Whew! Nothing quite like putting the phrase “working alone sucks” to the test! We know that many of you need to get back into an environment that is more conducive to your productivity, and that’s where we can help.
UNOVA officially reopens today, Monday, June 8th under Phase 2 of the NY Forward guidelines. Our goal remains safety, so we have created a few new policies and procedures intended to help maintain a safe workspace for you and your fellow coworkers.
Reopening Procedures
Upon returning to the space, we will provide you with Welcome Back instructions and a personal hand sanitizer which will reserve your desk for the day. In return, we require the following:
A signed return-to-space acknowledgment
Daily screening and check-in
Use of masks and social distancing measures
Stop by to check out the procedures, and reach out with questions.
Updated Website
We fully took advantage of the PAUSE and re-created our entire website! We hope it shows you and new members all the ways we can help you get work done, including our brand new reservable Zoom Room with webcam. Check it out!
*NEW* Simplified Memberships
You spoke. We listened. Check out our new, simple membership levels. They include the most used resources in our space, at prices you can afford. Each membership (other than Day Passes) allows for 24/7 access to the space and use of our included amenities:
As always, if there’s something else you need, we’re willing to work with you and your organization to create a membership type that works for you!
Well friends, that’s all for now. We realize that your time and money are more valuable than ever, and we want you to know that we are here to support you. Please reach out with any questions, ideas, comments, or concerns. We are with you in this and are confident that we will get through it together.
UNOVA is participating in the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce Springville Strong! Selfie Scavenger Hunt!
Stop by 29 Mechanic St from May 18 – May 30 for a chance to win one of three $50 gift cards!
Grab a sign, snap a selfie, and show off your community spirit!
You’ll find the signs and instructions in the vestibule of UNOVA. All you have to do is take selfies with the signs at the participating locations and create a collage of the completed sentence:
“We are Springville Strong! We persevere in tough times and grow stronger together in our commitment to each other and our community.”
Other participating locations include Bertand Chaffee Hospital, Emerling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, M&T Bank, Springville Animal Hospital, Springville Hardware, Springville Pharmacy, Tim & Bonnie’s Pizza, and the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Like most members of the UNOVA Coworking community, we are staying home to help flatten the curve of the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19. However, staying home can lead to restlessness, loneliness, and a general feeling that you are powerless against this pandemic.
You can change that, though! Here are 5 different ways to help you feel empowered (and help others!) in this time of social distancing:
Right now you can’t go anywhere without hearing about COVID-19. As businesses and schools are closing and many public events are being cancelled, we too are navigating the impacts of coronavirus and taking careful precautions to protect our coworking space members.
To keep our space open, operating, and healthy for our members, we have implemented the following:
The space is open to members and otherwise closed to the public. During this time, there are no drop-ins or tours accepted without prior notice.
We are diligently performing daily wipe down of surfaces, doorknobs, and light switches with disinfecting wipes.
Spaces are stocked with wipes, hand sanitizer, antibacterial hand soap, antibacterial dish soap, and tissues.
Paper towels are provided near all sinks.
Kitchens are stocked with disposable cups, silverware, and plates.
We have adequately spaced all desks and work stations at least 6 feet apart to abide by the NYS social distancing guidelines .
We are abiding by CDC recommendations to wash hands for at least 20 seconds (sing the Shout Song or the chorus to your favorite rock ballad).
We’ve ensured our cleaning company is using disinfecting processes and will clean more frequently.
Most importantly, we require coworking space members to stay home if anyone is not feeling well or showing any cold or flu symptoms.
Next Tuesday, 3/10 at 6:30pm meet Jimini Crowket — a real live crow!
UNOVA Coworking has partnered with non-profit Green Springville to present this year’s Speaker Series, and March’s presenters include several feathered friends!
Get up close and personal with Jimini, his crow friend Grover, a couple of owls, and a kestrel, while his owner, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, answers your questions about attracting, repelling, and maintaining a safe environment for all of the wild critters found in your backyard.
***Be sure to bring your camera – adults and *well-behaved* children can take photos!!!
What’s a pop-up, you ask? For this one Saturday in February, we’re inviting a number of local small businesses, vendors, and artisans into our space for a informal shopping market — kind of like a farmer’s market, but inside out of the winter cold!
We still have room for a few more vendors, so pass this along to anyone interested — the event is free to attend, and $25 for a table.
The event runs from 10am – 4pm and will feature local favorites, such as CASS Designs, Jen McEwan Ceramic Artistry, and Thoughts Captured photography, but that’s not all! We’ll have Color Street nail products, Mary Kay, hand-made crochet accessories, art, greeting cards, and so much more!
Feel free to reach out to me, Ashley, with any questions.
Share the Love… …of the Springville community …to support local small business …with your valentine, your friends and family, and yourself!
Founded in 2010 as a way to help bring more customers to local shops, Small Business Saturday is now a well-known shopping tradition celebrating individual communities and supporting many kinds of small businesses. Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, shoppers come together to Shop Small and share the places they love with the people they love.
UNOVA Coworking is one of the many small businesses who will open its doors to shoppers on Small Business Saturday, November 30th for A Very Merry Springville, Springville’s version of Small Business Saturday! First, participants pick up a shopper card from the Springville Journal and Springville Area Chamber of Commerce. The card will highlight each participating business and the location of various vendors (UNOVA will have three inside!!!) Then, spend the day strolling down Main Street. Shoppers can get their cards stamped at participating businesses beginning on Saturday, November 23rd and enter to win prizes. Drawings will be held at 4 pm on Saturday, November 30th. You don’t want to miss it!
Eliminating the need for office space (and office small talk), remote teams are flexible, dynamic, and effective. You get the very best staff from anywhere in the world, and they get to work on their own terms. It’s a win-win situation, but many companies are still reluctant to take the leap. How do you know you are building a solid team? How do you trust your staff? Here are a few tips on how to overcome these questions and start building your remote team.
Use the Freelance Market
The easiest way to build a remote team is to use freelancers. You can find freelancers for almost anything nowadays, from web and software development, to IT and networking. Job boards like Upwork make it very easy to put together strong, reliable remote staffing firms. Using freelancers is also a good way to find employees you trust. Part-time jobs can be great for freelancers who want a stable gig, while full-time remote roles are increasingly common.
Before starting, you should inform yourself about the legal rights of freelancers. In particular, you will have to watch out for misclassification, which is when a business hires someone as a contractor when they should be an employee under the law.
Diversity Is Key
Diversity is important in any team, but it is downright foolish not to take advantage of the global pool of talent you have access to when you hire remotely. A 2017 study looked into how companies build successful, culturally diverse remote teams and attempted to build a framework for this. Elements of this framework include effective coordination across time zones and a focus on building trust and understanding across cultural gaps.
Get the Right Tools
If you want a cohesive remote team, you will need to invest in a few tools. Some of the best collaboration tools out there include Slack (the industry standard for team communication), Trello (great for project management), and Google Drive (free, convenient file management).
Don’t Neglect Mental Health
Freelancing and other forms of remote work can be extremely empowering, but they also have their downsides. Isolation, loneliness, and the stresses of self-employment can all take a toll, which is one of the reasons why one-quarter of freelancers have experienced depression. Commit to being supportive of your remote workers by creating a culture of openness around mental health, checking in regularly, and promoting a healthy work-life balance.
Give Regular Feedback
With remote working, there are few natural opportunities for feedback. This can lead to a team that feels disconnected, unmotivated, and inefficient. The best way to avoid this is to schedule regular feedback for all remote workers, whether its a bi-weekly email or a monthly Skype chat. Whatever format you use, follow the key strategies for effective feedback: make it concrete, talk one-on-one, and always end on a positive note.
In fact, make sure to show your appreciation for your team’s strengths and successes as often as possible. There are many small ways to do this, from remembering birthdays to offering training support and giving employees real opportunities to give you feedback.
Build Company Culture
Company culture is an intangible and elusive term, but it’s one that companies have been chasing for decades. A good company culture reinforces your company’s values and gives your workplace a distinct energy while bringing your employees together.
As you can imagine, company culture can be very hard to foster within a remote team. Zapier, a tech company with a mostly integrated team, has a great blog post on how they do this. Among others, they use tools like Slack to encourage fun interactions between employees, as well as perks programs to keep them motivated and occasional in-person team meetups when possible.
The internet has revolutionized workplaces in many ways. Without a doubt, one of the biggest is eliminating the need for a physical workplace at all. This can be a scary concept for employers, but it shouldn’t be. Remote working can benefit everyone involved. Just build a team and company culture that values employees, and they will return the favor by working hard.
Questions or comments? Have any additional tips or resources to share? Reply below or reach out to Tina Martin at ideaspired.com.
Here at UNOVA Coworking, membership comes with a variety of perks, one of which is FREE coffee. But don’t let the “free” fool you — at UNOVA, we take our coffee pretty seriously.
We regularly restock the air-tight storage container with locally roasted beans from Premium Coffee Roasters in Lackawanna. The official “House” beans are the Tuscan Blend — a perfectly blended amount of Arabica beans with low acidity and sweet aroma.
Everything you need for your cup of Joe is conveniently located on our kitchen counter. Every pot starts with freshly ground beans from our burr coffee grinder and ends with your own customization of creams, flavorings, and sweeteners. We also posted the instructions on top of the coffee maker in case you drink the last cup — don’t be THAT guy or gal!
Our coffee is just one of the many ways we ensure that UNOVA members have what they need to get work done!
Want to learn more? Click here and sign up for your membership today!
