5 Ways Coworking Can Fix Post COVID-19 Lockdown Economy

Nowadays the circumstances are notably difficult at every instance. There is uncertainty everywhere. The measure of disruption the COVID-19 lockdown has brought to the Indian economy has made the current and future scenario very tough to deal with. During the COVID-19 lockdown, an estimated 14 crore (140 million) people have lost employment.

On 12 April 2020, a World Bank report focusing on South Asia said that India’s economy is expected to grow 1.5% to 2.8% for FY21. This will be the lowest growth for India in 30 years. The World Bank report said that the pandemic has “magnified pre-existing risks to India’s economic outlook”.

These factors make one thing clear – to get back on our feet, creativity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness will be key for those who haven’t shut their doors — yet.

The biggest hits have been observed by the hospitality and the tourism industry. With extreme stress on the traditional leading industries in the market, it has come upon the modern age avenues to gear up and find solutions to speed up the recovery of the Indian economy. 

Coworking spaces, however counterintuitive it may sound, can play a huge role in rebuilding the economic condition once the COVID-19 lockdown is relaxed.  Let’s discuss how.

1. Contract Flexibility

Are you currently locked into a steep five-year lease that you can’t afford because of a lack of revenue? Are you thinking about signing a new lease? Have you realized just how much debt you can get into (or already are)?

Well, companies of all sizes that have joined a coworking space enjoy year-to-year commitments and many of them are even month-to-month. That is, if you needed to cancel and send your whole team home, it would most likely be a no-brainer.

Also, the ability to upsize or downsizing quickly depending on your demands is something only a coworking space can offer.

If a company has to close its business because it can’t survive these challenging times of COVID-19 lockdown, the use of flexible office space will only make the burden less heavy.

2. Quality and Cost of Resources

A coworking space with decent internet speeds will offer you this service at a fraction of the price — you won’t even notice it.

You get a distraction-free, productive environment for your team and clients for maximum efficiency. The inclusive amenities allow you to focus on your productive work.

• Personal workstation
• Utilities (electricity & water)
• Fully equipped pantry (refrigerator, microwave, water dispenser, coffee machines, cutlery & unlimited hot beverages)
• Housekeeping & Reception Services
• Air-conditioned office
• High-speed Internet (LAN as well as Wi-Fi)

3. No More Wasted Real Estate

We know, when you leased your office you had a vision, a dream. We all get it. But you know what, waste is a thing of the past.

Big kitchens and cafeterias, reception, common areas, meeting rooms, and training facilities ONLY take up space. They are all nice to have, but they’re extremely costly. If that’s not the heart of your business, just accept it: you don’t need it. 

In a coworking space, you pay for what you use. Why rent 2,000 sq.ft. when all you need is 500 or less? This accounts for five, 10×10 ft. offices. That’s a lot of space, fitting 10 people comfortably.

Even if you need a bit more, these spaces can fit entire teams, with most providers being able to hold up to 25 people from one company alone and help you manage finances in COVID-19 lockdown.

With so many rooms available inside coworking spaces and business centers, you can easily obtain a meeting room membership and run most meetings in their facilities.

4. Better Allocation of Human Resources

A well-structured coworking space offers live phone answering services and a receptionist. Even if you do not use the coworking space as an office, you can still use their services virtually to answer and forward the calls to you and your team.

They also offer conferencing systems and the ability to make calls from that phone number yourself, so you don’t have to use your number for a business.

Independent of your choice, now you can have the resources and time of your assistant directed to more value-adding tasks with much less interruption.

And if you enjoy the coworking space as an office, the coworking receptionist will take on greeting and checking visitors in, which ensures your team is 100% involved in valuable activities.

5. Unburden Busy Office Spaces

Once businesses can get back to “normal” life, things probably won’t return to exactly the way they were. Many businesses may want to keep their offices less busy or downsize to save on some costs, but so many employees will be begging to get out of their homes for a change.

That will probably be a constant. Larger coworking spaces typically offer corporate packages, so employees can just drop-in whenever they want a break from the house or access to a better setting that will make them more productive.

The benefits of using coworking services go beyond cutting costs — they allow you to allocate resources where they are needed the most. While cost consideration is always a must, we have expressed so many other ways in which coworking spaces impact your business for the better. If you just take a little time to account and estimate the costs, benefits, and investments mentioned above, you’ll get our point.

In conclusion, if operational effectiveness is critical in your business during COVID-19 lockdown, then working from a coworking space is in order.