Building Community: for places that matter to people

Building Community: the Workman way

At Workman, we are committed to creating an outstanding customer experience for occupiers and our Building Community campaign showcases the benefits that this commitment to the occupier experience can have.

A sense of place and togetherness creates community within buildings. This ethos has informed the development of our occupier engagement initiatives, which aim to bring people together across commercial property.

By raising the standard of occupier engagement, our property management style and creative approach deliver services that make Workman-managed properties much more than simply a desk and a chair.

Today’s commercial property must offer stimulating, social environments that support employees’ and customers’ physical and mental wellbeing in an environmentally responsible way.

Property management strategies should be designed to create communities where buildings add value to their end-users’ experience and environment, persuading them that the workplace is once again a thriving hub.

Our Building Community magazine has been produced to highlight the value of, and our expertise in, creating environments where occupiers want to stay. In it, we consider;

  • the role of technology in creating a great occupier experience,
  • why regularly seeking occupier feedback is vital, and how best to it with Real Service,
  • the role commercial destinations can play in creating positive social impact within their communities,
  • some of the most effective ways to build real communities within commercial locations.

Read more about our property management services and how we can build communities here.

At Workman, we believe that coming back to the workplace, even for a few days each week, is a positive opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and enjoy being part of a workplace community. It should be a move that allows employees to take advantage of benefits they’ve been missing out on due to the pandemic.

So, to help our occupiers and their employees get the best out of returning to the office, the Welcome team has organised a Wellbeing Week.

Set to run from 13th – 17th September across 13 sites, it will include activities as diverse as puppy training, florist classes, and history walks, as well as running clubs, free fruit handouts, and meditation sessions.

The timetable of activities, which has been specifically curated for each property and its occupiers, will allow teams and communities that have not been able to meet face-to-face for the past 18 months to come together and take part in fun activities. Significant assets in the Welcome portfolio include Moretown and Republic office campuses in London, plus Skypark and Anchorage in Glasgow and Manchester respectively.

A healthy choice

Returning to the workplace should be a healthy choice that provides access to social interaction, exercise facilities, green spaces, the opportunity to include active commuting in the daily routine, the chance to be part of a team, and to get involved in meaningful interaction with a local community: all of which are proven to benefit health and wellbeing.

However, the Welcome team is mindful of hybrid working patterns. In order to ensure inclusivity, the Welcome team has also arranged online activities, including yoga classes, cooking demonstrations and healthcare webinars.

The Welcome Wellbeing Week features:

  • health and fitness activities such as yoga, running clubs and fitness classes.
  • expert treatments and advice such as health checks and massage.
  • nutritional offers, freebies, pop-ups and workshops.
  • mindfulness activities such as meditation sessions.
  • social activities to promote the occupier community including puppy training classes, art classes and history walks.

Presenting the programme, Monika Newton, Partner within the Welcome team, said:

“As occupiers and their employees come back to the office, we want to demonstrate that it’s not only safe to be back in the office, but also that we can regain that sense of togetherness and build our work communities once again. We know from our occupiers how important health & wellbeing is to their staff and what a difference these activities can make to their enjoyment of their working environment. Now that restrictions have been lifted and we hope to go back to normality, our management and site teams have worked hard to create this exciting week, which showcases what’s available throughout the year. We hope all our occupiers take the opportunity to enjoy what’s on offer.”

Follow @welcomeoffices and Welcome – Workman Offices (@welcomeoffices) • Instagram photos and videos throughout the week to see what’s going on.

Want to know more? 

Read about our ESG services

Read about our Building Wellbeing services here > https://bit.ly/3leZ0c2

As part of our approach to the health and wellbeing of our occupiers, the Welcome team are working with Cycling Score to improve cycling facilities across the portfolio. Cycling Score certification is the new accreditation designed to assess the quality of cycling facilities offered at buildings. Certification is now either complete or underway at 10 Welcome buildings comprising over two million square feet.

Cycling Score’s mission is to see standards improve for occupiers who choose more active lifestyles, by recognising  assets with ‘best in class provision’. The Cycling Score Certification process begins with an assessment of a building and demonstrates how exactly to raise the standard of facilities and services within a building, creating a happier, healthier workplace for occupiers. It can also be used in the planning process for new developments.

Over 100 buildings in the UK have already adopted Cycling Score Certification as landlords and developers begin to recognise the business case for ‘best in class’ facilities and services for occupiers. Cycling Score benchmarks against BREEAM, LEED and also each asset’s local borough planning guidance. They are also the global advisors to WELL Certification.

The Cycling Score “BUG” programme is being rolled out across the Welcome assets as a key wellbeing initiative during 2019

 

In addition to the initial certification, Cycling Score also facilitates a programme of occupier engagement services which perfectly complement the Welcome approach. Their new platform called the Cycling Score BUG (Bicycle User Group) enables cyclists to set up teams, compete against others in the building and even compete against buildings all over the globe. The Cycling Score BUG programme is being rolled out across the Welcome assets as a key health and wellbeing initiative during 2019, as part of our overall approach to delivering an enhanced level of occupier experience within our assets and we look forward to seeing the results.