Clear workspace info before arrival: Provide exact entrance and route details to reception or meeting rooms.; State access hours, lift availability, and contact for entry issues.; List toilets, facilities, outages, and a contact for pre-arrival questions.
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Access

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Providing clear workspace information before arrival

Tell members and visitors which entrance, route, facilities and hours apply, with updates and a contact for access questions.

Desk Operations · · 3 min read

Give prospective members and visitors accurate details so they can plan their arrival and ask questions before travelling. Cover the entrance, route, facilities, applicable hours and known barriers; specific information is more useful than an unqualified claim that a site is “accessible”.

Describe the journey

Start with the correct address and entrance. Describe the route from the entrance to reception and the desk, office or meeting room, naming relevant floors, lifts, controlled doors and toilets. State the hours that apply to the visit, whether the entrance works outside staffed hours, and whom to contact if entry fails.

If you include parking, drop-off or public transport details, distinguish information you have checked from arrangements the workspace does not control.

Date changeable directions when you check them. Do not promise an available parking space or a working lift based on an old listing.

Explain what is available inside

For a member, identify the proposed work area and the facilities their membership permits them to use. For a meeting visitor, give the route to the booked room and explain the host or reception process. Say if a facility needs a separate booking, credential or staff assistance.

Describe access conditions precisely: where a lift is, which door needs a card, or which floor has the relevant toilet. State known barriers and limits, and identify any detail that is unconfirmed; give a contact who can check it. Do not present an unverified workaround as an available service.

Make the message usable

Put the essential arrival instruction first. Use short headings and clear text people can read or adapt with their own devices. A map or photograph can supplement the route, but important directions should also be in text. Offer another format or a way to ask questions when needed.

Invite the recipient to raise access or communication requirements privately. Ask what arrangement would help with the visit rather than requesting a diagnosis in a general booking form. Share only the information needed by staff arranging the agreed support.

A short pre-arrival note can cover:

  • the entrance and route to the destination;
  • relevant opening, staffed and permitted access hours;
  • toilets and other essential facilities on that route;
  • known outages or temporary changes; and
  • a contact before arrival and on the day.

For example: “Address and entrance: [details]. Route to [destination]: [route, floor, lift and door details]. Facilities: [available facilities and any booking or credential]. Hours: [visit and staffed-entry hours]. Barriers or unconfirmed details: [details]. Contact: [details]. Last checked: [date].” Use placeholders until each item is confirmed; do not describe an unverified workaround as available.

Pre-arrival workspace information checklist

  • Entrance and route to destinationAddress and entrance details, floor, lift and door access instructions
  • Relevant opening and staffed hoursVisit hours, entry access outside staffed times, contact for after-hours issues
  • Toilets and essential facilitiesLocation of accessible toilets, meeting rooms, or other key facilities on the route
  • Known outages or temporary changesLifts down, doors locked, room relocations – clearly stated
  • Contact before arrival and on the dayName, phone, email or direct line for urgent access questions
  • Last checked dateDate when all details were verified

Keep the information current

Assign a workspace operator to own the note and record when its changeable details were last checked. Review it routinely and whenever entrances, access systems, room locations, facilities or hours change.

Tell people with an upcoming visit about a material change. If someone asks whether a particular route will work, check that route and time before reassuring them.

Use feedback from a first visit to correct missing or unclear information for the next person.

Updating workspace access information

  1. Assign a workspace operatorResponsible for maintaining and verifying access details
  2. Review regularlyAt least monthly or after any change to facilities or access systems
  3. Notify visitors of material changesE.g., lift outage, new access control system, room relocation
  4. Use feedback from first visitsImprove accuracy for future arrivals

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