Coronavirus crisis is severe and the coworking industry is terrifically sensitive to social distancing measures. They actually cut the brands to the very core. However, you came here not to read another portion of "horror stories" about empty desks and vanishing income. Most of the coworking operators are recovering from the initial pandemic shock and start to think about
what to do after the Covid19 crisis, how to ensure that the existing members will come back to their desks and that new customers will sign up regularly.I believe that community and sharing experiences are keys to recovering. That's why we prepared a few blitz interview questions covering the urgent topic of coworking hubs reopen after the Covid-19 outbreak and sent them out to coworking industry influencers. You can find their answers in the round-up below.
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What are you doing to make sure your residents will return to your workspace after the outbreak?— What exact steps will you take right after your coworking space reopens?
— What are you doing to make sure your residents will get back to you?
— What exact steps will you take right after your coworking space reopens?
— What are you doing to make sure residents will get back to your space?
About 40% of members are participating in the online video chat events sometimes, some more are participating on Slack messaging, and many are receiving emails, filling out surveys, paying, and otherwise not actively participating right now.
Friendships, learning, and in-depth open conversations with laughter make great days that help us be more productive and profitable.
Collective Agency members' quotes:
I really like having contact with you each day. That’s the main reason I was wanting to join a coworking space in the first place. And I like how members are organizing the events: the game nights and virtual group lunches are helping create a sense of community for me at a time when it's needed. ~ Teija Stearns
The reason I joined Collective Agency in the first place is the same now: to be more productive working from home. ~ Lindsey Sanders
— What exact steps will you take right after the coworking space reopens?
— Are you going to modify your pricing policy?
At Collective Agency, changing prices would require a member vote or at least a survey that passes the modified consensus process we have. No one has asked for that to be voted on yet. Prices are the same as they've been for years: $250 per month is the main membership option. It includes 24/7 unlimited access, whether in the video chat space or at a physical space.
Members each have the option of pausing or canceling, but the more that happens, the more likely it becomes that hard decisions to reduce costs or share risk will need to be made. As of last week, 80% of members continued paying the same as before.
— What other possible strategies will you implement to get out of the crisis?
Collective Agency sent out a joint press release with another Portland Oregon coworking community today. Members started again newly signing up last week for the online-only experience and to support the community. I hope more new members sign up for the online-only experience.
— What would you recommend coworking space owners to do to make sure their residents will get back to them?
But in general, I think the demand will surge on its own and the coworking spaces who can endure through this lockdown, will reap the rewards and get a lot of sign-ups.
— In your opinion, what steps are coworking space owners going to take right after reopen?
There’s still a lot of brainstorm, but low hanging fruit options are...
— Will coworking operators reduce prices or increase them instead?
They’ll mostly reduce prices to ensure sign-ups and revenue, but as demand surges, it may ultimately increase prices.
For example, there will initially be a lot of part-time requests, so the $/day may increase, but the earned monthly revenue may be lower per member.
— What are you doing to prevent mass members' drop off and to ensure their return after the end coronavirus outbreak?
— What are you doing to keep your members during the coronavirus outbreak?
The benefits of our Coworking Kitchen are obvious - sure we can always improve but to ensure they come back we have to help them stay in business in the first place. So our focus lies mainly on supporting our members by finding ideas to survive the crisis.
The reason we started our place was exactly for this purpose — to help food startups grow and prosper — we are trying to achieve this through brainstorming and sharing ideas to adapt to the new situation, helping with applying for government aid, general networking and promoting them through our channels.
— What exact steps will you take right after the coworking space starts to work in regular mode?
Our Open Kitchen was never closed down as it is considered system relevant — some of our members need to be operating the whole time.
— Are you going to modify prices somehow (increase/decrease) to make your workspace more profitable?
Neither — we offer good value — we cannot go down and as of now do not see the need to go up.
— What other strategies will you implement to get out of the crisis?
We are closely monitoring the ways food startups are reacting to the new situation and try to anticipate changes to their business models, so we can adapt our kitchen equipment if necessary to be able to provide good value to a changing food landscape in the short to middle term.
— What are you doing to make sure your residents will get back to the workspace?
Our members must feel confident that when returning to our space, they will be safe, they need to know we have created a secure work environment that puts their wellbeing first.
This is done by implementing safety measures, reinventing the space and having open and clear communication channels. We also need to support our members while they are also still at home, making sure they can connect, learn and always have the advantages that come from being a part of our community.
— What exact steps will you take right after the coworking space starts to work?
Right now, Talent Garden is focusing on three fundamental areas:
We want to guarantee that inside our spaces, we have high levels of cleanliness and that all safety measures have been implemented.
At the same time, the redesign and wayfinding support the necessity for extra space and distancing. But it is also about understanding our members need new ways to connect and share experiences. Hence, the need to be innovative when finding new solutions for replacing these interactions.
— Will you reduce prices or increase them instead?
I don’t believe it is about changing prices but changing services. We need to adapt to the new normal that is emerging, and the unique demands that come with it.
— What other strategies will you implement to get out of the crisis?
During these past months, we have really seen that the value of the office is not what it was perceived to be. It is not a place you come to simply work because you can do that from home. It should be a place that:
And this is what I feel many companies are questioning right now. If I don’t need an office, what do I need? And I think that a place like Talent Garden gives you that type of real value while allowing you to be flexible.
I hope you feel inspired and ready to brainstorm your coworking space reopen plan, new services, and pricing policy. But what is more important, you understand the role of coworking spaces in the local post-crisis economy.
Freelance entrepreneurs and small businesses are going to seek new connections, people who lost the job may consider remote contracts (which means they will need a space to work), big and medium-sized corporations will look for affordable office space. And of course, all mentioned prospectives will crave for a cheerful, supportive atmosphere of the coworking space.
Don't forget to share this round-up with your friends on socials as they also require some experts' insights and inspiration.