With the disruptions of 2020, and the future still uncertain, it may be tempting to just wait until 2022 to invite your tenants back into the office.
However, based on our research, we’ve seen that many companies are not willing to wait that long. In the survey data we collected, we found that 65% of office workers want to return to the office. As a result, many companies are shifting their focus toward getting back into the office sooner rather than later, which means that buildings need to start making plans now to make their spaces safe for tenants to return in 2021.
The good news is that those plans don’t have to be a hassle — there are technology solutions you can leverage to make the process more efficient. Below are key measures you can implement to bring workers back to your building the safe way.
Monitor IAQ
As the saying goes, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” and that is especially true with indoor air quality (IAQ). In the midst of this pandemic, where the transmission can occur via airborne particles, management of your IAQ is crucial.
Cohesion makes it easy to monitor the quality of your building’s air and optimize airflow. With the combination of IAQ data and space utilization data (provided by sensors), you can direct airflow to the spaces that are in use and skip the uninhabited offices. As an additional benefit, you can share the building’s IAQ data with your tenants to keep them informed and feeling confident.
Implement Touchless Technology
Clamping down on the spread of germs means reducing the number of surfaces people need to touch. Installing touchless bathroom amenities is a great first step, but, using Cohesion’s technology, you can go even further. With Cohesion’s app, tenants can use their phones to enter the building, without having to swipe a physical keycard or talk to building security. Once people enter the building, they can also use Cohesion to call the elevator and direct it to the appropriate floor, eliminating contact with elevator buttons, some of the most touched areas in a building.
Your tenants are further empowered with the ability to give guests this easy, touchless access. When tenants schedule their visitors in the app, visitors receive a QR code that grants them access to the building and the elevator for the duration of their visit.
Make Interactions Contact-Free
To protect your staff and tenants, eliminate any unnecessary face-to-face interaction. One way to do this is by enabling virtual communication between you and your tenants. In the Cohesion app, tenants and building management can chat back and forth, keeping both parties safe.
Cohesion also enables online booking of your building’s amenities, whether freight elevators, event spaces, or bike rooms. In the app, tenants can view the availability and hours for each amenity, then book it (and pay for it, if applicable) from their phones. This not only removes the need for in-person contact between staff and tenants but makes the process faster and reduces the possibility of double-booking.
Institute Smarter Cleaning Routines
Cleaning more thoroughly is a no-brainer during a pandemic, but technology can help you determine which areas to focus on to get the most out of your cleaning crew’s efforts.
With sensors like the ones Cohesion uses, you can monitor which spaces are in use and direct your cleaning efforts toward the spaces where cleaning is needed. If an office hasn’t been occupied since the last time it was cleaned, your cleaning staff can focus on the surfaces and offices that actually need disinfection efforts. On the flip side, if sensors detect that an elevator has been used several times, the app can let you know that it’s time to clean it. Having this data could increase efficiency; sharing that data-driven cleaning schedule with tenants, if you choose to do so, could give them peace of mind.
By looking at the longer-term data for occupancy and utilization, you can get a sense of patterns for when and how many spaces are occupied and determine cleaning needs in advance; with those insights, you can determine your staffing needs proactively and achieve a better return on your cleaning costs.
Practice Good Communication
All of the above measures are helpful on their own, but implementing them is only the first half of the process. Effectively communicating about them is what will make your tenants, both current and future, feel safe to return.
Communicating openly and regularly with your tenants is beneficial at any time, but it is especially so during a pandemic when having information is critical. In our survey, we found that nearly 80% of employees want to know the air quality in their office building and over 80% want cleaning schedule information. Using Cohesion makes it easier to provide that information to tenants all in one place. Giving tenants that information about the status of your building and the steps you’re taking to make it safe will go a long way toward creating trust.
2020 was a year that no one could have prepared for, but 2021 is not. By leveraging technology now, you can proactively make it possible for your tenants to return. Don’t wait to see if your tenants come back — take action now and get your building and tenants thriving together once again.
Ready to make your building open for business? Contact us today to set up a demo and see how Cohesion can help you open your doors safely.
