How to Make Your Commercial Building More Employee Friendly—6 Important Tips

When your product is commercial spaces and buildings, it’s quite a large item to make attractive so others will love it. This makes property management difficult because companies have a long list of expectations when they look for new commercial space to hire. For one thing, business owners want to make sure a space is employee-friendly so the environment will help create a beneficial work atmosphere. 

So, you have to consider how attractive your property is to companies and their workers. Or perhaps you’re a business owner looking for ways to enhance your team’s daily experience? The solutions can be surprising! Instead of just raising salaries, the key to success could be to install a roof safety rail or new lighting or even a bike rail. 

Not sure how that figures into wise business management? Let’s clarify.

Safety for At Height Maintenance

Looking after employees’ safety shouldn’t only be motivated by the need to abide by legal requirements and health and safety standards. This should also be a priority for any business owner because safety determines your team’s productivity, motivation, and even turnover rate. You may think of workers’ security—also discussed below—but how often do you consider those that go onto your roof? 

Maintenance doesn’t always happen on a daily basis so it’s easy to forget the risks your maintenance team takes on when repairing a roof, checking gutters or doing renovation work. There are easy ways to upgrade their working conditions. As a by-product, because they feel looked after and there’s less risk, they’ll work swiftly and get more done in a day. 

Your options vary, with a roof safety rail being an excellent start. This ensures there’s an additional safety barrier so someone who accidentally slips has a secure object to hold onto.

You can also look into roof access hatches for easier access to the roof, walkway systems to allow easier movement or roof anchor points to use in conjunction with a harness. You may even find your workers can now perform more tasks than before, such as window cleaning, so you’ll outsource less work. 

Green Living Amenities

As with safety, helping employees limit their carbon footprint can be another factor to motivate them. Are you providing services and amenities that empower them towards this goal?

• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Facilities to keep bicycles secure, for those who want to cycle to work
• Recycling of paper, glass, and other recyclable items
• Bathroom fittings that limit water wastage

The More Security the Better

As mentioned, security is important for employees. As a responsible employer or property manager, you can improve security on-site so that employees feel safer. This communicates care for their interests and will help them relax while at work. While this is in the interest of the worker, you’re also benefiting with higher productivity and more loyalty towards the company. 

Easy Access to Parking or Transport

Can you provide any of the following to enhance your employees’ experience?

• A parking lot on-site, so there’s no need to walk far to the office and being at the mercy of the elements.
• Is the property near public transport?
• Can you improve access to parking facilities so workers don’t waste unnecessary time going upstairs or walking far after a hectic day at the office?

Parking requirements may be a little tricky to manage since it requires space. And space is a high commodity for any business. If you can’t provide these at the moment, at least consider them the next time you’re scouring the market for a new commercial site. 

The Light Side of Life

As you can see there are many factors that determine how healthy a working environment can feel. Don’t forget about the time each person spends at their desks or sit in conference rooms working through their daily to-do lists. Good lighting is essential in order to prevent employees from straining their eyes. 

Take this tip one step further and opt for natural light as much as possible. When light streams in, rather than shining down from a bulb, workers feel more connected with the outside world. This makes for better mental health compared to feeling trapped inside a box for most of the day.

So, whether you install windows, move employees closer to windows or install a few skylights, it’s worth the effort. Once again, productivity will benefit as well as employee morale. 

Time to Upgrade Tech

While people are passionate about natural aspects like green living and natural light, they do still love the innovations of the modern world.

These days you can’t plan a commercial property without having a proper internet connection, whether through Wi-Fi or cabling. Without this resource, they won’t feel empowered for their work. 

Final Thoughts

Six facts that can make a world of difference, not only to your property value but also employees using the facility. Employees determine the success of businesses and employers must communicate their appreciation of them. Start sending them the right message with a few small changes.