Hiring & Retention

Retaining millennial talent is a challenge.

In today’s war for talent, some companies are taking extreme measures to attract and retain young, top talent – nap pods, unlimited vacation time, paying student loans, etc.  However, few companies strategically utilize their office space as a recruiting tool.  The first step is understanding your target employee demographic and ensuring your space encompasses their most pressing requirements.  This thought process falls under the ideology of workplace strategy – utilizing your office space to support your company goals and strategy.  Here are two simple workplace strategy procedures to make your office space work for your retention goals.

1. 1. 1. Workplace strategy surveys:  Research shows that the modern employee is happiest at work when they feel a sense of community in their space and feel that they have been provided the proper tools to be productive in their role.  Feeling like they are heard and appreciated is a vital key to retention.  However, every company has a different set of employees with different opinions on which offerings their office space must have in order to feel adequately supported and appreciated.  Therefore, when companies are determining their next steps in their office space strategy, R.W. Holmes suggests utilizing surveys to understand the requirements of your workforce.  This can be as formal or informal of a process as you desire.  For those who prefer a more formal process, work with your real estate advisor to establish the list of questions regarding amenity offerings, workspace design, and space configuration.  Once establishing the top needs of your employees, you can determine whether your existing space fosters employee happiness, or if a relocation is required.  To take the search one step further, rather than having the office search committee contain only C-Suite executives, allow your HR team and rising young leaders to tour the prospective spaces.  Not only does this provide valuable information on your employee work habits and needs, but it also shows them that you are interested in their opinion and well-being.
      2. Space planning advisor:  An underutilized resource in the commercial real estate relocation process are architects/space planners.  In today’s competitive environment, landlords are amenable to tenants utilizing their own architect and covering the architect’s design fees.  Companies who are looking to have their office space emulate their brand, impress clients, or maximize space creatively could include an architect in their search. This streamlines the process and helps facilitate the Tenant Improvement allowance negotiations.  Working with an architect ahead of time allows you to select a space based on your employees’ most critical needs while the architect validates the feasibility and cost of the improvements.  An architect’s perspective throughout the search process allows you to focus on the business fundamentals of the deal while they provide the workplace strategy expertise and feedback.

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