ADAPT!
By now, we have all realised that the world of work will not be as we once knew it; it will take a long time before we can get back to some sense of normality – if we ever can. While we may all realise and acknowledge this ever encroaching fact, it is time to accept the new (while ambiguous) future of work, and move towards making the best of it.
It is time to prepare, and adapt!
One thing we know for sure is that social distancing will be around for some time to come. Covid-19 and the regulations implemented to reduce spread will not disappear overnight, and we will all have to live with some level of restriction. All offices, either traditional or co-working spaces, will need to change the way they operate. Businesses will need to understand that people will want to work from home more, as the working norms have changed. Moreover, businesses will likely continue with split teams, supporting this shift in work habits, allowing a smaller unit of employees to work from the office, while the rest wait their turn, working from home or other places.
Taking this into consideration, we can expect a few problems as businesses prepare to adjust to the new normal. The problem for most operators will be the significant mismatch in expectations between employees, managers and operators. Take the familiar example of co-working spaces. While we wish to retain as many members as possible, potential members will be scouring the market, searching for a better membership deal, propped full of added value. Meanwhile, many co-working managers will probably need to increase their fees as a consequence of the ongoing social distancing measures evacuating up to half of the available desk space.
Businesses renting office space are already considering changing the way their businesses work. They will be wondering why they are paying significant amounts of rent for an empty space, while much of their workforce continues to work from home. Businesses have started to recognise that it will take a long time before everyone can go back to work, and that is still pending on a big IF. This is where co- working companies offer brilliant alternatives. Co-working spaces offer you the alternative you need to start the next phase, while easing into the new normal.
The next phase will be all about value. The co-working spaces selling only desks will die, while businesses offering memberships with value will thrive. Co-working managers already know how difficult it has been to ask members to pay their fees while not being able to offer them access to the space they are paying for. Only those who see the true value in what a co-working space can offer outside of the workspace have stayed. We have been lucky in that many of our members have stayed with us, albeit under significantly discounted fees.
Our community managers have been fantastic in helping every member with their requirements, either rerouting packages or vital documents to their home address or by providing office equipment at a low cost. We do what we can while experiencing severe financial difficulty, a situation too real for many companies since Covid-19 started. We too have experienced loss, as members have left us due to financial difficulty, or other reasons, mostly connected to the shadow of uncertainty we have all been living under since the Circuit Breaker started.
For us, it will continue to be crucial to show members the true value of a ClubCo membership, not only while working from our spaces, but also while working from home. We aim to empower all our members to work from anywhere they consider most convenient, and in pursuit of this aim, we have come up with multiple ideas, highly advantageous for our current members, and for all future members who want to become a member of the ClubCo community.
We are now offering all new member companies a 2-4-1 membership deal. You sign up for a one desk membership, and we give you two memberships to use that desk. You halve the price, while two of your employees alternate their days between working from home, and working from one of our spaces.
We are also giving all members free membership to our partner business MultiCo. MultiCo offers space in restaurants and cafes all across Singapore, where you can eat, work, drink and repeat.. By combining your ClubCo membership with MultiCo, we are essentially giving you access to work spaces all over the island, including our ClubCo venues. While many might want to continue to work from home more, we offer you a package full of value, with additional benefits represented in food & beverages.
We never underestimate the importance of the office phone! ClubCo offers all our members access to an office phone, which can be synced to redirect calls to their mobile phone. The number is automatically hooked up to answering services, and you will also get call diversions and conference calls included in the package. While it might seem easy enough, it has given our members added value in that they can appear to be in the office – and reachable – from wherever they are. Access to office phones can be included in all membership packages.
We are continually looking at more ways to add value to members at work and home and hope that this will attract members who want flexibility and value.
We expect the future of work to include a high degree of flexibility in terms of where we work. Therefore, we expect that the next phase will include a lot of re-contracting for employees. Employees will consider including clauses in their contracts, and employers will need to adjust to the habit of offering alternatives to traditional office space. ClubCo supports all employers and employees as they try to find their footing in the new, brave world of work.
To that end, we want to hear from YOU, and we want to hear all your specific requirements so that we can try and tailor packages that work for you, if you are working from the office, from your home or any other place you want to work from in the new normal.
For more initiatives on what ClubCo is doing for members and companies, you can learn more at www.clubco.sg