Gather

Featuring private offices and workspaces, Gather is a flexible coworking and office space with 7 locations in Virginia.

OfficeRnD is an easy-to-use flex-space and hybrid work management software with offices around the world.

This is how Kisi access control and OfficeRnD have supported Gather in building a stronger, larger, and more dynamic community that supported Gather’s efforts in increasing membership revenue.

We met with James Crenshaw, CMO and Owner of Gather, and Susanna Raber, one of their Community Managers, to discover what an innovative coworking space that prioritizes their members’ experience looks like.

With around 2,800 members, 55 doors secured by Kisi, and multiple membership models, Gather has found that automating their admin work using the Kisi x OfficeRnD integration has helped streamline their workload and freed up time to work on other projects.

Gather wanted an enhanced security system that allowed them to better understand their members’ schedules and continue to offer flexible membership options to their community - all while streamlining access through all hours of the day.

“Some of our members prefer a month-to-month membership, others like to come just for the day, and others plan to come after hours. We wouldn’t be able to offer our space 24/7 if we didn’t provide a reliable and secure access control system like Kisi”, says Susanna Raber.

Having the ability to keep their spaces operational and secure for longer periods of time is a benefit to Gather. This attracts more members and builds community through flexibility and user experience. This, in turn, unlocks the possibility of offering perks and benefits through various membership permissions and prices – all through the same access control infrastructure.

Kisi streamlines the administration work so time can be spent in creating value for members

"We have very high standards when it comes to creating a productive and engaging work environment for our members," says James Crenshaw.

Community managers are responsible not only for creating an engaging environment but for ensuring that the spaces the community uses stay safe and private.

“The integration with OfficeRnD and Kisi saves us so much time and allows us to focus more time on our members.”

Now, staff can use their time to focus on creative ideas that directly promote growth, and support community safety while reducing time behind the computer.

An easy to install and flexible access control system that can be tailored to each location

From mailrooms to common areas, Gather has prioritized security and operations depending on the access level needs of each location.

“We use Kisi in different ways. Kisi allows us great flexibility in programming our doors based on a number of factors including location and time of day. Kisi allows for granularity in security and access,” says James Crenshaw.

With Kisi and OfficeRnD, Gather has the flexibility to choose how they want to design their community based on the number of members that use the space and the way each building is physically designed.

As James explains, “With mobile credentials, access becomes a convenient experience for our members and they can easily access the space, even during the weekends. It streamlines the check-in process while working consistently.”

This design process was implemented exclusively based on the expertise of the Gather team and support from the Kisi team, “Based on our level of experience, we decided how to best deploy Kisi across our space. Kisi helped with setting up the readers and made sure the technology was helping us secure the space, and our members had everything they needed.”

Besides choosing which doors to secure, Gather has also found advantages in Kisi compared to their previous access control system, especially as it concerns reliability, “It helps with security, it gives you a good overview of who is in your building, and you can better track who comes in your space,” says Susanna Raber.

Another advantage has been the temporary access management capabilities. The visitor and temporary access pass has been an added advantage in adjusting to their members’ schedules without having to do significant manual labor.

A reliable space management and access control integration

“In terms of security, it helps that we have an integration because when a membership is no longer active, we don’t have to worry about removing them from all of our platforms,” says Susanna Raber.

The integration between Kisi and OfficeRnD has been a big win for Gather as it increases the level of monitoring, security, and convenience of members.

As stated by Susanna Raber, “There is reliability with Kisi, and our members are really excited about it. It accommodates different levels of comfort, and they can use multiple ways to unlock doors.”

Trust is the foundation of Kisi’s system in order to ensure security and staff flexibility.

A recommended system made for scalable communities

“Access control has been a selling feature for our members. It is one of the biggest points that we touch on because streamlining access is a big deal - especially for our members to know that they are in a secure and safe building,” affirms James Crenshaw.

Deploying an integrated system such as Kisi and OfficeRnD is a win. Not only are your community managers working more productively, but you are also removing security risks.

Members enjoy the space management system implemented at Gather and continue to trust it across our locations.

Regarding the deployment experience, Gather’s CMO said, “When you do something of this scale, you expect headaches to appear. The Kisi team was very proactive and engaged in making sure it went well. We had a great rollout, and we recommend other groups thinking about it to put thought and effort into transitioning processes like this one.”

Gather discovered that access control could also improve after-hours and weekend access for maintenance, IT improvements, and technician work. With remote access, they can unlock doors remotely, which allows everyone to do their work in comfort.

Gather stated, “Being able to unlock doors via Bluetooth has been a wow factor for members. To be able to scale seamlessly alongside OfficeRnD and Kisi has been a priority.” It allows them to continue to brand themselves as a flexible and innovative space.

Gather is excited to continue growing and scaling with their current technology and access solutions, “We’re definitely growing and can’t wait to see Kisi and OfficeRnD grow with us.”