Cultivating the ultimate office experience

WITH UP to 80% of office workers now hybrid working, the role of the facilities manager is blending with the traditional responsibilities of the HR team around office culture, wellbeing, and employee engagement. A focus on these responsibilities can attract and retain the best talent into teams while enticing hybrid workers back into the office on a more frequent basis. Essentially, FM has evolved to the creation of enhanced, in-office experiences. 

Despite the boom in hybrid working, we still predict there will be continued investment in offices. Organisations are reconfiguring space rather than disposing of it. In some cases, the office footprint is shrinking slightly, but there’s a real investment in providing a softer environment overall with an expansion of collaboration space. In other cases, organisations are moving into larger buildings to benefit from more space. Simply put, the corporate office is not dead, it’s just the way we use it that’s different.

Rising expectations

Employee expectations are on the rise. There’s more demand for combining softer office experiences with higher-quality services. What was previously reserved for clients and visitors is now the standard for everyone.

Generally, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays see greater office occupancy. People want to make the most of their time while they are in the office, so employees are far less tolerant if the temperature isn’t right, the AV doesn’t work, and the food is sub-standard. If they’re going to do the daily commute, employees want their working day to be effective and productive. 

Facilities teams therefore need to think about the workplace experience from the moment colleagues step through the door, to when they leave at the end of the day. ‘Excellent’ is the prevailing word here. Offices that are just ‘OK’ will not succeed in drawing people back through choice. Well-maintained offices designed to meet the unique requirements of employees can incentivise them to leave their home offices and attend the corporate workplace more frequently. 

A warm welcome

In addition to attracting people back to the office, businesses are beginning to understand the connection between wellness, productivity, attraction, and retention, and there is an increasingly sharp focus on wellbeing and social interaction at work. As a result, the role of front of house has stepped up to support this transformation. 

Front of house personnel often have a deep understanding of the corporate buildings where they work, and those who work in them. This puts them in a powerful position to help create workplace experiences that are so exceptional, they exceed the comforts and benefits of working at home. 

Anabas’ dedicated front of house division, Anabas Welcome, caters to the expanding focus on workplace experience, with complementary reception and concierge services including lifestyle and events management. With teams coming together in offices to collaborate, this is also expanding outside of offices for events, meals, and social occasions. 

The front of house team now has a wider scope of responsibilities to add further value and create a workplace community. Examples of these include organising yoga classes, summer BBQs, hosting pop-up retail or food stalls in communal areas to aid socialisation. 

A strong organisational culture and the opportunity to feel part of a thriving workplace community can encourage hybrid working employees back into the office more frequently. Research shows that employees who report a positive workplace experience can be up to 16 times more engaged than those with a less favourable experience. 

Smartening up our act

FMs can now deploy specialist technology, including desk booking software and check-in apps, that enable businesses to modify and adjust the workplace configuration for employees and visitors based on their specific requirements.

More advanced technology, such as occupancy sensors and analytical software, can gather insight and data on how employees interact with the office. This informs decision-making for facilities teams and enables them to make modifications to the workplace that cater to different types of working, ultimately delivering a better, more personalised workplace experience. Real-time data means changes can be implemented immediately rather than waiting until a monthly review.

Additionally, using technology to monitor environmental factors like air quality and pollutants enables businesses and their facilities teams to make the necessary improvements for a healthy and productive workplace for employees. High CO2 levels in the air correlate to tiredness and difficulty concentrating, and airborne viruses can pass through the air more easily in these conditions. This creates a less than optimum environment for healthy and collaborative working. 

Technology is having a transformative effect in many industries, and FM is no exception. It can facilitate smoother processes and provide data to engineer practical improvements in the function and experience of the workplace. Nonetheless, humans need to digest that data to understand the building and help guide the best course of change. 

An expanded footprint

It’s not just inside the four walls of the workplace where FMs need to deliver optimum service experience, either. With employees working from home, FM providers need to expand their geographical footprint to deliver the best service wherever an employee chooses to work, not just in the office building. 

Some employees working from home will rarely come into the office and won’t necessarily understand how the space operates, or what changes have been implemented since they were last there. FMs can offer guidance and training for those colleagues so that when they do come into the office, their day is productive. 

FM front of house teams can liaise with employees at home to coordinate inductions and training, book parking spaces, desk spaces, meeting rooms, and arrange catering and AV equipment for important meetings. FMs can also manage inductions for new starters, ensuring they have all the relevant information before arriving at the office.

For a flawless service, there needs to be direct lines of communication between employees and FM teams through dedicated emails or tailored apps. FM teams need to be accessible from anywhere.

Remodelling the workplace 

Corporate workplaces are being configured differently compared with four years ago. Flexible workspaces, creating more spaces for informal catchups and collaborative work, more meeting rooms, sound-proofed pods to provide focus workstations and fewer desks overall. These are just some of the changes we are observing. 

Research has found that collaboration and creative work are better suited to take place face-to-face. Realising the value of remodelling and transforming workplaces into destinations that foster connection and encourage collaboration is key. Workplaces should encourage face-to-face connection, yet optimum AV equipment still needs to connect colleagues, clients and guests who aren’t there in person. The office must cater for every scenario.

Some businesses have even created specific relaxation zones to encourage employees to have downtime and prioritise their own wellbeing. Google has installed sleep pods. Nike has designated rooms for napping and meditation. It’s about designing a space that people feel nurtured in and reflects a positive workplace culture.

The future is bright 

The requirements and working patterns of employees will likely develop and change again in the future. KPMG’s Global CEO Outlook which surveyed 1,300 CEOs reveals that 63 per cent of CEOs predict a full return to in-office working by the end of 2026. Just seven per cent think that fully remote working will be the norm long-term. What’s clear is that future-proofing will return as a point of discussion. FMs need to be agile and have their finger on the pulse of changing trends. 

However, one thing we can be certain will not change is the need for the workplace experience to be memorable and first-class, from the moment an employee enters your building to when they log off and leave at the end of the day.

Ravi Bhatnagar is account director at Anabas.

For more information visit http://www.anabas.co.uk