Facilities Management, often an underrated aspect of the real estate has traditionally focused on the provision of services to increase productivity, operations and hygiene. Recently we have seen increasing focus on the way in which facilities services can improve nutrition, exercise and even mental health; Catering providers, cleaning regimes and exercise vendors promote healthful behaviors critical for the overall well-being and performance of employee groups.
As the war for talent increases, employees have more choice of who they work for. Health and well being promoting services offer a differentiated opportunity to retain and attract the best talent through supporting employees to fulfil their wider ambitions and live in accordance with their values. Salary is increasingly less of a driver for employment decisions, with well being-enabling lifestyle factors such as hybrid-working, exercise or onsite day-care provisions gaining greater consideration.
Promoter of value and appreciation
In addition to improving overall health, employees are increasingly looking for belonging and meaning from their work. In a 2021 McKinsey survey, nearly two-thirds of US-based employees surveyed said that COVID-19 has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life . Over 70 percent of employees in the same survey saying that their sense of purpose is defined by their work, highlighting the commercial significance of supporting purpose and meaning in the context of work. Targeted facilities services offer an opportunity to recognize what is important to your employees and fosters greater engagement and connectivity between organisations and employees. Examples of this are encouraging employees to have a healthy lifestyle by giving non-smoking bonus and paying for running shoes. Through such employee services, organisations can signal to employees how valued they are.
Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Strategic Consulting
How to get it right?
To create a facilities services strategy that can foster health, well-being and generally all-round engaging and conducive working environments organisations can:
