Culture Counts In The Industrial Workplace

By Meaghan F. Elwell

All too often, conversations about the industrial workplace focus only on safety and regulatory compliance rather than employee satisfaction and attraction. While safety and compliance are paramount, industrial settings also convey larger messages about a corporate brand and culture — just like office workplaces — and demand investments and improvements to attract and retain quality talent.

Talent shortages and turnover affect not only the production line and warehouse operations, but also the facilities management (FM) function itself. Recruiting technical talent for all positions can be difficult even under the best of circumstances, but especially when a site is located in the exurbs or off the beaten path, or when a company is competing against other organizations for talent.

While pay and benefits are usually top of mind for workers, cultural and workplace factors can also provide a competitive advantage for talent recruitment. In an industrial workplace, appealing break rooms and kitchens often signal to prospective talent that employees are valued and respected — a message that every employee wants to receive. Investing in clean, attractive employee spaces can help increase collaboration and reinforce corporate culture, creating a sense of belonging and purpose that builds strong, productive, and efficient teams.

An Industrial Workplace Can Strengthen Culture

Culture is the key to talent retention. Typically, this means offering a physical environment and accompanying policies that provide a connection to the larger corporate brand and help create a sense of belonging. At its essence, culture is the thread that connects across all employees throughout the company, reinforcing the idea that every employee is part of the larger enterprise and valued for their contributions.

Investing in clean, attractive employee spaces can help increase collaboration and reinforce corporate culture, creating a sense of belonging and purpose that builds strong, productive, and efficient teams.

In an office environment, organizations have been enticing remote workers back to the worksite by offering new amenities, workplace redesigns, and flexible schedules. Plant and warehouse workers, however, usually lack a remote work option and may already work irregular schedules. By providing thoughtful amenities, organizations can provide immediate comfort to their industrial workforce while also tackling issues of inequity and lack of value when compared to the broader workforce.

Providing break rooms that are clean and tidy, with food options, plants and natural light, for example, can help balance the scales and demonstrate respect for employees.

At a major airport client site, for instance, JLL’s FM team works underground and the subterranean FM break room was a depressing sight. The space was marginally finished and was barely functional. After JLL painted the walls, brought in comfortable chairs, tables, plants and a water cooler to create a relaxing space, morale skyrocketed as a result of the modest investment in improving the break room.

Many industrial buildings don’t have adequate natural light, especially in interior break rooms. Carving out an outside space for a quick break or meal can give workers a necessary change of scenery and the opportunity to recharge, for little more than the cost of an outdoor tables and chairs.

Technology Gives The FM Team A Boost

For FM teams, access to leading technologies can also provide a boost in employee satisfaction and revenue. Some organizations are adopting a new dynamic approach to FM, combining artificial intelligence and workplace sensors to provide services on the basis of usage, rather than a fixed schedule. For example, if sensors indicate that certain restrooms are used more heavily than others, the janitorial team can clean the heavily used spaces more frequently than the less-used spaces.

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This dynamic approach provides FM teams with the information they need to operate as efficiently as possible and work smarter, confident that they are focused on the right priorities. Once implemented, the new approach can potentially reduce FM costs, too, generating savings that can be redirected into workplace improvements.

While many offices are now equipped with sensors to determine who uses a space and how often, providing even a lower-tech option for industrial workers to gauge what food they prefer, what spaces are most frequented and other on-site information can help organizations make informed decisions about where to spend their facility improvement funds.

The Future Of Industrial Workplaces

Some leading organizations understand this prospective value of investing in their employees and are creating state-of-the-art industrial spaces that incorporate natural light, greenery, and comfortable spaces where employees relax and socialize off-the-line. These organizations are reaping the benefits of having a workforce that feels respected and cared for with break facilities that improve their energy and productivity.

Creating workplaces where all employees feel valued provides a powerful competitive advantage for increasing employee attraction, engagement, and retention.

Even the most cost-sensitive organizations can find ways to improve employee break areas. A new coat of paint, a clean environment, and an outdoor space can go a long way toward boosting morale. At the most basic level, simply ensuring that employee break rooms and restrooms are always clean and tidy conveys respect for the workers and helps provide an experience comparable to that of an office worker. Providing multiple food vending options (maybe even food trucks!) and a place to enjoy a snack or even just casual conversation with a coworker can also go a long way in forging bonds and planting the seeds of effective workplace culture.

Creating workplaces where all employees feel valued provides a powerful competitive advantage for increasing employee attraction, engagement, and retention. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s just good business. After all, employees are the reason a manufacturing plant can produce its product, or that a warehouse can ship goods around the world. A company is only as good as its workforce, so make it an inspiring place in which employees can feel proud to work.

Meaghan F. Elwell is President of the Industrials Division for JLL Work Dynamics, Americas, where she leads global facility management outsourcing teams for clients in the manufacturing, aviation, automotive, oil and gas, and utilities industries. 

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