Reopening Your Coworking Space post COVID-19? Explore some useful resources on how to do that.
We’re currently experiencing one of the most challenging times for the entire real estate industry. The coronavirus crisis is putting huge pressure on most businesses as most countries are struggling to contain the virus. Running a coworking and flexible workspace today is harder than ever! As a member of a flexible workspace, as well as a vendor, working with more than a thousand operators like you, we feel your pain every day.
The entire team at OfficeRnD is on your service and is here to help with everything we can! The health and safety of your clients, members and employees are truly important for us. We compiled a list of 13 tips that can help you in these turbulent times.
You can also check out some additional COVID-19 tips and resources (webinars, posts, templates) that we gathered.
There is nothing worse than silence in times of crisis. Your members and staff expect you to acknowledge the situation and address it somehow. Even if it’s just to let them know you are taking it seriously.
Whatever you decide to do, you need to let the people know there is nothing more important than their health and all measures are taken to ensure their wellbeing. Don’t think it’s assumed.
Ensure that all shared spaces like kitchens, bathrooms, and meeting rooms are cleaned and disinfected properly and on a regular basis. Include places that are not usually cleaned – doorknobs and elevator keys – in the cleaning rotation. Communicate that to your members.
Make sure you provide disinfectants in meeting rooms, at reception, in the dining areas or next to the elevators – anywhere people tend to interact with each other or with food.
Relay hygiene best practices to everyone on site. You can put up posters in the bathrooms for example. If you want to make it more engaging – you can use a more creative approach. The City of Round Rock, Texas uses a cool one – “Wash your hands like you just got done slicing jalapeños for a batch of nachos and you need to take your contacts out.”
Ask those who’ve been traveling lately or have flu symptoms to work from home to limit their contacts with colleagues and other members. Here are some useful tips on how to keep teams collaborating when working remotely.
Follow the official guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on their website.
Use all possible channels to communicate with your members about the measures you’re taking in order to keep them healthy.
Make sure to follow the guidance from your local authorities and reschedule or cancel physical events held at your space when needed. If you are the organizer, you can always go digital and broadcast through Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, etc.
Whatever you do, don’t panic and don’t let your members panic. Ensure them you are doing everything that is in your power to keep everyone healthy. As the famous saying goes, “that too shall pass”.
Consider ways to offer a reduced price for members who are working from home for a longer period of time. Show your appreciation and support for their own business and that it’s important that they are successful and can survive the crisis.
Smart investors and entrepreneurs see the opportunities in a downturn. Invest even more in your core product and make it even better! The best companies are forged in bad times. When good times come, the investments you’re making now will pay off by huge multiples.
The entire team at OfficeRnD is on your service and is here to help with everything we can! Please, get in touch with us at support@officernd.com if you have any questions.
Be safe!
The OfficeRnD Team
The coworking industry is facing two huge crises – the external COVID-19 and the internal identity crises. And both seem to be here to stay. But they also create opportunities for the flexible workspace industry to have an incredibly positive social and economic impact and define how the future of work will look like.
To help more operators learn from the experience of operators in Asia, we share the story of Kickstart, Pakistan’s largest coworking space operator. In the post, its co-founder Saad Riaz shares what Kickstart did to fight COVID-19 and keep functioning as a business.
The flexible workspace industry from now on won’t be the same and to keep functioning as a business, every flexible workspace must now meet the new requirements. To reopen your coworking space post-COVID you need to invest in extreme cleanliness, top-notch air quality, space improvements, as well as a dozen other aspects. In the post, you’ll find some ideas about how to approach this process.
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