What Does a Contactless Office Look Like?
Getting back into the office isn’t an easy journey. Keeping team members safe and healthy while at work is a massive responsibility that’s been placed on the commercial industry. CRE’s office industry is actively looking for solutions to the obstacles introduced by COVID.
One of the most promising protocols for keeping the workplace sanitized and disinfected is the ‘touchless’ or ‘contactless’ office model.
While this is certainly a big deviation from the traditional workspace and a totally new protocol, it’s not like the concept of a touch-free environment is completely foreign – especially right now during the pandemic recovery period. Thankfully, everyone has at least some experience with contactless operations in the last few months.
We can take what we’ve learned this year about contactless operations to consider what the future of touchless offices will look like in the future.
The Latest Integration of Office Technology
One of PropTech’s greatest strengths has been convenience. Smart technology, AI, and IoT have all been boasting access and ease for years now, and the message had caught the eyes of forward-thinking CRE professionals prior to the pandemic.
As these technologies have gotten continuously more sophisticated, they have surpassed the already noteworthy levels of user simplicity. Today’s tech network doesn’t even require the tap of a button anymore – advanced technology uses sensors and cameras to track presence and motion – birthing the touchless revolution. Even in 2017, Apple released its facial recognition technology with the buttonless iPhone that unlocks to the presence of the owner’s face.
Touchless building technologies use the latest updates to tech to cultivate streamlined interactions between the commercial space and occupants.
Touchless Access
The future of touchless offices will be focused around high-touch, high-traffic junctions.
Doors, elevators, and garages are all examples of the key areas for contact-free adoptions. Team members will be able to work with the property’s interconnected PropTech network to navigate secure, touch-free movement throughout the property. In the era of COVID, this establishes a safer and more comfortable experience.
For restricted areas, mobile-accessible codes can be generated using Smart Locks. General areas can widely adopt the ‘automatic door’ model, so expect to see less traditional doorways in the workplace as we move forward.
Meeting the Contemporary Demands
Everyone knows that contactless is possible after the pandemic. We’ve also seen how quickly, easily, and efficiently these adaptations can be implemented on the mass scale. Tenants will want contact-free innovations available in their offices causing competitors (who haven’t already) to follow the trend. Those who do not adapt risk falling behind or seeming outdated.
At this point, there’s no way to pretend like these experiences didn’t happen and things will simply ‘go back to normal’. All the lessons we’ve learned during the pandemic won’t be soon forgotten. Instead, they’re carving a new trajectory for business at large.
Touchless offices are a safe, simple, and tech-forward way to optimize office assets and improve the tenant experience.
Within the commercial industry, touchless offices will define the future’s business arena. Building occupants will readily embrace the contact-free workplace as an innovative solution to the pandemic’s new requirements fueled by the latest technologies.