Mail Management: Afterthought, Differentiator, or Profit Center? It’s Your Choice
4 Steps to go from ‘Mail Chaos’ to Best-in-Class
With all there is to do running a successful coworking space, managing the mail is too often treated as an afterthought instead of an important amenity that can differentiate your workspace and even make you more money. Take the following four steps to eliminate mail management chaos, increase efficiency, provide accountability and delight both in-office and virtual members.
The warning signs to watch for:
Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms? They're signs that you are treating mail as an afterthought, creating unnecessary friction, inviting trouble, and leaving money on the table.
‘Mail management’ is not in anyone’s job description.
There is no standardized process for receiving and distributing mail.
Mail is not sorted and distributed until the end of the day, or sometimes the next day.
Members complain about letters or packages not received or accuse staff of losing mail.
Members often call or email to learn what mail has been received or to request forwarding or scanning.
Mail accumulates in members’ boxes over months, often overflowing. Packages are not picked up.
You’re not using an effective software tool to streamline and upgrade mail management.
The Four Steps for Mail Management:
Standardize Who, Where, and When
Who: Most tasks fall upon the community manager, including mail management. But is managing mail part of the job responsibilities, accompanied by a description of what to do and when? If the person primarily responsible for managing the mail is out, you should have a reliable backup.
Where: Designate a specific location where the mail carrier drops mail and FedEx and UPS drop off packages. Consider some form of secure mail bin for letters. Find a cupboard or spare closet to securely store packages. A small gift for your mail carrier and delivery drivers will go a long way to building a helpful relationship.
When: With mail and packages arriving at around the same time every day, so too should a regular time be set aside to sort and distribute the mail. This ensures that it won’t get pushed off or left unattended. Members will know when to expect mail and won’t get annoyed or inquire about mail status. A regular, repeated process significantly reduces the chances of losing or misplacing mail.
Consider as well:
Do you set a standard method of delivering mail, or does it vary by member or by member type? Mailboxes accessible by key or combination are the most secure. Some office tenants may want mail placed on their desk but leaving mail in the open risks it being overlooked or moved around. If you don’t have enough boxes for everyone, you may default to a folder in a file cabinet – is the cabinet secure and well organized? Since most virtual or mailbox clients may not come into the office, a folder-in-cabinet system is often the best solution.
Do you have a secure location to store packages? You should have a method for logging in package receipts and pickup. Using a spreadsheet is clunky and time consuming. Apps are available or some workspace providers may incorporate this into their software.
If you offer outgoing mail drop off, is there a secure and adequate drop off bin? If the carrier does not retrieve the mail from your office, who is responsible for bringing the mail to the pickup location in your building?
2. Document Your Mail Handling Procedures
With standard procedures in place, take the time to document this process in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format. Reinforce what is expected of the staff when processing the mail and make it simple for a backup to fill in when needed. It should be clear how to handle mail for each type of client.
A simple memo may suffice, or you might want to produce a more formalized, visually rich training document or handbook. Make it available online but keep printed and laminated copies on-site for easy access. The more effort you invest in your training messaging and format, the more likely it is to stay top of mind and be taken seriously by your staff.
Consider making a simple video walkthrough, especially if your staff prefers visual learning and demonstrations.
Clarify how to deal with exceptions, so staff know how to deal with members who have particular needs or otherwise don’t want to abide by the standard process. How much flexibility are they afforded to accommodate these requests?
3. Educate and Impress
From the first tour or from the first visit to your website, prospects should know that your mail handling procedures are secure and responsive to their needs. Whether you bake certain levels of service into your base membership plans or offer mail management services as a separate plan, the prospect should appreciate that mail is not an afterthought.
Beyond the basic price for using your center as a mailing address, make clear what the costs are to forward or scan mail content. You may impose a storage charge for mail or packages that don’t get picked up after a certain volume is reached or space limit exceeded. Clients should understand that your workspace is not a warehouse.
Members and clients should understand how and when they can access their deliveries. When you communicate their membership benefits regarding access to meeting rooms, reception, printers or snackroom, you should also include the specifics about mail receiving, pickup and requests. When clients want to check on incoming mail remotely or request that mail be opened and scanned or packages be forwarded, they should know the process to follow.
Otherwise, mail chaos ensues, as forwarding addresses get mishandled or the wrong mail content is scanned. Complaints, clarifications, and endless follow-ups to your staff regarding mail will become a distraction and waste time.
4. Utilize Software to Streamline and Automate
There are plenty of apps available for managing package receipt and notification. To truly overhaul your process from top to bottom, however, consider a more comprehensive solution like iWorkSpaceMail with iPostal1, that not only manages both mail and packages, but also provides digital mailbox service so clients can view and manage their mail from anywhere.
Using iWorkSpaceMail with iPostal1, your members can see an image of the outside of new deliveries. With a few taps in a convenient mobile app, they can request that mail be forwarded to any address, opened and scanned, discarded, or held for pickup. End the torrent of calls asking what is in their mailbox, or email requests to forward or scan.
Accountability improves as you get a complete history of all mail and packages received, tasks requested and completed, along with a time and date stamp. Simplify your staff's workflow and improve service for your members.
Even better, by listing your location on iPostal1.com you can have new clients sent to you to utilize your digital mailbox services. Create a totally turnkey, new recurring revenue stream with no cost to you.
Staying ahead of the competition, differentiating your brand, increasing efficiency, and improving the client experience are the keys to sustaining success and profitability. Mail management is an often overlooked service that, when developed properly, can delight your clients and turn into a profit center. See if these four steps work for you!
To learn more about iWorkSpaceMail with iPostal1, Click Here.
“We have implemented the use of iPostal1 at several of our locations to make mail handling simpler and more streamlined for our Community Managers and are excited to be rolling it out at all of our locations soon! iPostal1 has helped keep our mailrooms organized so Community Managers can focus on what they do best!”
Taylor Hagan
Regional Community Manager, THRIVE Coworking
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