This article was written for our sponsor, JLL.
According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2018, the average one-way drivetime for a work commute was a little more than 27 minutes, a record-high, meaning the typical employee spent almost five hours in their car every week.
In fact, since the 1980s, average commute times have been steadily ratcheting up, adding a total of nearly one hour to weekly drive times.
With so much time spent behind the wheel, employers are facing a new challenge: how can they change the workplace in a way that lessens the drain of long commute times and encourages more employees to make a lengthy trek instead of working from home?
“One of the things we do with our clients is employee engagement surveys to understand what’s working and what’s not within their current situation, as well as what the desire is for the future in order to increase productivity,” said Molly Glasgow, an office tenant rep and vice president at JLL Raleigh, a commercial real estate and property investment services firm.
Glasgow and her team’s work is centered on the Triangle area, where competition to attract talent is particularly high compared to other metropolitan areas in the state. By modifying and innovating office spaces with amenities and modern floor plans, they’re able to give their clients an edge over their competition.
The engagement surveys are just one tool in JLL’s arsenal, but one that goes the distance. The team is able to glean information and data on a company’s existing employee base, then puts together labor profiles and pulls demographic data from around the market, formulating exactly what a space needs to meet company and employee goals.
One such key insight revolves around generational changes. Although baby boomers previously made up the bulk of the U.S. workforce, millennials are expected to overtake them in just five years. As the demographics change, so do the wants and needs of workers.
“One thing that we found in the millennial generation and beyond into the future workforce is that they want an experiential environment,” Glasgow explained. “There’s been this trend toward an open layout, but you must have private workspaces with a variety of workstyle types to support an open workspace as well. The biggest thing is to help our clients understand who their workforce is, and then we can help them tailor their real estate to that.”
For Glasgow, this emphasis on planning is a sharp turn away from more traditional commercial real estate and its reactive tendencies. Instead of picking buildings based on the size of a workforce, companies greatly benefit — in both the short-term and the long-term — by looking at the people first (both current and future workforce), then finding a space that works best for them.
Specifically, this up-and-coming workforce is interested in office environments that make work more of an experience, and less of a chore. Coffee stations, fitness centers, outdoor patios, collaborative office layouts — it’s all about the amenities, and in order to accommodate, businesses need to find the right space.
The up-and-coming workforce is interested in office environments that make work more of an experience, and less of a chore. (Photo Courtesy of JLL)
This sentiment is especially true for start-ups, of which the Triangle area is certainly no stranger. In fact, according to Inc., Triangle start-ups made upwards of $1 billion in the last year alone. This unprecedented growth demands space that can accommodate employees and the facilities that house them for years to come.
In working with companies like JLL and leveraging their unique technology and data capabilities, start-ups are able to find the right buildings for their long-term goals — not just the immediate space they need — saving time, money, and inconvenience.
Natalie Birdwell, COO of software company ndustrial.io, was in just this position. The energy management start-up originally found its base in Durham — first in the American Underground before later moving north of downtown — but due to their growing company size, ndustrial.io made the decision to move operations to Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh.
“We were finding that there was a lot of great power in Raleigh. It was just a bit more centralized,” Birdwell said. “We had access to a wider pool of great talent, and being able to move right downtown was key because that also served our folks that lived out in the Durham-Chapel Hill area. They could take a direct commuter bus right into downtown, get off the bus, walk a couple blocks and be at the office instead of having to sit in traffic.”
“There were some things that may seem small, but were actually quite huge from an employee standpoint,” Birdwell finished.
For Birdwell and her company, the opportunity for growth was a major factor — after all, they left their previous two spaces due to lack of room. Finding a new building that not only compensated their growing numbers, but also provided the right environment for their ideal culture, was the goal.
“I think what JLL does a great job at is understanding and feeling out the temperature of the flexibility and viability of a space,” Birdwell said. “For us, they identified the building that we went into as a great opportunity, because at the time that we started looking at it, the entire building was vacant, and it was all shell space. It was a historical building, it would be smaller than one of these large corporate building footprints, it’s on Fayetteville Street, and it has the ability for us to put a unique stamp on it.”
“I never felt with them that it was a square footage transaction. It was more of what was the best fit for our company,” Birdwell explained.
In the end, Birdwell and the team at ndustrial.io have been more than pleased with their new space and the opportunities it affords — from the diversity of dining in downtown Raleigh, to the busy calendar of community events happening all around the neighborhood. Although the start-up company came from scrappy beginnings, it’s finally starting to feel like it’s hit its groove — and Birdwell is leaning into it.
“The employees love the space. There’s more meeting rooms, it’s very operational —it exceeds their needs. Previously, our team dealt with terrible office chairs and we got everybody brand new office chairs. I got a text from one employee saying, ‘This office chair is everything I could have ever hoped for,'” Birdwell laughed. “It’s funny, but I think that gets exactly at the heart of this — they do spend the majority of their waking hours here. Making it something that’s comfortable and enjoyable for them is important.”
“Previously, our team dealt with terrible office chairs and we got everybody brand new office chairs. I got a text from one employee saying, ‘This office chair is everything I could have ever hoped for,'” said Natalie Birdwell, COO of software company ndustrial.io. (Photo Courtesy of JLL)
While it’s inaccurate to say that a company’s recruitment and retention is solely dependent upon its real estate, companies like ndustrial.io prove a thoughtful and strategic office space is a tool that can maximize attracting and keeping top talent.
This article was written for our sponsor, JLL.
