How To Get Your Commercial Property Functioning Again Post-Lockdown

Many workers have been performing their job roles from home in recent months.

Therefore, this has meant that many commercial properties have largely stood empty during while the lockdown measures have been incurred. Still, returning to them after all this time could present a series of unique challenges that business owners must overcome. After all, more offices begin to welcome back workers today, and it will likely not be a smooth ride for the ones that didn’t prepare their commercial properties in advance.

So, how can businesses owners adapt here, and what measures can they take to ensure their commercial properties thrive during this new beginning? Keep reading to find out.

Take Maintenance Seriously

If a commercial property is left empty for a long period, then it might be that certain maintenance issues will begin to arise that require your attention.

This should be your first area of concern as you fire up your commercial property for use again. You may need to:

Test all your heating, electricity, security, and water systems to ensure they still function as they should.
Remove all traces of dust, dirt, grime, and potential vermin.
Flush water pipes to remove stagnant water.
Inspect any depreciation to ensure how any of your insurance may come into play.

You could also erect signs to notify employees, customers, or visitors on how the status of your commercial building has changed on reopening. Are new social distancing measures in check? Have you introduced a one-way system? Is any maintenance work due to be carried out that may isolate portions of the building? Ensuring the physical notices themselves are well-maintained is vital too. It is also necessary to check that all aspects of the building continue to meet regulations. If needs be, you may need to update elements like reliable electromagnetic door closers, which you can find a variety of over on doorcontrolsdirect.co.uk.

Review Your Commercial Lease

If you’re a commercial tenant, then it’s a good idea to review the terms of your lease so that you can reacquaint yourself with your responsibilities.

Doing this means that, should problems with the commercial property arise, you won’t waste time squabbling with the landlord over who’s role it is to fix a piece of equipment or arrange and pay for a maintenance crew. The faster you refamiliarize yourself with your obligations, the sooner you can make employees comfortable and happy.

After so much time has elapsed under a working from home scheme, it’s understandable to be a little rusty in an area such as this. Your landlord and most of your employees should be somewhat forgiving of any lapses in judgment on your part here, but the more prepared you are, the better.

You may also want to renegotiate the terms of your lease given the events of the last year. For example, it could be a good idea to push for a shorter and more flexible term of occupancy in case any new coronavirus strains come along and incite additional lockdowns. Things are still largely uncertain for a while yet, so measuring expectations through your legally binding agreements could be prudent.

Carefully Manage Employee Returns

Your commercial property may only function correctly at a certain capacity limit.

It might be that a smaller work premises can’t accommodate as many workers as it once used to. This is because many business environments are still enforcing social distancing measures, which will become more difficult to achieve if the premises is full of people. Still, that doesn’t mean you should abandon your efforts here – only that you should adapt accordingly.

If space is limited, then a hybrid work scheme of splitting hours between the office and home could help the workplace become more efficient here. That way, people can be phased in and out without being at risk of rubbing shoulders with one another. Additionally, you’ll still be able to recruit under these types of regimes too, rather than wait until measures are relaxed and for the premises to be busier.

You may need to take on a more sensitive approach to re-engaging your employees once they’ve arrived also. Many of them will have experienced many trials and tribulations in recent times, and your commercial property should function as a warm and caring environment for them. Perhaps redecorate the space for a more aesthetically pleasing design? Additionally, you could also meticulously arrange an open plan office so that employees are encouraged to socialise and interact with one another. These smaller changes can have a big impact on worker wellbeing.

Restock Essential Supplies

Once your commercial property has people in it again, they will need supplies to ensure they can go about their workday safely, healthily, and without interruption.

This may involve ordering things like cutlery for any on-site cafeteria or break room area, hand sanitizers as a coronavirus precaution, or even basic stationery. If you have hired new staff during the work from home scheme, then more supplies may need to be ordered to accommodate their needs also. Once everyone has what they need, the workday in your commercial property should go more smoothly.

Fortunately, everything is on the internet these days too. You can even bulk buy toilet rolls online curtesy of Galleon Supplies, who offer cheap products in wholesale bundles and pallet deals so businesses can purchase stock at lower prices. All their listings are positively reviewed by past customers, and you can find products from all the leading cleaning brands with them too. Ultimately, you won’t find a better deal for these goods anywhere else.

Update Systems

If your commercial property has computers and suchlike stored within, then it might be that each of these systems will require software updates.

After all, most security suites on computers these days are programmed to scan at least once a week, and any other number of anti-virus or firewall checks could be long overdue to update as well. Therefore, visiting your commercial property ahead of its reopening and updating all the system software is recommended, as this way all your workers can hit the ground running on their first day back.

It could also be that, since working from home, you’ve placed greater emphasis on things like cloud technologies within your work infrastructure. Perhaps you’ve overhauled the entire way your company even works and engages with technology? Consequently, you may need to bring your computers and systems up to date with all the tech wizardry your company has been using whilst working from home.