Building Companionship by Felix Burghardt

By Felix Burghardt, coliving user experience consultant

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This is the time where we can increase the wellbeing of our residents through positive experiences and simultaneously use this to build a deeper engagement with our tenants in order to generate future business growth. Think of it as an investment into the time after the crisis while enhancing the life of your tenants during the crisis. No one will forget this period of time, so it’s key to focus on offering the best possible experiences of companionship, solidarity and safety, which in turn will enhance trust and loyalty. Here are two easy steps that can help accomplish this mission:

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‍Acknowledge your tenants

It is important to give your tenants your attention and listen in order to understand how they feel.

Despite your digital communication, if you have the possibility, call each tenant personally to check-in on them, ask how they feel on a regular basis. Go beyond the normal ‘I’m ok’ answer and find out how they are truly feeling by sharing your personal, more vulnerable side. We’re all in this together, and some may need more support than others. It’s important to be aware of this sooner than later. This simple action will create hope and faith we will overcome this challenge together and it will help you to prepare for the step 2 (support).

If you cannot contact them directly, make sure your residents have a contact person to reach out to, in case they want to talk or need personal help.

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‍Support your tenants

If you know how your tenants feel and what their needs are you can react and support them accordingly. Some ideas that can help with this are:

• Create virtual care packages with curated tips & tricks on how to spend time inside, how to stay active and mentally fit.
• Continue to host virtual social events and activities through tools like the HouseParty app or livestream events into their apartments via Facebook, Instagram or YouTube Live. Ideally you’d include your tenants into the process. Don’t be shy to experiment.
• Help your tenants structure their day by implementing rituals or inspiring them to bring some excitement in their work-from-home routines. For example, what if you’d encourage them to reward themselves with a self-hug every hour or so, do a happy dance or a power pose in the mirror.

I encourage you to also take these tips (acknowledgment & support) into consideration and implement them in your employee experience.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions via hello@felixburghardt.com