Culture is defined as “the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.” And while we all bring our own diverse cultural backgrounds to the workplace, a building community can have its own unique culture – one that, more importantly, can be improved and cultivated.
As our Head of Client Services, Gabriella Karge noted, “culture is the intersection between a company’s mission and values, and how the environment helps to boost an employee’s desire to come to work every day.” Creating a positive company culture can lead to increased productivity, collaboration and creative thinking, while ultimately positioning the business in a way that attracts high-quality employees and encourages long-term loyalty.
Which is kind of important, seeing as it is estimated that it costs 4.5 times the employee’s salary to replace a high-level executive. So, what’s the solution to an effective company culture?
Enter: the tenant portal
Onyx Equities co-founder Jonathan Schultz cites that “technology has and will change workplace culture over the next 5 years faster than it has over the last 20.”
As we’ve developed new ways to enhance workplace culture through technology, one solution has stood out as sustainably effective: a boundary-breaking digital Portal that helps employees and tenants connect, collaborate and communicate with ease. Here are six ways access to a tenant portal can transform workplace culture:
Perhaps one of the most important components of great workplace culture is its ability to form a common thread between people who share similar values and working styles. With many workers feeling isolated on the job, a tenant Portal can open up new avenues for discussion and conversation.
In addition, easy access to building management and support teams through open communication channels can alleviate grievances in a timely manner. This eases the pressure felt by team managers to act as the messenger and helps staff to feel heard and valued. Where complicated communication systems would have taken time to get a response – if they received one at all – a tenant portal creates an immediate connection and can boost the feeling of culture that is already evident internally.
Countless studies have proven the benefits of collaboration. A survey by Gensler found that the companies who perform best strike a balance between an individual focus and open collaboration. And companies that supported both ways of working were more creative and innovative than those that did not. Consequently, collaborative working styles are often highly regarded when it comes to improving company culture.
But collaboration isn’t limited to internal teams. A building-wide tenant portal opens up the possibility of collaborating with businesses outside of your usual scope. This injects new ideas and ways of thinking into projects that have become stagnant and improves your overall performance.
Nobody wants to work in a dead-end role. One important facet of an effective company culture strategy is the ability to support employees in their quest to develop. This involves finding opportunities to learn new skills, in addition to supporting employee wellness and ensuring they don’t fizzle out in exhaustion.
The more company culture has been built to support this growth, the less likely it is your high performing employees will head for greener pastures.
And an effective tenant Portal is able to facilitate this, by combining everything from health and wellness offers with opportunities for learning and networking at the click of a button.
It’s impossible to create a company culture policy if you don’t understand your people. Without knowing their needs, wants and interests it is incredibly difficult for employers to support people in their growth or even know whether they will be able to work effectively with your existing cohort. One of the greatest facets of tenant portals is their data capture capabilities.
Where previously, the people entering a building were simply a number among many, the use of tenant technology has given them more detailed attributions. Suddenly, you can understand the wider demographics of a building, what will make their lives better and what they’re really interested in. This information can be integral to the culture of the building as a whole, making work a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
While the tech side of the tenant portal is what gets people interested, it is the ability to connect it with complimentary onsite services that gets us excited. From having a friendly face to meet and greet your guests, to dry cleaning and coffee delivery, these services add a level of convenience to an employee’s day that will help them love going into work each day.
Previously, all the little errands that made people ride the elevators up and down throughout the day were unavoidable. With the introduction of a seamlessly integrated onsite team, those tasks can be arranged at the click of a button, with a real person following through to ensure it happens. Exciting freebies, activations and events within the common spaces also add an air of mystery as tenants walk into the lobby each morning. With facilities like these, how could a tenant ever leave a building?
Workplace culture might be nothing new, but the ability to facilitate this through the building management’s tenant portal is the way of the future. However, in order to be truly effective, this portal must meet the needs of its building to the tee. Dumping a mass-made, one-size-fits-all tech solution in the midst of a complex and unique building landscape is not a sustainable use case for innovation.
With this in mind, unlike many competitors who lack either the onsite services or the digital convenience, the Equiem Portal is custom-built for each building and offers a full suite of online and offline services strategically designed to make building life better.
Upshot CEO, Brian Kristofek says that “a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company.” Given that we spend most of our daylight hours working, creating an enjoyable office environment with technology is certainly worth it, and increasingly penned as the only way forward.
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