After nearly 50 years at our past location, we moved offices to a modern and newly refurbished facility. To mark the occasion, we hosted a short retreat, dubbed the C3 event, which stood for collaboration, culture and celebration.
For the very first time, we had all local and remote workers gather in one place. We set aside the day-to-day operations (as best we could) for two days to brainstorm new ideas, analyze ways to improve, and share updates about upcoming initiatives — aka collaboration.
The event also had plenty of fun, food and drinks, allowing co-workers to mingle and get to know one another. This focus on company culture allowed team members to forge stronger relationships, which improves workflow and creates a stronger end product.
It was a great event and facility managers may want to consider organizing something similar. Take an afternoon or even a full day to gather your team to review the current program, discuss areas of improvement, and plan new strategies for the future. Consider inviting representatives from other departments, contractors, vendors, or even building occupants to learn their perspectives.
It’s too easy for departments — even successful ones — to become complacent and run on autopilot. Events like these force managers to hit the “pause button,” giving them time to identify waste and reprioritize for the future. It also brings remote and shift workers together, creating meet-and-greets and encouraging interaction. Creating a culture where people know one another often results in them being more considerate of each other’s needs in the future.
Now, I haven’t forgotten about the third “C.” Our event not only celebrated our new offices, but also the retirement of a long-time employee. However, I’ve saved bringing up celebration until now because I’d like to extend it to some achievements in the facility management industry.
We recently honored eight facility personnel as Facility Champions. These individuals range from maintenance supervisors to vice presidents and serve a variety of markets. But they all share the acumen, pride and dedication that makes them stand out over their peers. We’ll be celebrating each champion on FacilitiesNet over the next two months, culminating in a special webcast on Nov. 8. Keep an eye out for the articles and the registration link.
Celebrating achievements is just as important as collaboration and culture. It motivates everyone to keep performing to the highest standards. Whether or not you have events or awards like ours, find ways to call out team members for a job well done.
Dan Weltin is the editor-in-chief for the facility market. He has 20 years of experience covering the facility management and commercial cleaning industries.
