PEOPLE

THE

FA C T O R
Using culture to create a meaningful workplace

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BY ROBERT HEMMERDINGER

097
Today’s office worker is pickier
than ever. Not necessarily
about cafeteria food or perks
like unlimited vacation; rather,
they are fickle about their work
environment. As the space
where most employees spend
at least eight hours a day, is it
unreasonable to want that space
to be comfortable?

R
esults of a survey of 1,601 North American workers pub- A key metric behind this stunning finding is the growing mil-
lished by Harvard Business Review had the researchers lennial workforce. According to Glassdoor, the millennials, defined
floored. The question: What wellness perks mattered the generally as those born in the 1980s to 1990s, are more likely to put
most? Surprisingly, the answer was not standing desks or access culture above pay, with 65 percent of those surveyed believing in
to elaborate gyms. Those polled wanted a well-controlled environ- this mantra. That speaks loudly to the shift in employer benefits.
ment with plenty of fresh air, accurate temperature control and Building a culture starts from the ground up, and certainly a com-
access to natural light. For pany’s physical work environ-
those in the facility manage- ment cannot be discounted.
ment field, this may not come But how does environment
as much of a surprise as many “Job seekers want to be paid fairly factor into culture? Why
daily complaints stem from
basic comfort requirements.
but they want to work for a should FM collaborate closely
with recruiters and employee
But what’s interesting is how
much an office environment
company whose values align with retention specialists? These
studies suggest that it has to
factors into the rest of the their own and whose mission do with the authenticity of
organization. Enterprises are culture messaging. When an
relying on a strong brand and they can fully get behind.” organization claims to have
company culture to help at- an “employee-first culture,”
tract the industry’s top talent. workers are less likely to be-
Salary aggregator Glassdoor’s recent study suggests that company lieve that message when they’re asked to work in small, enclosed
culture may be more important than salary for some job seekers. spaces with artificial lighting and stale air.
“Across the countries we surveyed, it’s clear that job seekers are Prominent global organizations are at the forefront of this evo-
seeking more meaningful workplace experiences,” Christian Suth- lution and change in mentality that begins at the executive level.
erland-Wong, Glassdoor president and COO, said of the study. Thrive Global, Pinterest and GE Healthcare Korea are prioritizing
“Job seekers want to be paid fairly but they want to work for a office environment as an extension of their company culture. They
company whose values align with their own and whose mission join well-publicized tech leaders such as Google and Microsoft
they can fully get behind.” that have spent millions of dollars to design and build world-class

098 W W W. I F M A .O RG / F M J

facilities to help establish their company culture. That being said,
does a company need to belong in the Fortune 500 to create a su-
perior working environment? The key factors in an individual’s
assessment of a working space are identified as lighting quality,
air quality, environmental temperature and noise levels. Office lay-
outs are often determined by the need for collaboration. Teams are
placed together based on a job function or project focus. However,
individuals in these teams can have myriad preferences for their
work environment. Just because an individual is working on the
same project as the person next to them does not mean they want
to collaborate in the same way, or they prefer the same temper-
ature while working. Companies are paying more attention to the
individual as a way of reinforcing their company culture.
When focusing on the individual instead of the team or busi-
ness, the key word here is choice. People feel more satisfied when
they are given options or choices about their environment. Some
companies are switching to unassigned seating in their facilities as
part of the transition to an open office floor plan. In that scenario,
employees are fully empowered to make choices about where they
sit based on the noise level, temperature or brightness of a space.
People who enjoy more extremes in the temperature of their en-
vironment can move to the peripheries of the building. They can
sit next to windows, where indoor temperatures fluctuate in line
with outside weather conditions. Those individuals can take more
advantage of natural light. If freedom of choice is a given, they can
select collaborative environments that might be noisy or quiet
environments where concentration is maximized. However, not
S E P T E M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0
every business can design their workspace around an unassigned
seating layout. There could be constraints on the amount of space
as well as concerns about the benefits of increased productivity.
Nonetheless, individual choice can still be maintained in those
cases. Harvard Business Review indicated that “nearly half [of the
employees surveyed] want an app that will let them set the tem-
perature in their workspace.”
Thanks to advancements in building automation technology,
individual choice is more accessible than ever. It starts at the net-
works that run building automation systems (BAS). The standard
network type of BAS communications is RS-485: a low-bandwidth
network that is inexpensive to install, comprised of twisted pair
wire and low-cost communication hardware. These networks were
more than enough for the bandwidth and speed requirements
when they were designed. The low cost of hardware and installa-
tion helped keep construction and retrofit costs low. These net-
works are not very accessible to other systems, though, and data
needs have exceeded their capabilities. This caused BAS integra-
tors to incorporate Ethernet backbones in their networks, evolving
to full Ethernet networks and eventually Ethernet networks using
IP communication. This means that BAS networks are now using
the same technology found in computers and communication sys-
tems. The most advanced BAS networks incorporate wireless IP,
Bluetooth and IoT protocols. All these communication methods
are making it easier and more cost-effective to bring control to the
individual. BAS devices that individuals can use to interact with
the system are not limited to thermostats and proprietary touch-
screens. Users can access their systems with computers and smart-
phones.
With this enhanced connectivity to their building systems, com-
panies are now able to increase worker satisfaction of the environ-
ment without making any other system changes. Just as people
want more say in controlling projects, deadlines and workflows,
they also want to be able to influence the surrounding environ-
ment. Collectively, these elements come together to cement the
foundation for a workplace culture. Companies nowadays are ex-
099
perimenting with flat organizational hierarchies and employee-run When considering workplace culture, it is no longer leadership
projects. For instance, executives are offering more leeway to staff styles or job perks that solely define an organization. As employ-
members on how and when projects are carried out. The Harvard ee well-being emerges as a top concern among executives and HR
Business Review study, however, revealed that all these strategies professionals, sending mixed messages is frowned upon: “You
might not be the most important factor to employee satisfaction. have a choice about how to complete your projects, but you can’t
“Our survey revealed that dim your lights.” “You can
employees, by a margin of 42 choose when to take vaca-
percent to 28 percent, would
rather be able to personalize
“Our survey revealed that employees, tion, but you can’t control
the temperature.” “We care
their work environment than
opt for unlimited vacation,”
by a margin of 42 percent to 28 percent, about you as an individ-
ual, as long as you like your
the study found. would rather be able to personalize workspace exactly the same
Specifically, the study as those around you.” The
found employees want to their work environment than opt advancement, accessibility
personalize workspace tem-
perature, overhead and desk
for unlimited vacation.” and ease of use for building
automation technologies en-
lighting, and the ability to ables employers to do away
“soundscape” their work- with the constraints that
space. With connectivity in automation systems becoming so once bogged down old facilities. Whether the answer to an organ-
prevalent, it makes perfect sense to invest in something that can ization’s workspace culture is unassigned seating, a BAS retrofit
contribute so heavily to the perception of a company’s culture, or just increased access to the system they already have, it is evi-
which serves to lift employee productivity and reinforce worker dent that an organization cannot control their culture if their team
loyalty. members cannot control the lights.

100 W W W. I F M A .O RG / F M J
 Robert Hemmerdinger is the chief sales and marketing officer for Delta Controls, Inc. and
a member of the executive management team. His role includes global responsibility for sales
growth and driving brand awareness. Hemmerdinger started his career in 1997 as a technical
support engineer. With a background in engineering, he served in a variety of positions including
product management, strategic sales and business development for the U.S., EMEA and Asia-Pacific
markets. He holds a BSc (Hons) in IT Engineering from De Montfort University in the United Kingdom
and resides in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

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