Madeleine Ford, Editorial & Events Assistant

WORKTECH Panel: James Kendall, Director of Enterprise Engineering at SwiftConnect, and John Psyllos, Global Security Technology Lead at IBM discuss the future of mobile access control in the workplace. 

Providing seamless access for employees, customers and visitors while still maintaining robust security is a key priority in sustaining top employee experience according to both Kendall and Psyllos. Speaking on a panel at WORKTECH London about the partnership between SwiftConnect and IBM, they both reiterated the basic fact that, at the very least, workplaces must be buildings where people want to come and work. Creating ‘smart offices’ enables great cultures to be built within these spaces.

SwiftConnect, “a unified, software-first approach to permissions and credentials”, is an access network, centred around ‘smart office’ solutions offering employee experience enhancements, office space management and building operations. Services focus on improving the efficiency, flexibility and general experience of the workplace.

Kendall stated that the top reason that clients deploy the technology is for user experience. The aim is to allow people to have a similar experience of travelling through the tube in London, with a simple tap and go into the building using Apple or Google wallet credentials. This allows access in the same way a plastic card would, but with more security and less plastic. This point was reiterated by Psyllos who confirmed that the user experience was the main driving factor in the decision to deploy the technology at IBM’s New York office this past September, where they now have just under 2000 users.

This goes much further than just building access. SwiftConnect’s booking system means reserving desks, meeting rooms, and shared workspaces on demand through an app. This delivers a seamless experience and the insights show organisations which areas are overcrowded or underutilised. Data-driven insights which show how an office space is being used means companies can better configure workspaces to fit the needs of their employees. This leads to increased cost efficiency and resource optimisation. 

Practicality is at the core of SwiftConnect’s workplace solutions. In cities such as London and New York where it is common practise to tap throughout your day for the tube, to buy lunch, and to add your train ticket to your Apple wallet – life revolves around this convenience. John Psyllos is definitely accurate in stating that this practise is not only becoming familiar, but it is becoming increasingly expected and the best thing companies can do for employee experience is lean into it.

Safety, comfort and convenience have become three key factors in successful employee experience and are all something that mobile access and ‘smart offices’ can provide on a daily basis. Simplifying the way offices are managed and accessed allows for a seamless, touchless and practical experience day-to-day in the workplace, and enhanced employee satisfaction. 

Madeleine Ford, events coordinator of Facilities and Estates Management Live on the growing importance of Biophilic Design.

As humans, we need a connection to nature, from time immemorial we have been connected to the earth, land, wind, rain, sun and sea but in our more recent history we have evolved to spending most of our lives inside. As a species, our current distance from our inherent connection to the world is miles away from where it once was and where it needs to be.

Oliver Heath, keynote speaker of the Biophilic Design Conference, encapsulated the topic with his opening question- “what is a healthy proportion of nature and how do we deliver it and create it in the spaces that matter most to us?”

The purpose of biophilic design is to think about how people connect with nature in the built environment, particularly where we see intense amounts of stress and anxiety. In interior design Biophilia is often represented directly, for example by bringing plants in, encouraging natural light and fresh air, or by the mimicking of nature such as printed views, using colours from nature, sound scaping or improving acoustics. 

Each speaker at the conference upheld the same ethos regarding biophilic design, emphasising that it is so much more than just aesthetics, it is about creating meaningful and supportive environments for users – or more specifically – designing for community. Shared moments in nature can create deeper connections for spaces, places and the people within them, enhancing social and ecological communities. Forging a sense of community in a workspace is crucial to increase the value of social interactions and overall satisfaction levels.

Organisations with a stronger sense of community have lower employee turnover rates, higher economic returns and revenue, more passion and a sense of purpose among employees and increased collaboration. 

Furthermore, studies have found that the addition of natural features in the workspace can increase wellbeing by 15 per cent, productivity by 6 per cent, creativity by 15 per cent and improved performance in mental function and memory recall by 10 to 25 per cent. 

When it comes to biophilic design in an office space, simple measures such as the office layout can have a significant impact. For example, more organically planned desks instead of rows and ensuring all employees have a view of a window to ensure access to natural light which is imperative for hormone regulation and maintaining sleep patterns. 

Expanding on this, environmental psychologist Dr Nigel Oseland emphasised the preference for natural temperature and ventilation variations and the calming effects of natural sounds and social interactions. 

The mimicking of nature in different aspects of office life is key to encouraging these behaviours and improve stress, cognitive production, emotion and mood. As stated by speaker Paige Hodsman, Concept Development and Workplace Acoustic Specialist, “biophilia is taking the external environmental factors that aid our survival and reinterpreting them in the interior environments to optimise the functioning of the body and mind”. It entails going back to where we evolved, how we process the world around us and the importance of nature. When we prioritise our heath, both physically and mentally, it makes us more resilient, and we can create this balance between human health and the environment.

As further emphasised by Lori Pinkerton-Rolet, Director of Park Grove Design, “we can make the journey of life so much more meaningful by not separating ourselves as a species from the world at large just because we can.” 

The conference, organised by the Journal of Biophilic Design, made the importance of biophilia inherently clear, emphasising that if we embrace what is natural to us as humans, the benefits, whether mental or physical, are unmatched for individuals and organisations. 

Adil Sheikh, Managing Director at modular workspace provider, MuteBox.

London has some of the best corporate buildings in the world. The Shard, The Gherkin, The Cheesegrater and so on, all pierce London’s skyline to create an image that’s iconic and inspiring in equal measure.  

But how about London’s offices? Are they as well received as some of the buildings they’re found in? Well, apparently not. Some 50% of UK workers are positively uninspired by their working environments – which is problematic for several reasons.  

We will spend approximately 90,000 hours of our lives working, and supposing you come into the office 3 days a week on average, you could be in for 60,000 hours of working in an environment you don’t really like. Drab offices stifle creativity and happiness, which as you might expect does little to help with productivity. 

What’s more, for companies encouraging workers to return to the office, a working environment less inviting than one’s home office can make this a rather tough sell. Add to this picture Labour’s 2024 Employment Rights Bill, which grants employees greater flex with respect to WFH, and you can see why more needs to be done to incentivise higher footfall into company offices.  

In addition, landlords are also finding it hard to entice companies into renting their commercial buildings for office use. Post-pandemic, close to 10% of office space in London is unoccupied, a figure that sat at only 4% before the virus accelerated a shift towards hybrid working patterns and fully remote roles. The trouble here is that some companies are not that convinced that a dedicated office space is worth the investment with so many workers now choosing to WFH or come in once a week at most. Also, many may remain unconvinced following the uprated employer NI contributions outlined in the Autumn Statement, which has forced companies to think carefully about every penny spent, including those on office real estate.  

That being said, facilities managers and landlords can make commercial buildings more attractive to both employees and companies seeking office spaces and bolster the health and happiness of workers by embracing the Danish concept of Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah). For example, recent research has indicated a 33% increase in employee happiness following improvements to office design.  

At its core, Hygge is a cozy, contented vibe associated with warmth, wellbeing and happiness. Think sinking into an armchair, candlelit reading and a hot cup of cocoa. While sipping cocoa in an armchair probably isn’t part of your JD, there is much that can be done to bring that same cozy feel to the workplace – and boost office attendance as well as happiness and productivity as a result.  

Traditional office lighting can be harsh, clinical and less than relaxing. Opting for softer, warmer lighting can go a long way in bringing a calming atmosphere to desks and meeting rooms and help create a sense of homeliness in the workplace. Another simple way to encourage contentment within the workplace is to incorporate more biophilic elements, including plants and natural materials like wooden desks and woollen throws.  

Open plan offices, which have become increasingly popular, can sometimes come with challenges in concentration, especially as a cacophony of calls can very easily descend upon workers post-pandemic. Indeed, Zoom reported asubstantial increase in business customers following the imposition of Covid restrictions, rising from about 80,000 in 2019 to 470,00 in 2020 – and since then numerous, sometimes simultaneous, Zoom, Teams, and Slack calls punctuate (and occasionally interfere with) our working day. As such, introducing quiet areas or quiet meeting pods for focused work and calls can mute distracting noises, reduce stress and is another sure-fire way to add a dash of Hygge into your office.  

Finally, welcoming personal touches such as artwork, books, handcrafted stationary and even minimalist clocks can transform a sterile working environment into something that feels more curated, mindful and productive. The inclusion of these small but intentional additions helps foster a sense of ownership and personality in the workplace, contributing to a more engaging and enjoyable daily working environment.  

Our ways of working have changed dramatically in the last few years.  Although more employees are heading back into the office, more still needs to be done to create workspaces that compete with the luxuries afforded to them when working from home. But by injecting a large dose of Hygge into their offices and commercial buildings, facilities managers and landlords can respectively go a long way in making this happen.