With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, commercial property investors and property managers, like other businesses, are preparing for the return of their tenants. Though it is unclear when everyone will be vaccinated or when the pandemic will be over, one thing is sure: businesses must continue.
As the business continues, it is crucial to ensure that everything is prepared in rental offices. Commercial property investors and property managers might want to consider some of these tips to help you meet the expectations of your tenants before they reopen.
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Prepare for a New Office Layout
The problem that many offices will encounter in reopening is maintaining a six-foot space between workstations. Gone are the glory days of open-area office spaces. Property owners now should start to consider office cubicles, or, if not, redesign the tables in your area to accommodate the new guidelines. Employees can work at ease knowing that they are provided with a workstation with the necessary social distancing protocols. In short, they can focus on output rather than becoming sick. You can work on your office layout, or you may call in professionals to handle it for you.
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Opt for Germ-Free and Germ-Resistant Materials
While modifying your rental office space layout, property owners should also search for materials that you can use to replace some surfaces that you can effortlessly clean with disinfectants. Perhaps replace part of your hardwood countertop with granite countertop designs. You might also want to start tearing the carpets on your workplace flooring, not just because it’s old-fashioned but also because COVID-19 tends to breed in carpeted floors. It’s reasonable to assume that the durability and convenience of cleaning will be essential factors in the following months and years.
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Add Outdoor Spaces
One of the few things we can keep is the indoor-outdoor concept spaces seen in many businesses. We will never be able to deny the importance of these areas to workers. Who wouldn’t want access to outdoor work and meeting spaces? It has been proven that a dynamic work atmosphere combined with an appealing outdoor space has made a significant change to the perfect workplace. Indeed, allowing employees to reconnect with nature at work may boost their productivity, well-being, and the business’s overall success. At the same time, it will increase the market value of your office rental space.
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Make Sure to Have Good Air Filtration Systems
Directing the airflow so that it does not blow straight from one person to another decreases the possibility of infectious virus droplets spreading throughout the office. In Class A buildings, advanced HVAC systems are already in use. Similarly, office investors may and should start looking into the cost of installing specialist filters in their current HVAC systems to help curb the spread of germs. Air cleaners and HVAC filters, when used correctly, can help minimize airborne pollutants such as viruses in a building or small area. Moreover, in areas where ventilation is hardly achieved, you may opt to have portable air cleaners to enhance improved HVAC system ventilation and filtration.
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Update Your Standard Conference Rooms to Video Conference Centers
Some businesses now allow their workers to work in the comfort of their homes. Furthermore, it would be a great idea to provide a video conference center in your rental space as a property owner or property manager. There is no need to create a new room in your office. Typically, rental offices already have their existing standard conference rooms. People can use those spaces for both in-person and virtual meetings. Just make sure that you add resources such as extra plugs to the area to accommodate different devices that office workers may use in their video conferences.
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Invest in Touchless Technology
The idea of having motion-activated doors has been used by many high-end office buildings for years already. Still, those who own a smaller office building can always opt to replace their regular doors with step-and-pull doors instead. Aside from doors, buildings nowadays must also have innovative technologies to measure a person’s temperature to see if a person is sick. Along with using voice-activated technology, people don’t need to touch things and risk getting infected. The sensor technology is a game-changer that property owners need in these trying times.
7. Have a Hand Sanitizer Station
Hand sanitizers reduce microbial numbers and kill dangerous bacteria that can cause the flu and other infections. However, even with this pandemic, you cannot expect everyone who goes to your property to have hand sanitizers with them. With this in mind, property owners and property managers must evaluate and designate a location for a community hand sanitizer station and appoint someone to maintain and refill the area. Having this hand sanitizer station is necessary to ensure that individuals on your property may always sanitize their hands after touching surfaces that numerous individuals have handled.
When protecting your tenants and employees from pandemic risks, you want to make sure that everything is in place. By ensuring the building meets fire safety standards, providing HVAC filters, and making sure there are no exposed electrical wires, you can ensure that your business can continue without interruption during this challenging time.
