Give A Damn.’ Once a month, we go for a walk with a colleague and chat about anything we want - work-related or not. It’s good to get things off your chest.  

17:00: As restrictions are easing, we’re now able to host more events at Runway East. Part of my role as Community Manager is to plan these events and parties. We keep in touch with members via our slack channel so after putting together a requirements matrix for our next event, I promote it to everyone at that site.

18:00: I typically head home around 6pm, but we’re quite a sociable bunch, and we’ll often head out to the pub or out to dinner too. Our team has a great culture and we genuinely enjoy spending time with each other.

22:00: I like my beauty sleep, so I normally head to bed early. That way I’ve got a chance of not snoozing my alarm through my run the next day.

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