The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly reshaped the landscape of work, leading to significant behavioural changes among professionals and altering the dynamics within co-working spaces. As we navigated the post-pandemic era, understanding these shifts is crucial for co-working businesses to adapt operational strategies effectively, particularly concerning attendance patterns, cleaning protocols, and the well-being of cleaning staff.
In this insight we analyse how behaviours have changed, the impacts that this has caused and solutions to navigate the challenges presented.
Shifts in Attendance Patterns
These patterns have direct implications for cleaning schedules and specifications. Cleaning protocols must now be concentrated around peak days and times to ensure that high-traffic areas are consistently sanitised. For instance, additional daytime cleaning may be required on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to maintain hygiene during busy hours. In contrast, lower attendance on Fridays may allow for a reduction cleaning hours.
Co-working spaces across the UK have experienced notable fluctuations in attendance. Trends suggest that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest days in co-working offices, with attendance peaking mid-week. Conversely, Fridays experience the lowest occupancy rates, as many professionals opt to work remotely to extend their weekends. Research also suggests that mid-morning to early afternoon periods experience the highest occupancy rates. Employees often schedule meetings and collaborative activities during these hours, contributing to peak usage times.
What we are seeing in the market
“We’re seeing clear behavioural shifts across the co-working offices. Hybrid working is here to stay, and it’s causing unpredictable patterns in how spaces are used. This is impacting cleaning schedules, operational planning, and even cleaner retention. At Bayleaf FM, we believe the answer lies in being adaptable using data, local collaboration and flexible models to keep service levels high while staying cost-effective.” – Trevor Sugden, Senior Partnership Manager
The Importance of Data and Flexibility
A data-led approach is proving vital for co-working operators to allocate cleaning resources more efficiently, focusing attention where and when it is most needed. More importantly, it allows businesses to make informed decisions that are responsive to actual usage patterns rather than assumptions.
By tracking occupancy data and analysing trends over time, operators can adjust cleaning schedules dynamically to meet demand, reduce unnecessary costs, and uphold high hygiene standards.
In the competitive landscape of co-working, where member satisfaction and operational efficiency are critical, a data-driven model ensures consistency, optimises staffing, and demonstrates a proactive commitment to workplace safety.
Keeping Members Happy
According to aggregated member preference data from platforms like HubbleHQ and insights from Gensler’s UK Workplace Survey:
Cleanliness ranks as the second most important factor for members when choosing or retaining a co-working office, just behind location.
Studies show that it can cost five to seven times more to attract a new customer than to keep a current one.
Increasing member retention rates by just 5% can result in profit increases of between 25% and 95%.
These figures demonstrate that investing in member satisfaction is financially strategic for co-working operators. This highlights the importance of maintaining hygiene for commercial viability. Poor cleanliness standards can directly influence cancellation rates and damage member trust, making a data-led cleaning strategy critical for retention and reputation.
Consequences for Cleaning Staff
The evolution of cleaning protocols has direct implications for cleaning staff. The adoption of efficient cleaning technologies and reduced occupancy rates has resulted in decreased working hours for cleaning personnel. This presents challenges in workforce management, as cleaning staff must adapt to new protocols while facing reduced shift lengths due to lower occupancy. This reduction in hours has made it more difficult for cleaners to justify their roles financially, prompting many to seek alternative employment opportunities.
For cleaning work to remain viable, it must deliver a worthwhile return when factoring in travel time and associated costs, which is becoming increasingly challenging in environments with inconsistent or reduced demand. This leads to a reduction in the overall quality of service, as it results in a higher turnover of cleaners.
With increased staff changes, newly recruited cleaning operatives often require time and training to meet the expected standards, creating inconsistency in service delivery and placing further pressure on site management.
Localisation as a Sustainable Solution
At Bayleaf FM, we strongly believe that localisation is a key solution to many of the challenges facing co-working offices today. Rather than operating in isolation, businesses benefit greatly by collaborating with neighbouring organisations within the same building or area. This approach enables a more sustainable cleaning model, where one cleaning operative can work across multiple adjacent sites, maintaining or even increasing their contracted hours while reducing travel demands.
In addition to operational and financial benefits, localisation can also contribute to a reduction in Scope 3 emissions which are the indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, including business travel and outsourced services.
By enabling cleaners to work across multiple nearby sites, businesses can reduce the amount of travel required, cutting down on associated carbon emissions. This supports sustainability goals and aligns with ESG strategies that are increasingly important to both clients and investors.
For businesses, this cooperation allows for a reduction in the total number of cleaning hours required, without compromising on quality.
By sharing a trusted operative with nearby businesses, co-working offices can maintain consistent standards while benefiting from operational efficiency. For the cleaning staff, the ability to work locally reduces travel time and costs, making the role more financially viable and reducing turnover. This collaborative model supports cleaner retention and training investment while also strengthening the sense of community among businesses sharing the same location.
How Bayleaf FM Work with Co-Working Organisations
At Bayleaf FM, our approach to partnering with co-working organisations begins with a comprehensive review of the scope of work and a clear understanding of the operational schedules required. We recognise that each co-working space is unique, with varying levels of footfall, layout designs, and service expectations.
We always carry out a comprehensive review of the scope of work and gain a clear understanding of the operational schedules required. We recognise that each co-working offices is unique, with varying levels of footfall, layout designs, and service expectations.
Technology is key at every stage of our operation from reporting tools to digital quality audits enables transparency, consistency and accountability. This tech-enabled process ensures that cleaning schedules and standards can be monitored and adapted in real time, responding quickly to changes in occupancy or feedback from site managers.
Flexibility is fundamental to our service model. We adapt shift patterns and schedules to meet the fluctuating needs of co-working spaces, particularly those operating on hybrid attendance models. This adaptive working approach ensures that our presence is felt when needed most, without overextending resources during quiet periods.
Our localisation programme plays a key role in supporting both our clients and our staff. By working with clusters of nearby businesses, we help operatives maintain a stable number of hours within a concentrated area. This reduces transport and travel costs for cleaners aligning with ESG and Scope 3 emission reduction targets and provides a practical and sustainable solution for co-working businesses aiming to maintain service quality while optimising costs.
Let’s Chat
If you manage or operate a co-working office and want to explore how a flexible, data-led, and community-focused cleaning model could work for you, get in touch with us. We’d love to understand your current setup and discuss how we can support your goals while aligning with your ESG commitments and enhancing your members’ experience.