Event

What ‘superpower’ should be gifted to colleagues in the workplace?

Forget table tennis, snack fridges and Friday drinks – the best thing organisations can give the workforce is the ability to pay attention.

That’s according to workplace expert, Dr Paul Redmond, who provided the keynote speech at Mitie’s recent breakfast briefing, ‘People, productivity and the multigenerational workforce.’

Over 60 guests from a range of influential organisations gathered in The Shard to hear the latest insights on creating thriving workplaces. For the first time ever, workspaces are hosting colleagues across five generations: the most diverse range ever seen.

Dr Redmond said: “Effective workplaces prioritise attention. Attention is a superpower that we are losing. Designing a workplace so that people can pay attention is the biggest gift that you can give your workforce.”

Generational tension

After starting his career in recruitment, Dr Redmond moved into academia to become one of the UK’s leading experts on generations, the future of employment and the workplace.

His advice for organisations wishing to support focus in the workplace was clear.

He said: “For the first time in history different generations are rubbing shoulders in the workplace. Each generation uses the workplace in their own way. Generational tension is one of the biggest losses of productivity…So, if you can get a good culture that encompasses all generations, the results are amazing. One report showed that organisations with the most generational diversity outperform those with the least by 36% in profitability.”

Workplaces deliver multiple benefits

The event was opened by Mitie CEO, Phil Bentley, who began by reflecting on one of the least inspiring workplaces of his career.

He said: “I once worked in an office that was dated and tired. The loos were broken and we found we had a mouse problem. When I came into the office, I never felt energised that I was running the company. It always felt like I was behind plan before I’d even sat down. The workplace suggested we didn’t care about our people, when in fact the opposite was true.”

Phil went on to highlight that better workplaces deliver multiple benefits for both colleagues and organisations.

He said: “Here in The Shard we have a modern, iconic showcase for the best of FM. It’s flexible, has good lighting and ventilation. The Shard supports our team to do their best work…In Mitie we believe the workplace is more than a location. It is a growth engine, a catalyst for culture, shaping ambition and aspirational change.”

Transform health and wellbeing

Later on the agenda, Senior Vice President of International WELL Building Institute, Ann Marie Aguilar, was welcomed to the podium.

Ann Marie’s organisation is the global authority for transforming health and wellbeing in buildings, organisations and communities.

She highlighted that workplace leaders’ focus is extending beyond obvious principles such as thermal comfort, natural light, air quality and acoustics. Now it’s increasingly important to account for many other elements including movement, nourishment and mental health.

She said: “The cost of a healthy building is less than 1% of the cost of construction. Companies that address productivity are happier, more productive companies.”

Engine for growth

Mitie’s Managing Director, Smart Workplaces, Simi Gandhi-Whitaker followed with a deep dive into our latest report, The Productivity Reset: Why the workplace must change.

The paper is based on research of over 3,000 UK workers from organisations with more than 500 employees.

Underlining that the workplace should be an engine for growth, Simi highlighted several key statistics from the report:

  • Employees lose 68 minutes per week due to being unproductive in the workplace.
  • The cost to employers is an estimated £485.2m in lost employee hours each week.
  • 51% of workers say poor maintenance is contributing to their workplace dissatisfaction.

Simi added: “We discovered that the unproductive time of 1,000 employees equates to output that would have been completed by over 30 full-time workers. That’s like losing a full team of people.”

Common workplace challenges

A lively panel discussion chaired by Mitie’s Head of IFM Innovation and Transformation, Leagh Cater, provided the final session.

Ann Marie Aguilar joined WPP’s Workplace Director, Carol Kavanagh-Hall, Lloyds Banking Group’s Senior Workplace Experience Lead, Sarah Tait and Modus Creative Director, Vidhi Sharma.

Sarah Tait expressed the ongoing challenge she faces with her team.

She said: “In Workplace Experience our role is to bring the office to life. How do we create spaces where colleagues feel like they belong? As humans we’re actually quite simple – we want to feel safe, that we belong and we’re part of something wider. The challenge is creating that ‘sitting around the campfire’ feeling in the workplace.”

Closing remarks came courtesy of MD, Mitie Projects, Mark Caskey, who posed a final burning question.

Mark said: “Where will the workplace be in the next five to 10 years?”

That thought inspired further conversations as attendees discussed what they’d learned at the end of another busy breakfast briefing in The Shard.

Download ‘The Productivity Reset: Why The Workplace Must Change’

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