Talking Property | Reopening the world's workplaces

Hosted by Suzette Lamont, Guest Shelley McDowell
Friday 8 May 2020

SL:
There is a deep global understanding that we've all experienced something pretty unique and different. So, what impact will this have as we reopen the world's workplaces and how can organisations plan for this transitionary period?

Hello and welcome to see CBRE’s Talking Property. A podcast in which our team of experts share their commercial real estate insights. I'm SL, Regional Director of Client Solutions in Australia and New Zealand and today I'm your host for this episode. Over the next little bit of time together we'll be talking workplace experiences and what you can do to get your building ready for return. 

Today I'm joined by the lovely SM, Shelley's our Director of Customer Experience here at CBRE. Thanks so much for joining me Shelley, where do I find you on this glorious day? 

SM:
It's a pleasure Suze, I am in Manly in Sydney and I feel like I'm probably one of the luckiest places to be at the moment. 

SL:
Sounds like God's country to me, beautiful view out your window? 

SM:
Yep, blue skies and I'm able to see the ocean and access nature for a walk on a daily basis. So yeah, feeling very lucky to be here. 

SL:
Amazing. So, Shelley, in your job as our Director of Customer Experience, who are your customers?

SM:
So, my customers are in office buildings across the country, so not hotels and retail. You'll find us in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth. 

SL:
So, I imagine that all those folks that are going into those big, shiny towers have been experiencing a fairly different world as it's changed over the period of COVID-19 hasn't it? 

SM:
It certainly has and many people aren’t actually going into those towers anymore. As you can imagine, the occupancy rates have been very low, at some of our sites we have had COVID critical teams working and people coming in at all kinds of different hours and staggered approach. So, yes, a very different environment. 

SL:
Yeah it’s has been a different world, but I guess today we want to start projecting our mind into that re-entry of what it's going to be like when people do practically start coming back to work and I guess that's something you've been thinking about greatly. So, I'm keen to explore that with you. What are you thinking about for providing a great return to work experience?

SM:
Absolutely Suze, the planning for that return to work is really important. You know, how do we support our customers for, well first of all - really a seamless return to work. A psychologically and emotionally supported return to work because, you know, a lot of people are nervous. So, it's really important that we are considering the emotional health and well-being of our customers and our communities as well as, you know, obviously all of the hygiene and social distancing requirements. So that means looking at the physical design and the infrastructure to ensure that social distancing is encouraged, that we are influencing all of the right behaviours. It means communicating to our communities and to our customers, continually. 

So, it's really important that we're providing information, guidance, reassurance, a channel for feedback and I guess you know some more kind of basic logistics, like, will people have lost their access cards? How do we provide quick processes to facilitate new ones? Hygiene stations on site, ‘welcome back’ hygiene packs, assessing the common areas, all those sorts of considerations. 

SL:
Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot to do, isn't there? I wonder if there's also that change between social isolation and just physical distancing how are you dealing with some of those things in lobbies and end of trip facilities, etcetera.

SM:
It's a customised approach, site by site, but we are absolutely having to look at the furniture and the spacing for them, signage and stickers on the floor, all those sorts of things. Assessing the lift lobby areas, making sure that lift buttons and destination control panels are regularly cleaned and that we're communicating that to the community so they feel reassured and they know that we're doing everything we can to look after their health and safety. 

SL:
Yeah, great. That's going to make me feel a lot safer when I come back to George Place as well. I loved what you said about the emotional well-being of our folk in offices and really making them feel safe. I think that's a really hard thing to do, what are some of the things you're thinking about and how are you going to guarantee that safety and make them feel, really like they’re welcome to come back, but also safe to come back? 

SM:
Yes, there's a few things, and certainly we have been implementing a higher rotation and schedule of cleaning and deep cleaning so that will continue, but, making sure that were actually communicating that on a regular basis. Opening a channel for communication so that people can come to us and we can easily provide them with that information or answer their questions. We're also talking to our customers about staggered approaches. So those areas where people could pool like a lift lobby, the entries and exits aren't all being flooded by people at the same time of the day. We're looking at common areas where there might be cutlery and plates, for example and having to put recyclable take away replacements in those kinds of areas. We'll also have, you know, welcome back campaigns. Like you said, people have been in social isolation for some time now, I think they're going to really appreciate seeing the faces of their community and making sure that they're wanting to smile and nod at each other and you know, there's a deep global understanding that we have all experienced something very unique and difficult, and so we want to really promote that rebuilding of community and that feeling of how lucky we are to come back together.

SL:
I can't wait to get together again. In fact, just looking up from our screens is going to be a big part of that, isn’t it Shelley?

SM:
It absolutely is.

SL:
So, I know you look after a lot of buildings Shelley, where we have extensive shared spaces, whether that is flexible working areas that work like a coworking space or perhaps it's a fitness and health room. How we thinking through those shared spaces right now? 

SM:
Absolutely. Suze, I think there's going to be an increasing demand for some of those shared spaces. So we are combing through those, individually assessing what changes need to be made so that we are following the social distancing lines and that four square meters per person, so the capacity for an event space or a meeting room will certainly be changed and we will be communicating that to the customers as well. I think you'll see customers in their own tenancies not able to host the same amount of people in a meeting room that they previously could because of these and therefore, they'll be coming to us and needing that service or that feature to be offered to them. 

SL:
Yeah and the gym that you run downstairs on behalf of the tenant community. Will that be moving ahead when we re-open? 

SM:
Yes, we have a number of dedicated wellness areas, and we're currently assessing how we could have some classes physically again. However, we have taken our well-being program online. So that's been hugely successful and we will continue to do that so that people are still able to access that service and it will be kind of, I guess it's a fluid, evolving situation for those well-being centres and it'll sort of be assessed as we do, go back to the office site by site. 

SL:
Oh that sounds terrific. I'm really looking forward to getting physical with our building community members again. 

So, as we come to the end Shelley, I'm just wondering if you have that absolute tip that trick, that great piece of advice that you have for other customer experience managers that might be going through this at the same time right now?

SM:
I think the most important thing we can do Suze is communicate, that would be my top tip, verbally with signage, as I said, by having an open feedback channel for people, and if you think that you haven't said it enough times in enough different ways, say it again because people really need to hear what's going on and feel reassured, so communicate as much as you can. 

SL:
That's just terrific, Shelley, and it's been amazing communicating with you today. So, thank you for your time and for our listeners, thank you for listening to Talking Property with CBRE. If you liked our show and some of the things we have talked about and you would like to check out more, please visit cbre.com.au/talkingproperty. So join us next time. Thank you.