There is no denying it, Covid has transformed how and where we work, both now and in the future. For many businesses, this has completely transformed their office and staffing structure, with managers and HR teams scrambling to find how they can best support their staff regardless of where they choose to work.
Many businesses are finding that they have staff who want to continue working from home while others may be reluctant to return to the main office but would prefer to still work in a more formal work environment over working from home. This has left many employers scrambling to adjust to this ‘new normal’ of office life. As a result, business and office space owners are finding themselves in need of small office space in different locations or with desk space going spare.
What Is The ‘New Normal’ Office After Covid?
There are plenty of alternative office options available regardless of where your business is located. For a long time, coworking and shared offices have been very popular in the heart of our major cities (like London) and rural communities. However, as we tentatively move out of lockdown regulations and limitations lift these coworking hubs and shared offices can transform how you do business; regardless of whether you are looking to share your spare desk space or rent. Returning to something resembling normal business has left many business owners and HR managers looking in-depth at the working environments of their employees. There are a variety of key considerations that employers must make to ensure they can fully support their staff. These include:
- Retaining and attracting talented staff
- Ensuring staff feel supported and safe in their work environment
- Maintaining open lines of communication
- How to protect the company for the future
How To Retain And Attract New Talented Staff After Covid?
Naturally, the main consideration for all employers is how to retain and attract new talent. With the covid pandemic lockdowns, many businesses were able to break away from geographical limitations when looking for new staff due to the surge in remote and home working. However, as we look to return to a more formal office structure, many businesses are looking at how they can retain and attract new staff outside of their traditional office catchment area. With that said, not everyone wants to work from home and this is where shared office space and coworking spaces come into their own. For example, a company may have offices in Manchester and London but they might have new staff (hired during covid restrictions) working from home outside these areas, who are reluctant to relocate now that we are returning to traditional offices. However, by sharing office space with another company or supporting staff who do not wish to return to the main office (for any reason) in utilising coworking offices a company can retain and attract new talent without the same geographical considerations and limitations they may have once had.
How To Best Support Your Staff When Returning To The Office?
One of the most important (and simplest) things a business can do to help its staff feel supported is to LISTEN! However, communication can be hard when there is an element of physical distancing….let’s face it long-distance relationships require a lot of work. With this in mind employers and managers must carefully curate working bubbles to ensure that people feel supported, included and valued as well as productive, especially if they are not in the office the whole time. As a result, if a group of employees working on project ‘A’ only want to work in the office part-time it simply makes sense that as a manager you have these employees come into the office at the same time. However, some staff may decide they do not want to come into the office anymore, for a variety of reasons and as an employer, it is up to you to find a working solution that suits everyone involved.
Finally one of the most important ways an employer can support their employees during these tumultuous times to ensure that staff have all the equipment and facilities they may need to do their job successfully regardless of where they are based. Once this has been done business owners and managers can then look at creating face to face or virtual networking and socialising events with their staff to keep the lines of communication open while also arranging regular chats with each employee individually to touch base.
Protecting Your Business For The Future
It is a well-known fact that a business is only as good as their staff but now that many employees have had a chance to work from home they may be reluctant to return to the office full time, if at all. So where does this learn your company? As we have discussed above, there are options available for business owners in this situation. Coworking spaces and office sharing allow a company to support staff who do not want to return to the office while still fostering a more formal working environment. At the same time, companies can also choose to share their spare office space for a much needed financial boost. Regardless of whether you are using coworking spaces, sharing your office space with others or renting space in someone else’s office, it offers a wide range of benefits to both you and your business. So if you want to boost your business and support your employee’s needs you would be silly not to consider coworking and office sharing!
