5 Items to Attract and Retain Talented Employees at Your Happy Workplace

by Tiffany Bloodworth Rivers on March 23, 2015
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Are the employees at your facilities happy in their work? As a facilities manager, you may not think of yourself as a happiness facilitator, but working with staff needs and wishes is an integral part of your role in the workplace. What changes can you make to programs and places at your workplace to make your staff happier? These ideas will help your staff enjoy their time on the job.

1. Create Structures With Good Bones

When you’re undertaking a renovation or new construction project, design your workplace environment for success. A workplace with diverse and useful spaces is a happier workplace. Create a combination of quiet spaces where employees can focus, meeting places for casual interactions or formal meetings, and areas where employees can pursue personal pursuits, such as an exercise room. Make these spaces flexible and easy to manage using facilities management software. Within an employees’ work space, provide options such as standing desks or areas where employees can work on a comfortable couch on their mobile device. A diversity of spaces allows your employees to choose how and where they’ll work best.

light and bright workspaces

2. Design Your Interior For Optimal Happiness

On the interior of your workplace, design your spaces with the small touches that help employees feel happy. Position work spaces and meeting places so that they face windows and have a lot of natural light. Use paint colors that feel relaxing, and renew furniture, carpets, and paint on a regular basis so that your employees feel like they’re working in a space that’s well cared-for. Improve your indoor air quality using low VOC paints and furniture whenever possible.

3. Make Your Environment Fun and Enjoyable

Into these good bones and enjoyable interior, add elements that your employees will enjoy. Plants add life to an office environment, and many of them clean the air as well. Give your employees easy access to water, healthy snacks, and opportunities to take a break, get some fresh air, and exercise. Work break times and spaces into your environment so that it’s easy for employees to take a breather.

4. Plan for Happiness

Having fun at work is an important element of success.Of course, there’s also a human element to workplace happiness. As you hire new staff, try to hire those with a positive attitude, and reflect on employees’ strengths as you perform their evaluations. Work with employees to help them meet their career goals, and be thoughtful with your employees, celebrating their milestones. At meetings, plan to incorporate discussion of what’s going well, so that you celebrate positives in addition to working on what you need to change.

5. Offer Personal and Professional Development

Although your focus is the facilities side of the staffing equation, as a facilities manager you can also provide input about what would work well for your staff. Human resources infrastructure is important. Take care of this infrastructure by providing staff health benefits, and provide programs that help staff take care of their mental health as well. Offer flexible working arrangements that help employees manage their personal time. Staff also appreciate having easy access to professional development opportunities to connect with others in the field and build their competency in their area of expertise.

While you can’t force anyone to be happy, creating workplace routines and spaces that facilitate employees’ happiness can be one of the best parts of your job. As a facilities manager, you play an integral role in shaping employees’ work environments. To get the support you need to run your facilities smoothly, contact iOFFICE today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tiffany Bloodworth Rivers

Tiffany covers leadership and marketing topics and enjoys learning about how technology shapes our industry. Before iOFFICE, she worked in local news but don't hold that against her.

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