Facilities Management professionals deserve more credit than they’re getting; they’ve been working through turbulent changes since employees returned to the office. The expectations of employees within business environments have become more demanding since they returned to the office. The pressure has been on for facilities managers to appease their stakeholders.
This year’s FM theme: ‘Making a real difference,’ connects well to the challenges office facilities managers face today.
With hybrid working becoming the standard and the great resignation continuing to linger: companies have noticed that offering comfortable salaries isn’t cutting it for employees.
So, how should companies react to changing preferences of the workforce? One way to attract and retain talent is redesigning office space as a ‘destination’. Destination offices create an environment for quality work that supports employees’ wellbeing, productivity and motivation. A destination office is a workspace where employees don’t NEED to go; instead – it’s a place they WANT to be (read more about this).
We should celebrate how facilities managers have been the instigators of change in the office, adapting the workplace to a new kind of work culture. Like everyone else, they had no idea this was coming, but they’ve adjusted and adapted with tenacity and innovation. One of the ways they’ve adjusted is by adopting a hospitality mindset when it comes to keeping people happy at work.
With a hospitality mindset, internal stakeholders are seen as customers you want to please and ensure a good experience at work, in much the same way that a restaurant or hotel tries to create optimal experiences for their guests.
Focusing on the colleague as a customer makes the office easy to navigate, and well-being takes centre stage. The more employees’ wants and needs are met, the better their productivity, motivation and likelihood to stay in the role.
First things first, talk to your customers! Getting your colleagues’ opinions is an excellent starting point. Free amenities may be the top priority for some, while others may desire workplace fitness classes.
On the other hand, some people may need additional flexibility in their working arrangements before even thinking about their “wants” at work. Find out what the majority are asking for and try to accommodate their needs first.
That said, if you want to take the hospitality mindset up a notch, think about how to use tech to make the work experience hyper-personalised. If you’re already collecting data on how colleagues use the office, draw on those insights to tailor the office space to your discoveries – providing your team with what they want before they even ask for it.
Take inspiration from your latest exceptional hotel or restaurant visit. For example, could the office reception evolve into a concierge where hybrid workers can book spa treatments to arrange restaurant reservations?
Love it or hate it, Instragrammable experiences have taken over hospitality. Everyone loves sharing their pics of delicious meals and extravagant locations. If you want your office to become the place to be, consider how to encourage colleagues to create shareable content.
If you’ve got a fantastic vista of London, orient your space towards that view and get people filming it. Employees want to feel proud about where they work. Let people show off a little!
Interested in biophilia? (But what on earth is biophilia?) Set up a lush meeting room inside a greenhouse, and then look out for the plant-based selfies! People can become proud of where they work: allow your team to feel connected and loyalty to their workplace.
It goes without saying that facilities managers, and their excellent work, are essential to the success of any office. But, as offices continue to evolve, so will their roles. Now, facilities teams can make a real difference in the lives of their colleagues.
Ultimately, a hospitality mindset is about creating an environment that makes people feel valued and cared for – one that fosters productivity, creativity, and loyalty. And in a competitive marketplace, companies can use the same mindset to attract and retain top talent.