You’ve made the decision to institute the distancing guidelines that will slow the spread of COVID-19 through your workplace. It may be done with great effort and great expense, but the important thing is that changes in your Tucson business space will help protect your workforce, clients and customers.
So now the question you face is this: How do you find the Tucson business space to implement separation of people by six feet?
As a tenant representative with Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson, I provide space planning services for clients. I help them determine the most efficient amount and use of their business space, sometimes with the help of an architect.
There are several ways to attack this new examination of space planning and utilization.
Use Tucson Business Space Differently
Companies are finding that tele-commuting is working and some employees do not want to come back to the office.
If more of your employees are moving to working remotely, you can eliminate the number of stations you had when everyone showed up at the office at the same time. That will spread out the room between stations and workers.
Staggering work days can reduce the number of work stations. If, for example, 30 people can work from home even for a few days a week, one shift can be in the office for some days and the other shift for the other days. They would share 15 work stations.
The benefit to your lease agreement with the landlord is that there are no structural changes that would need to be negotiated.
Still, there are some issues that require that you communicate your concerns with your landlord. For example, elevators that move people need to be addressed, even with fewer employees in your own space. Ask about touchless-control technology, occupancy limitations and sanitizing practices.
Reconfigure Tucson Business Space
With fewer people around, you might be able to claim additional work space from break rooms, cafeterias or large-capacity conference rooms.
Maybe your lobby or reception area can be smaller or eliminated as visitors wait outside or come at staggered, scheduled times that eliminate waiting for appointments.
A showroom might also be reduced as more business is conducted online or in areas away from your main location.
All of these moves would buy you additional square footage. You’ll likely need to make some tenant improvements such as moving walls or rewiring for appropriate electrical and connectivity needs.
Expand Tucson Business Space
A good lease contract would include provisions for expanding as your business grows. See if you can activate those terms to meet your need for more space.
Work with your landlord to negotiate use of adjacent space or areas at least within the same building or complex. Determine if a sublease arrangement is available.
If you have a large workforce that lives in different areas of the metropolis, consider satellite offices where employees can work remotely. The home set-up that workers devised in the early days of the coronavirus disruption can easily be applied to a small office space that’s remote from the main office. There’s the added benefit of creating client meeting space and establishing better security that may not exist at home offices.
Shrinking the size of your main office may provide the financing you need for remote locations.
Examine co-working spaces to see if they might work for small staff meetings or to see a client.
Find New Tucson Business Space
There will be a lot of churn in the Tucson commercial real estate market as companies of all kinds decide their current business space no longer works and they will need to move. That will open up many opportunities for strong businesses to find the right space offered by landlords willing to negotiate good deals to snag a tenant.
I also expect that Tucson will have an influx of people relocating from markets hard-hit by the virus and working remotely. For instance, instead of working from home in New York City or San Francisco, people will want to come to a place like Tucson while maintaining their current employment. Tele-commuting allows employees to work from anywhere.
I can help you see what options you have under your current lease contract to move now or soon. And I’ll provide the experience and knowledge of the changing market to help you find Tucson business space that will keep your business thriving.
Contact me for an immediate, free consultation.
Read all of CREG Tucson’s articles on COVID-19.
Share your experiences on working with Commercial Real Estate Group of Tucson.