The importance of the Community Builder: How Alfredo Vera lives it

“Serious, methodical and warm”. These 3 words define our Community Builder Alfredo Vera, who coworkers can always find at CREC Sabadell. Of course, this definition only serves you at work. On vermouth or dinner (when COVID-19 allows), he is just a rockstar!

 

 

“At CREC Coworking we were genuine by creating the Community Builder role”

 

Community Builder since 2016, Alfredo arrived shortly before the opening of CREC Eixample. Until then, he had worked at Club Lleuresport offering photography workshops, his great specialty apart from building community: “At the time, I was a Senior Technician in Image and Sound with a specialization in Filmmaking. There I had a photography course when it was analog and then I went on to do what I really wanted: Directing and Film Script.

 

His first contact with coworking was the Coworking Spain in 2016, held in Poble Sec. From that moment, he believes that the role of the Community Builder has changed a lot: “I feel that I no longer do many of the tasks that I did at the beginning and that now I have knowledge in the sector that I did not have before”, he explains.

 

Of course, he believes that from the beginning until now, the figure of the Community Builder is key to understanding CREC: “We are the pillar and the aim of CREC. At the end of the day, having a table, a room where you can meet, internet… Many people can have it. But having the figure of a Community Builder who knows the profiles of all coworkers, connects them, creates synergies… That is not available to everyone. In fact, not everyone does it and those who do it, have been inspired by us. At CREC Coworking we were the genuine in creating this figure.

 

 

“Having the figure of a Community Builder who knows the profiles of all coworkers, connects them, creates synergies… It is not available to everyone”

 

In fact, his side as a photographer has also allowed him to benefit from CREC Connect and collaborate with coworkers: “With Megan Klingbeil, for example, a job came out for a Black Friday campaign a couple of years ago. His company was dedicated to the design of bags, handbags, totebags, backpacks… And we did a campaign together”, he says. Today, photography is more of a hobby and he is always open to lending a hand to those who need it.

 

Apart from photography, Alfredo is the Community Builder in charge of managing all external rentals that come to CREC. Unfortunately, however, it is a sector that has been severely hit by the pandemic: “Before COVID-19, we used to host about 5 or 6 large events each year in Sala B at Poble Sec: WeLoveCats, Independent Label Market… Hopefully they can recover soon”.

 

Successful events are one of the favourite moments of his work, but Alfredo highlights another one above all: Bringing a valuable connection to a coworker’s project. “This is where I really enjoy our work as Community Builders, where I see our differential value,” he emphasizes.

 

“The community has grown a lot. Either with the more than 250 active coworkers or with all the ex-coworkers who have passed through CREC and with whom we stay in touch”

 

Furthermore, CREC Connect has evolved hand in hand with Community Builders. “We have gone from managing only Poble Sec to having Eixample and Sabadell. In addition, we are the ideologues of Sinèrgics and La Clota CoTreball, two coworkings of social return. This has meant a very large growth of the community, either with the more than 250 active coworkers or with all the ex-coworkers who have passed through CREC and with whom we continue to have a relationship.

 

But it’s not all work. As we said at the beginning, Alfredo and the whole team especially enjoy the meetings outside of work. For this reason, it is where the funniest anecdotes are usually produced: “I stay with coworkers who in their day to day seem very serious, reserved… And they end the night dancing on the podium of a disco. These types of funny situations occur in moments of relaxation, when we are out of work, in vermouths … And they are very much appreciated”.

 

“I would recommend coworking because it is the future, especially after the pandemic. Alternating work from home with being present is, directly, a necessity”

 

Finally, like his colleagues Anabel Valero or Gerard Hernández, Alfredo Vera has been autonomous and values the possibilities of coworking: “I would recommend it because it is the future. And more now after the pandemic. You can work from home and not separate your personal life from your professional life. You can be there 24 hours, with what that entails: The call from the postman, the washing machine, the distractions… Or you can go outside. I think that at least alternating work from home with being present is directly a necessity”.