For weeks we’ve been part of roundtables, calls, conferences and 1-to-1 calls with coworking operators, professionals and members discussing and reacting to COVID-19 and it’s socioeconomic impacts on the sector.

One of the biggest topics recently is what welcoming back members should look/feel like, and how to improve the experience for workspace teams and members alike.

There are 2 major concerns about returning to shared workspaces from the members’ perspective.

1. Is the workspace truly safe to return to?

From legal, risk, regulatory and health points of view, decision-makers need to know. Workspace operators need to clearly communicate how they’re adapting and what procedures, processes and strategies are in place (or will be in place) to answer this questions.

Dissipating this information will also be critical, and platforms (even our own) are adapting to make it either easier or totally automatic to update the public about this information as quickly as possible.

We’ll be sharing more about our efforts in this area in a follow-up post this week.

2. Will members feel welcomed under the new rules and workspace changes?

Assuming all the above safety measures are met, the next concern is how to make returning to the workspace not only comfortable, but delightful.

From on-brand messaging within the space and understandable guidance regarding shared areas and amenities, how members (whether they’re self-employed, employers and employees) feel when they get back to your workspace is going to matter more than ever.

Spaces that take full-advantage of turning this stressful return to work into moments of delight, will not only rebuild goodwill with their members, but may benefit directly from positive word-of-mouth both online and offline.

Here’s a handful of solutions we’ve sourced to help workspace operators make returning to work as safe and delightful as possible: