7 Critical Components of a New Co-Working Space

Shared offices are an asset. More people are working remotely than ever before. While their employer is in one city, they live and work in another. This has potential to become the way work is done in the future, but for now, people need options. When their home doesn’t have the tech capabilities they need, employees can leverage a high-tech co-working space to ensure they can complete their projects, connect with their colleagues, and so much more. When developing a co-working space, there are several factors to consider. It’s more complex than desks and a bathroom. The most effective co-working offices are the ones that consider how people work.  
On-Site and Remote Receptionist
Co-working offices need a receptionist on site. Not only that, they also need a 24/7 business answering service to ensure the people who use the space have someone to answer on their behalf. These services are critical for the user experience when it comes to co-working spaces. When multiple businesses use the same space, it helps them all to have someone who can field phone calls, forward them, and answer basic business questions when needed. With the right tools in place, receptionists can be empowered to help multiple companies all from the same place.
Sanitation
Since the pandemic, more and more companies are thinking about how clean their offices are. When they might have overlooked some things in the past, a co-working space especially needs good sanitation. Bathrooms should be checked and cleaned throughout the day. Hand sanitizer should be available to co-working users. And wipes and other cleaning supplies should be available so people can wipe down any shared workspaces before they settle in. Just like sanitizer is offered at the gym to wipe down equipment, co-working offices need to offer sanitizer for their tables, chairs, doorknobs, and more. You’ll also offer trash bins in easy to locate places and clean them periodically. This includes keeping trash cans clean so that the co-working space doesn’t get smelly.
Ergonomic Seating
People pay for co-working so that they can get luxuries they may not have at home. This includes adjustable chairs and desks for creating an ergonomic workstation. Good seating ensures people have a comfortable and safe place to work while they are at your co-working space. Seats should be easy-to-adjust, comfortable, and customizable for the people who come in. These adjustments should be simple to do and not take too much time to complete. People will come back if they are comfortable in your environment.
Partitions
While people enjoy working near others, it doesn’t mean everything should be wide open. Partitions on desks or between conference rooms offers added privacy and better health. They can help muffle conversations and provide a way to help workers focus on projects they need to complete. Additionally, partitions help keep the noise levels down in co-working spaces. People will appreciate the different settings and ways they can use a co-working office.
Technology
Your new co-working offices should be equipped with the best technology possible. From fiber-optic network connections to VoIP for meeting rooms, and high-tech display options, think about all the ways people might want to use the space. Offering group spaces is just as important as having individual options. How can you make all those spaces more accessible and useful? Other options include workstations with high-tech monitors that are color calibrated along with laser printing, high-quality scanning, and even faxing.
Proper Lighting
A good co-working space has great lighting. When you combine big windows, with adequate overhead lights, and even table and desk lights, you have a recipe for great lighting. Proper lighting is more comfortable for people who work on computers. They’ll experience less eye strain, which reduces headaches, and even neck strain. Good lighting makes a space feel more open and inviting, instead of dim lights which can have an eerie effect. And with new technology, there are ways to make your building lighting sustainable.
Convenient Location
A good co-working office should be conveniently located in your town or city. This means it should have adequate parking nearby or located along a bus or transportation route. It should be well-marked and have an accessible entrance for people of all abilities. If it’s located on a second floor or higher, it should be in a building with an elevator. The location should consider the people you want using the space. While being in the city center might seem like the best spot, if it’s hard to get to, people are less likely to use it. It’s vital to consider all these factors when remodeling or building your co-working office. 
5 Tech Upgrades You Need in Your Commercial Buildings
Having a portfolio filled with multiple commercial buildings is a wise investment strategy. As technology advances, it’s important to consider how you’ll use it to improve your investment portfolio. The owners of hotels, for example, continue to improve access to rooms, increase energy efficiency, and boost the safety of their guests. The owners of office suites leverage advanced technologies as well. While more buildings use smart technology, it’s important not to get left behind. With the right implementation strategy, not only can you improve the user experience of the tenants in your properties, you’ll save time and money in the long run.
Keyless Entry
This technology has been around for years, and yet many older commercial properties lag in this area. A keyless system isn’t that expensive to implement, but it can improve safety and security for everyone who uses your buildings. With keyless entry, there are a few different options to consider. One option is similar to hotels with key cards that need to be put into a slot and pulled out; another option is to use a key card that you simply wave across a sensor.
More advanced technology that uses biometric data ensures that only the right people are in the building. Using something like a fingerprint or retinal scan means that cards can’t be stolen and only the person who is supposed to get in the building can get in. This is especially helpful for access to certain areas of the building. Each tenant can assign time slots when their staff can come in and out.
Video Surveillance
No one wants to live like it’s in 1984, but there is nothing wrong with video technology in commercial buildings. It provides increased security in parking garages, stairwells, and other problem areas in buildings. While you wouldn’t implement video in your tenants’ office spaces, it can be beneficial to add them to the public parts of the building. When something happens on the property, this video footage can help provide clues to what happened. It can also protect tenants from unwanted guests, and it acts as video evidence in the event of a crime. All this aside, newer video technology allows access from mobile devices, and this can be helpful if tenants also have access to this so that they can see what’s happening in public spaces before they exit the building.
Automated Utilities and Billing
Running multiple buildings is a lot of work. If you don’t have the right systems in place, you’ll end up doing a lot of work manually, or hiring someone to do it for you. Automated utility billing using submeter billing software is a powerful tool. Instead of sending a person to all your buildings and having them do manual reads on all the submeters, this type of software can connect you with any smart meter and do readouts and produce bills in one. This advancement means that no one needs to manually create a bill and enter data after someone has completed the reads on the utilities. These submeters can accurately bill each of your clients and tenants with ease. It reduces incorrect reads and helps you get just the right amount of money from all your buildings.
5G Networks
5G technology is getting turned on throughout the world. This smart technology enables so much more than your cell phones. Imagine lightning-fast video conferencing, real-time document collaboration, and the use of AR technology. 5G also reduces lag time and other connectivity issues that people face while using fiber optic networks, 4G networks, and other internet connections. Can you think of the amazing things your business could do with this technology? By outfitting your commercial buildings with 5G towers and capabilities, you’ll be able to offer your tenants cutting-edge technology options for them to move their businesses forward. Not only will they be able to do business as usual, they’ll be able to think ahead to what they can do if they are connected in better ways.
IoT
You might think of the refrigerator that can order your milk, but the internet of things is so much more than a convenience tool. It can save your business time and money. Imagine HVAC systems that can sense the temperature based on how many people are in the building. This system can constantly adjust to ensure the temperature remains stable and comfortable, but also use as little energy as possible when it happens. This improves the sustainability of your real estate as well. IoT allows more things to be handled remotely, ensuring that when there is a problem, you can troubleshoot from the comfort of home or wherever you are. When applied to commercial buildings, there are many ways to use IoT technology.