FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
EMPLOYEE AND GUEST EXPERIENCES
Talking to people in the industry a theme which came up for Angelico was in making the workplace a destination again. Offices are now competing with the likes of Starbucks, where an employee can work or have a meeting instead of the workplace.
“Clients have been saying, ‘we need help with that’ so what we’ve developed is separate guest services and employee services solutions, because staff don’t want to be treated the same as a guest. In this way, by identifying the different needs of the stakeholders we’re looking after we’ve created two different offers which cater to those different needs.”
The key role of the guest services experience says Angelico is to make a visitor feel safe even prior to their arrival, so the tech enables guests to book in online, which offers them reassurance even when journeying to the site.
The technology does a lot of the interrogation, i.e. who they are there to see, which company they are from etc, but once visitors have entered the building, Angelico explains: “The human side can be about welcoming you there, setting people up in the meeting room and looking after them. I also advise our DayMakers to ‘look for tips,’ are they carrying luggage, do they have a wet umbrella, is there keys in their hands and if so, ask where they parked”
With it looking very likely that many organisations will shift to hybrid working post-pandemic, On Verve is also geared up to support remote workers and help them feel connected to their workplace. To do this the brand will utilise a mix of in-person and technology to offer optimum customer support, including for those working remotely or at home.
Explains Angelico: “During COVID I checked out some personal development events and learnt how you could continue to create energy in taking something originally built for real life experience and transform that virtually through a screen.
“I looked at the fitness industry who’ve gone through this challenge, similar to facilities management, where you had a physical place and then it got ripped apart and everyone had to go virtual. So now [the fitness sector] is offering both, which is similar to the concept of hybrid working.”
Given that the workplace is becoming the place where you collaborate, socialise and engage with colleagues, the last thing you want to do is travel there to find everyone else is at home, so the tech is designed to help people identify who is going to be in the building and also enable people to pre-plan where they’re going to sit. When it comes to meeting and events, On Verve staff can run AV checks prior to a presentation or conference, so for the employees it’s all ready to go and they have the reassurance that everything will work.
In terms of employee experience, with people less likely to come in every day, perhaps just once or twice a week or even less than that, employee needs are very different than before.
Says Angelico: “For someone who comes in regularly it’s a casual ‘lovely to see you’, how was your weekend?’ but when you’ve people who aren’t coming in regularly it’s about making them comfortable, taking them to their desk, setting them up and keeping them up to date with any changes.
“For new starters it can be daunting and with many people starting virtually, it’s important that employee services team can help them with interaction, show them where to go and introduce them around, so our people are always thinking about helping to make those connections, identifying potential pain points and carrying out floor walks to check things are going smoothly.”
