Recruit and Retain Employees with building amenities

How Office Buildings Help Recruit and Retain Employees

In today’s competitive employment environment, employers are struggling more than ever to attract and retain high-quality talent. Between a national labor shortage, the increased prevalence of work-from-home opportunities and a rising cost of living, today’s employees are looking for a lot more than free coffee in the breakroom.

Luckily, office property owners are well-positioned to help their tenants navigate these challenges. In this article, we’ll take a look at three ways office landlords can help tenants recruit and retain employees, including:

• Providing the basics

• Going above and beyond with amenities

• Creating an environment worth returning to

1. Providing the Basics

Although every office building is different and each tenant’s preferences will be unique, there are a few common features that have come to be expected in the modern office environment.

The big three (fitness, food and facilities) have become staples of offices across the country. Fitness centers are a must-have for many tenants, even if the majority of employees may not utilize them on a regular basis. Providing other conveniences like on-site food options and shared conference rooms are another easy win for landlords. While these amenities may be the norm rather than a differentiator, tenants and their employees will feel their absence if they are not provided.

Landlords should also keep in mind that an employee’s office experience starts well before they reach their desk. Easy and safe parking might not make it to the headlines of a property brochure, but it goes a long way towards ensuring the satisfaction of a tenant’s employees. If a property’s location restricts its parking options, providing bike storage or proximity to public transportation is a must. Other basics like high-quality janitorial and maintenance services are an excellent way to maintain the satisfaction of a tenant’s employees and, in turn, the satisfaction of a tenant.

Providing these basics should be on every office landlord’s to-do list. Even if a tenant’s employees never enter the fitness center and don’t give a second thought to the cleanliness of the restrooms, these things lay the groundwork for a satisfactory office experience.

2. Going Above and Beyond with Amenities

Now onto the fun stuff. In a world where office amenities are used as an important tool for employee recruitment and retainment, differentiation is key.

Office landlords have a variety of options when it comes to offering unique and meaningful amenities to their tenants. Some require more budget and space than others, but each gives the landlord an opportunity to increase the satisfaction of their tenants’ employees.

First, let’s start with the budget-friendly options. An increasingly popular amenity being utilized by landlords is contracting for on-site services and offering them at no cost to tenants. Services like car detailing, professional massages and dry cleaning are relatively inexpensive ways to improve tenant satisfaction. These services also don’t require a dedicated space within a property, allowing even the smallest property to benefit.

For landlords with a little more budget and space, unique “experience” amenities could be a good option. Activating outdoor areas with green spaces, comfortable seating and interesting scenery helps give tenants a sense of connection with nature and an area to relax outside of the office. Adding a specialty coffee shop like Coffee Dose can also help foster a unique and relaxing atmosphere that can be so difficult to achieve in the office environment. Landlords could also consider setting aside some space to add a wine storage room or a building “library” that tenants could utilize for peace and quiet. Even something as simple as hiring a full-time concierge for the building’s lobby can add another layer of uniqueness and convenience to set a property apart from its competition.

Lastly, for landlords with ample budget and space, the possibilities are endless. Carefully curating the retail tenants within the building (if available) with coffee shops, hair salons and dining options is an excellent way to improve the on-site tenant experience. Inclusivity is also a huge plus, so offering a Work and Mother room or on-site child care is another way landlords can differentiate their property in a significant way. Even the tenant experience outside of the building’s walls can be improved with shared outdoor patios, green spaces, basketball courts and more. These amenities are the most reliant on budget and space limitations, but can also have the greatest positive impact.

Landlords don’t necessarily need to implement all of these amenities to help their tenants increase employee satisfaction, but selecting a few and executing them well is a great place to start.

3. Creating an Environment Worth Returning To

Creating an office environment that employees look forward to returning to is a major challenge for companies that have been working remotely since early 2020. Even with all the benefits that building amenities can offer, amenities alone aren’t always enough. Landlords must find other ways to help their tenants create the type of environment that will bring employees back to the office.

One way landlords can help is by offering their tenants larger tenant improvement (TI) allowances. Employees spend much more time in their own spaces than they do with communal amenities, so giving tenants funding to build out those spaces in a meaningful and unique way is key. While it might be more expensive for landlords to offer more TI, the long-term benefits almost certainly outweigh the costs.

Alternatively, landlords can put improvement dollars towards building out spec suites so that prospective tenants can have usable, high-quality space from day one. Spec suites have the combined benefit of putting the build-out budget totally in control of the landlord and also removing the weight of a space build-out from a new tenant’s shoulders. Fully furnished, modern spec suites can be a great tool for fostering a welcoming office environment and can set tenants on the right track towards retaining their employees.

At the end of the day, landlords and tenants both benefit from curating an office environment that is welcoming to employees. Office buildings today are competing with the comforts and conveniences of working from home, so having the newest or largest property with the best amenities won’t necessarily be enough. The landlords who are able to create an office environment that employees truly look forward to returning to are the ones who will have the most success moving forward.

Conclusion

We hope this article gave you a thorough understanding of the ways an office landlord can help tenants recruit and retain employees. Landlords should always be searching for ways to improve tenant satisfaction, and a great way to do so is by ensuring the satisfaction of a tenant’s employees.