DLN Members from all over the Golden State gathered for a general check-in on the current climate during our Californinan-to-Californian community conversation. While everyone is still working from home, many are thinking about going back to the office and how to manage the logistics around reopening.
- There was lots of discussion about Los Angeles vs. San Francisco and how much stricter SF is in terms of regulations, reopening, etc. while LA seems to be reopening much sooner – slowly but surely.
- Over the past few weeks, many showrooms have opened for one on one meetings and now LCDQ showrooms seem to be opening one by one. Harbinger was set to open on June 1st but due to the current protests, they have delayed their opening. Everyone continued to discuss how important it is to communicate directly with your clients in order to share these updates.
- Many firm owners discussed reopening their offices but many shared the issue of managing employee expectations. Some employees are ready to get back to work and others are still afraid to leave their homes. At what point does it become mandatory to come into the office?
- A few members shared that they do not have time to even manage their teams because they are the ones having to attend every job site meeting, pick up drawings and samples, open the showroom for individual meetings – everything they’re not used to doing. All because their employees are still afraid to leave their house.
- A San Francisco based architect shared that a close friend recently tested positive for COVID-19 and it puts everything back in perspective. Personally, his office is putting in place a plan to return to the office by Labor Day, allowing for people to plan accordingly in terms of child care.
- For everyone, it was reassuring to see familiar California faces and share sentiments around reopening and how best to manage that process. While people are ready to get back to normal, there are many challenges to address before doing so.