Supporting your workers through a challenging winter

THE PROPERTY & ESTATES PROFESSIONAL’S VIEW
LUCY HIND,
HIND CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Not so long ago there was the buzz around working from home but, with additional cost of living pressures there seems to be a move to a return to work culture. Recent research from Money Supermarket stated that 14 per cent of Britain’s workers are looking to return to the workplace rather than stay at home and work due to the cost of living increase. Still however, many individuals are weighing up travel and time costs versus staying at home and associated costs.

A number of organisations are rising to this challenge and are looking at innovative ways to support their teams working from home that are above and beyond the “increasing salary” conversation to ensure that the organisations stay sustainable and that their employees are looked after.

This support is being delivered through a number of ways and include some of the following:

• Recipe cards for families, ranging from a couple or families of 4/6
• Information that outlines how to feed a family of four healthily for a fiver
• Energy top tips leaflets
• The provision of grants for staff to assist them with improvements to their properties (covering energy efficiency)
• A number of organisations are linking into the 4 day a week discussions and the viability of allowing people to take on a second job
• Loans for public transport
• Salary sacrifice for cycle to work / child care schemes
• More flexibility in hours worked
• Sell back of holidays and providing financial advice

Speaking to employers there is a clear understanding that more is needed to assist staff but there are also the wider impacts that the cost of living crisis has on the organisation themselves. But the question remains the same, what more can be done to support workers through what is predicted to be a challenging winter? Will the challenge continue once the costs plateau or as costs soar is this going to be the new norm? With this in mind employers will be forced to look at additional support measures for staff to maintain healthy levels of recruitment and retention – all of which could have a knock-on effect on a wider level across the economy.

THE CORPORATE REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT’S VIEW
RAJ KRISHNAMURTHY,
CEO, FREESPACE

Workers have been given more flexibility and choice in the way they work. However, being given the right environment to work is all employees want and businesses should focus on this rather than getting too caught up about forcing a specific working pattern.

During the summer heatwaves, we saw an increase in office occupancy across the UK and London as more workers commuted into offices to make the most of the cooler working environment thanks to air conditioning. More of the same come winter as workers seek the heat and warmth of the office is a strong possibility. What can businesses do to make it easy for employees to navigate the upcoming challenging days?

Regardless of the time of year, organisations must carefully consider what sort of experience they want their employees to have, be it at home or in the office.

Our research has revealed four aspects businesses can focus on to do the right thing this winter.

First – offer flexibility: The workforce expects and needs their workplace to offer a variety of space options, be it a dedicated desk, quiet areas, relaxation zones, standing desks, collaborative spaces or private meeting rooms. There will be a lot of pressure on this in the coming months. Employees will be seeking to work flexibly across days (time) and location (space), and the office will need to provide this. What is clear is that the new way of working is now having a profound impact on space planning, design and usage.

Second – facilitate collaboration: One of the main values of a formal working environment is it provides a ‘place’ to collaborate. The challenge is coordination of schedules. For example, enabling informal social circles within the workplace can help people coordinate their plan to visit the office together. Technology can be used effectively to enable this.

Third – curate the experience: Coming to the office should not be a chore. On the other hand, it needs to be an experience to look forward to. Service defines experience. Thinking through ‘a day in the life’ scenarios can help define the services and touchpoints to curate an experience which will make every visit memorable.

Fourth – engage through communication: Consistent, relevant and bi-directional messaging is the best way to ensure employees are connected with your mission. Communications need not be formal but they need to be easy. There has been tremendous innovation around using technology effectively – understanding context, identifying location, anonymising personal data, all while making it easy for the user. By maximising methods used to obtain feedback or collect anonymised data, businesses can ensure they provide the right support to employees.

Organisations must also look at ways of making working from home this winter as manageable and comfortable as possible, especially given the backdrop of energy costs. While they could offer to help in monetary terms, leaders should ensure they offer their employees a channel and outlet with which they can openly discuss any concerns.

With teams having more say on when and how much time they spend in the office, and what activities they do while there, organisations should forecast requirements on a daily basis to consistently make the best use of the space that they have available and to help support their workers.

This newfound freedom needs to be harnessed. Businesses will gain significantly from the smarter use of their real estate resources in the months and years to come.