Many building service contractors spend a good part of their days cleaning other companies’ headquarters, but how much thought do they really give to their own?

Whether operating from a home office, satellite office or a sprawling corporate campus, BSCs need company offices that exude tidiness, hospitality and professionalism in order to attract and keep customers and employees. A well-thought-out headquarters design also can help solve management headaches, support strategic planning, and improve the bottom line.

Take, for example, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., suggests John Walker, president of ManageMen, a BSC executive education firm headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Years ago, Disney’s human resource department conducted interviews at a nondescript strip mall. Job applicants’ enthusiasm began eroding the moment they saw the uninspired office from the street, and progressed during the interview process.

“Disney found that it was costing them money to not have a good first impression,” explains Walker. “In fact, they determined that it took about four weeks to recover that confidence in them from the employees.”

So, Disney designed and built a new human resources building as fanciful and exciting as their theme parks —bursting with color, charm and interactivity. Visitors are welcomed by Disney figures into an area decorated with framed photographs and captions of fun facts. The Disney brand, long associated with fun, is communicated through the building.

Varsity Contractors, a total facility maintenance firm in Pocatello, Idaho, also creates a brand through its headquarters. From a flash of red tile stripe on the headquarters’ exterior, a reception area with high ceilings and comfortable chairs, and décor showcasing the company’s people culture, themes of pride and history are carried throughout the building, which even houses a museum of antique cleaning implements.

“It’s very costly to us,” president and CEO Arlo Luke admits unapologetically. “We just feel the culture is important. It’s about stimulating the creative talents of people and caring about their lives.”

The foyer and walls display company history, large-format photographs of management teams, service projects and employee events.

Creativity and innovation also are instrumental to PortionPac Chemical Corp.’s identity. The manufacturer of premeasured janitorial cleaning products resides on a bus line 10 minutes west of the Chicago loop, in a planned manufacturing/light industrial district experiencing a renaissance through government incentives and public and private interest in conservation and urban design. In 1981, PortionPac remodeled 44,000 square feet of brick factory into a comfortable and stylish urban office and plant/warehouse, connecting the two buildings with an atrium. (Today, another 100,000 square feet is earmarked for expansion.)

A modern art collection on the firm’s curved interior walls add whimsey and relevance. And much of it is representative of the cleaning industry. It all helps present the image that when science and creativity merge, innovative products result.

“We’re trying to be a little creative. It doesn’t cost any more to have a different design,” explains president Marvin Kline. “We try to be ‘artistic’ in our chemicals, also.”

Form follows function?
When choosing a location, look for easy access to a bus line, if possible, since many BSC employees and applicants rely on public transportation. But beyond that, curb appeal also should be considered, says Frank Betancourt, vice president of real estate for ServiceMaster Corp., a Downers Grove, Ill.-based facility services company. Betancourt scouts light industrial areas for suitable branch offices.

“We look for handsome and utilitarian,” he explains. “Not flashy, but a place the people that work there can be proud of.”

Whether buying or leasing new buildings, or simply re-thinking existing offices, BSCs should consider hiring a designer to get the most out of the space.

Tom McHugh, AIA, senior designer in interiors with Flad & Associates in Madison, Wis., first asks new clients about the basics — how many people need to be accommodated, and who needs what to do their job well.

Then he presents ideas to optimize the client’s budget, conserving square footage and reducing expenditures on furnishings. For instance, if 20 people need a desk, but 12 of them are on the road four days a week, McHugh might suggest that they share a common space.

How to allocate limited budgets is always a consideration. Although most companies don’t want labor to feel alienated, executive and sales offices that need to be appealing for customers traditionally are more plush than the loading dock, which has a focus on safety. McHugh says visual continuity is the key to maintaining an atmosphere of teamwork and equality — keeping colors, levels of cleanliness and other factors as uniform as possible.

Also, don’t overlook training needs and the ability to accommodate large gatherings.

It’s usually a good idea to position gathering spaces away from employee traffic areas and kitchens to avoid distractions and odors and provide a more elegant welcome.

“Don’t have interviewees traipsing through cubicles and offices looking at people’s personal possessions,” adds Walker.

Often, training spaces are designed to be adjacent to interview rooms for convenience and image, but creative planning also can work. Varsity’s wide-open lower level was designed for training but also to accommodate the needs of the community at large.

Rooms that perform more than one function also can be very cost effective, says McHugh. For example, walls hinged on pivots can create a closed conference room, then open up to the lobby for large gatherings.

Offices also should be as free of clutter as possible. Storage space for coats, break-room supplies, copy paper and other items must be included in any design. And any headquarters must be kept sparkling; since BSCs are in the business of clean, the tidiness of their own headquarters can speak volumes to visiting customers.

Lori Veit is a business writer and owner of Veit Communications LLC, in Madison, Wis.




POSTED ON: 1/1/2003