The CX Leader Podcast: "The Tenet Experience": Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

The CX Leader Podcast: "The Tenet Experience": this wav audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Steve:
There are some industries that never thought customer experience should be a priority, but recent times have begun to shift their thinking.

Nora:
So when I actually started research, we were focused on property managers and understanding what we could do to help those folks. Their plates are very, very full. Keeping the building running, particularly during COVID with health and safety and the property managers never left the building. To just add on top of that, Ok, now you need to learn how to be an experience manager. That's like asking me, the data dork, to all of a sudden be a marketer.

Steve:
Taking a look at the tenant experience on this episode of The CX Leader Podcast.

Announcer:
The CX Leader Podcast with Steve Walker is produced by Walker, an experience management firm that helps our clients accelerate their XM success. You can find out more at walkerinfo.com.

Steve:
Hello, everyone, I'm Steve Walker, host The CX Leader Podcast and thank you for listening. As we like to say each week, it's a great time to be a CX leader, and this podcast explores the topics and themes to help leaders like you leverage all the benefits of your customer experience and help your customers and prospects want to do more business with you. So many businesses and organizations have had to endure some pretty drastic changes these last couple of years. And the way business owners manage their office space is no exception. With more employees working from home, business leaders have had to rethink how they use their commercial space, and landlords and property managers are starting to think about their tenants' experience while they work to adapt to the current environment. Well, my guests today are going to give us an inside look at how property managers are learning from the value of their tenants experience. Nora Hughes is a lead product researcher and Lauren Mead is the vice president of marketing, both from HqO, an experience platform company that enables real estate firms to deliver state of the art tenant experiences. Nora. Lauren, thanks for being guests on The CX Leader Podcast.

Lauren:
Thanks for having us, Steve.

Nora:
Yeah, thank you.

Steve:
Well, Lauren, let me start with you because I think you're the kind of the executive sponsor at HqO, but why don't you tell me just a little bit about the company? And then you know how how you got into tenant experiences sort of a new frontier here.

Lauren:
So as you mentioned, HqO, we're the leader in workplace experience technology. We work with a lot of landlords across the globe as well as employers and really helping them elevate the experience people have in physical workplaces and how we can complement that with digital experiences. And as part of that, we really kind of think of ourselves as like a universal remote for your office or building. And what that means is taking all the different things that people do, maybe across a lot of different apps, consolidating that into one easy to use app, handling anything from access control, communications, room booking, service offerings, food ordering, all that really great stuff so that we can really improve the experience people have when they're in the office, as well as just help them be more productive and remove friction from their day.

Steve:
And so this is more of a B2B operation, so your customers tend to be the employers that have office space?

Lauren:
Yes, we predominantly sell to landlords and employers, but our users are the employees themselves. It's the actual workers in the building that download the app. So there's definitely a B2C component what we do.

Steve:
That's really cool. And how did you get in this business?

Lauren:
So I've been at HqO for about a year and a half, and I am somewhat new to the commercial real estate space. But I spent pretty much my entire career in customer experience tech, whether it be looking at the banking industry, retail field service. So customer experience is something I'm really passionate about and I really look at what HqO is doing and is so fascinated about how they're transforming something that I think we can all really relate to.

Steve:
And Nora, how about you? What's your background and how did you get to HqO?

Nora:
Yeah, so at HqO, I have the pleasure of spending full time on research, so that means interviewing those employees and users we use the app ourselves to. So I get firsthand research from my own experience, as well as talking to thought leaders in the market about workplace experience and how to make it a really enjoyable. My background is product management and on the data side. So kind of in the weeds analytics person and had no prior experience with commercial real estate, and it's been really exciting to see… I've always been an employee, worked in a building. I never thought about everything that my employer and the building owners and operators were doing behind the scenes. So now I've seen both sides of that. It's pretty interesting.

Steve:
Actually, this is a topic that's very interesting to me personally. I'm a small business owner and actually I'm a partner in the office building that where our company leases the building that no one comes to anymore and we're trying to encourage them to come back, but also wanting to try to remain flexible. So there's a lot that's changed in the last twenty one months related to how people interact with their workspace, isn't there?

Lauren:
Yeah, I think starting one thing, obviously top of mind during the pandemic and in the point where our now workplace experience and office cultures become like dinner table conversation, we go on right where you work and when you go back to the office. So it's certainly a hot topic in this situation with remote work is something that the pandemic definitely accelerated, but it wasn't something that was new to the pandemic, right? Remote work is something that we've been dealing with for a long time and as we become available and the pandemic, has really accelerated it. And then one thing and that's creating a challenge for employers and office owners because I think especially in today's market where talent is harder to attract and retain than ever before. People really want to give employees flexibility, and they want to give them what they want to be able to attract and retain that talent. I think, as you said, I think a lot of employers want their employees back in the office, but they're somewhat scared to kind of make some of those calls and put people in a position where they might feel uncomfortable or obviously keeping health and safety top of mind. So I think really they're thinking about, what we hear a lot of everyone's just in the state, a bit of uncertainty in terms of what's next and how this is going to progress. I think we talked a lot for a while around, like in January, we're going to be back; in September, we're going to be back. And really thinking there is going to be a point in time when this was going to move back. And and I don't think that anymore. I think it's going to be a slow evolution. But I think what data and trends show is that we will be the office full time, five days, probably not. But our office is going to go away and is that need for collaboration and space and human interaction, then diminish? Absolutely not. So it's just looking at not will the office exist, it's how will the office exist.

Nora:
Yeah. And adding a little more there. What I've noticed from being at HqO and working with this industry prior to the pandemic and during was there were pockets of folks with the title experience manager who were doing these types of engagement, social activity, workplace experience, bringing catering services to a building or making sure that there's a community space that folks can book so that they can have a group meeting outside of their office. But the pandemic accelerated that, and so a whole bunch of people needed to quickly learn a lot of new skill sets and new technology in order to do it. So I feel like it's kind of existed, but now it's like learns that everyone's sort of an expert in the future of work. And at the same time, no one really knows what exactly is going to happen.

Steve:
So I guess based on some of your research and what you're doing with how this is emerging, what are some of the common challenges that the, you know, for example, that the landlords have and then also the tenants and the employees? Let's just start with some of the common challenges. And then maybe we could talk about what are some of the typical solutions that we create?

Nora:
Yeah. For the employers, I think it's around finding that balance of giving the employees flexibility, but also making sure that the space that they're paying for and the services are being utilized to their full potential, as well as for employees who want to be in the office, making sure that that is a great experience. So things like I want to go in one day a week, but I want that day to be the day that my teammates are going to be there so we can walk and grab lunch together. So an example of which of a building that the way that they're handling this is their experience manager has set up chair massages and think they're like 10 or 15 minute slots twice a week. And she's found that those are selling out really fast and folks are choosing to come in on those Tuesdays and Thursdays because why not pick the day where you can also get the free chair massage?

Steve:
That's a great story. And you know, a couple of things that you said there, I think, are interesting. You know, one of the things that's happened with this, you know, remote work and flexible work or there there are some jobs that that is not an option for. And for those of us who have that opportunity, I think we should feel really grateful because, you know, there's a lot of people and they tend to be first responders and, you know, but but then like property managers, I guess in a sense, a property manager is a first responder, right? Because they have to be around no matter what, because of the facility. So just kind of a point of gratitude to all of us knowledge workers who can pick and choose where and when we want to work. But the other thing you said, I think, is that health and safety is so critical. I mean, it's sort of like the table stakes, right? If the if the workplace isn't safe, then you don't even get a chance to work on the other stuff. But what we're really trying to do is to actually make the workplace a neat experience so people want to be there, right? Isn't that part of the psychology there, Lauren?

Lauren:
Absolutely. And I think you know what Nora was saying is is a perfect example, right? And one thing we see our customers being really successful with is it may sound silly to throw a happy hour or chair massages and a little bit frivolous in terms of something strategic. But one of things that landlords are struggling with, you know, you talked about challenges is that they actually have zero control about whether people come to their buildings The control of the people making those decisions are their tenants on what they do with their employees. Now they obviously want people back in their building. So how do they become a partner to the to the tenants in their buildings to help them navigate what is such an unchartered territory for everyone in this situation and what they see by doing those little things and creating those great experiences? Those are high value things for the employees, but also offering those things to say, Oh. Going to come in this Monday while creating a habit, right, we've heard we saw this in our return to work strategy. Our customers are saying the same thing is to get someone to come in once and they say, Well, actually, that wasn't so bad. I actually feel safe. I'm going to start coming in again and again, and that's what creates the habit and actually starts to bring people back. And I remember back at that time, like the first time I came back in, it was really scary. And I think we need to recognize that there's change management that everyone's dealing with at this point in time.

Nora:
Yeah, and when you mention the health and safety, too, and it makes me think of is just making sure that baseline of information about what's being done to make the workplace safe is readily available. Right? But if I want to go in and I last minute in the morning, I'm having, just let me double check. I should be able to really quickly find the information on how the building and suite are being kept clean. So that's kind of that table stakes thing, too, that something like technology can make sure that it's done at scale and the landlords can take that off of the employer's plate to just have that information readily available to the tenants.

Lauren:
Maybe it's kind of funny to think about, right? I'm sure everyone's experienced this in their building, but imagine as a landlord trying to provide a great customer experience, but you actually have no connection with your customers, right? The way that they had traditionally communicated with the people working in their building, they send an email to the office manager who hopefully forwards that email along to the tenants, right? And how many of those get you? Delete them, you don't read them. So getting that information and communicating really readily with the tenants technology has been really critical of the app and just cutting the middleman out and being able to directly communicate with the people that they're trying to reach.

Announcer:
Are you looking for a little recognition for your hard work as a CX leader? Well, here's just the opportunity. Applications are now being accepted for the U.S. Customer Experience Awards. Finalists and winners will be named in 19 different CX categories, and you could submit an entry in multiple categories. This could be the chance for your team to finally get the recognition it deserves. To find out more and submit your entry, go to usacxa.com.

Steve:
Hey, my guests on the podcast this week are Nora Hughes and Lauren Mead. They are, respectively researcher and vice president of marketing from a very fascinating company called HqO. I'm really just learning about that for this podcast, but it's really talking about this incredibly interesting world of how do we work and how do we do our work going forward in the future of hybrid working and flexible work arrangements? And it's just been a fascinating discussion and in some ways, a whole new area of the whole customer and employee experience that we talk about so often on this podcast. But yeah, so talk to me a little bit because I'm I'm fascinated with this. You know, one of the big macro changes we've seen because of COVID is it's accelerated everybody's adoption of digital channels. And so what what you offer is, is something that's right on their, the employees phone that they can utilize the services not just of their own employer, but of the building itself?

Lauren:
Yeah, absolutely. So can you be provided by the employer or the landlord? And and ideally kind of in a collaboration between the two, but doing everything from not having to use a physical key card, scanning into the building on your phone, if you have guests coming in, they're able to be able to provide them credentials and let them into the building. And then a little simple things like ordering a lunch and having it delivered directly to your desk or suite, booking a shared meeting space and all the things that go along with that. There's just so many little things that you can do to take the friction out of that.

Steve:
Yeah, I'm fascinated that, you know, I actually traveled this week for business and went to the hotel chain that I tend to frequent and never stopped at the desk. I checked in and got my digital key and it got me in the parking garage and I checked out with it. And, you know, it was just kind of a stop overnight type of deal. But it was amazing how I use that technology. And so that would definitely be applicable to how our employees when they're coming back to the office. So what are some of the cool things that you've seen in the research where organizations have really made tremendous improvements in in this tenant experience?

Nora:
Yeah, yeah. Bunch just trying to pick the best ones. So I think one that I really like is a group of buildings that are stationed outside of a city. And the buildings themselves are not super fancy. But one thing that they did to bring a sense of community, particularly over the past summer, was a local music nights. And they said it were really well attended and we got to go to some of those, some of our employees here, which was awesome to see that in person. And one of the benefits for the landlord was that it didn't have to be specific to one of those buildings, so they could take the tenants from across a whole group of buildings and basically let these employers connect with each other. So run one events that casts a wider net and from the employee side, it's fun and different thing. It's kind of by your employer, but it's also a chance to maybe meet someone who works at a different building. And again, that that aspect of, Hey, if you're going to come to the office this week, why not do it before music nights? Or if you've got a coworker who can't make it in that day, they can still come and participate in the evening. The other one that I've really liked is I'm trying to think of my best one.

Steve:
Well, that actually that local music night is brilliant. I hadn't thought about that, and it reminded me of a podcast I just recorded a few weeks ago. And I think this is really key for customer experience people to think about. But there's some things that people are going to want to go back to the way that things were, and live music is a perfect example. You know, it just isn't the same to watch a, you know, a concert or a live music performance streaming. It's not. It never will be. But then there are other things that people will not go back like. For example, I don't think people are going to want to get up, fight traffic and drive to a meeting at 7:30 in the morning downtown when they could do it on Zoom, you know? And so I think that's actually that's a real, neat framework for us to think about is we're designing experiences, you know, are we making this easier for people to do the things that they want to go back to? Or are we also considering the things that maybe they don't want to go back to? Maybe you have an example, maybe a little more micro level of of maybe from an individual or something like that.

Lauren:
We heard a really interesting story this week from a user that I was talking to there actually a partner, but they're a customer of ours as well. And I think this one really stood out to me because, you know, we talk so much about the building and the physical space and, you know, buildings being empty, but landlords having an opportunity to create community even for the people that maybe are working permanently remotely, or just working remotely for a day, right? They continue to be part of the community they're created for, this particular individual is telling me that while remote some of her colleagues, they actually use the app and all did virtual yoga classes together, right? So they were able to connect with colleagues. It was a service that their landlord provided for them to connect, and it's just making adding value even when people can't be in the physical building.

Nora:
Yeah, that made me think of another example. Or I guess it's a trend that we're seeing a lot of is currently most employers sign a lease for one building, and you only have access to that one building. But oftentimes the owner of that building owns multiple ones. And so rather than what you described, right, you don't want to drive downtown for that seven 30 meeting. Oh my gosh, it's terrible. But maybe you don't want to take it at home because that's when kids are getting ready to leave school. So if there's a suburban office near your place that you can pop in to and take the meeting there, great option. So some of that is still coming to fruition as landlords set up all the things necessary to make that happen. But the idea of I don't want to take this call from a Starbucks, but I don't want to deal with the traffic. It just need a place to have an effective workday for a whole meeting half a day. I feel like we've seen that a lot more, too.

Steve:
Yeah, actually, I've learned some stuff just from talking to you because I really is a small business owner. I've been struggling with some of these things myself, you know, and we tried the cocktail parties and the free lunches and stuff like that. But I think you've really expanded at least my thought process of what else could we be doing? You know, and then the other aspect I think of this is, you know, our suddenly our talent pools are much broader, too that we can attract people like now. We probably this year hired people in five or six new states and that sort of the innovation of people that are remote. You create some interesting community there, too. So I is that part of the tool, even for the folks that don't regularly come in the office?

Nora:
Absolutely, yeah. The example Lauren gave, a lot of our customers are setting up experiences or information in the apps that people can connect to, like the person. Yeah, there was one. I saw a healthy holiday cooking in the app. I thought, Oh, it makes me feel guilty, but there's a class that we can take for free. If you want to do holiday cooking, I'm going to gingerbread.

Steve:
But yeah, what fun would that be? I thought the no calories count during the holidays, right?

Lauren:
Another really popular thing is like perks, right? So if you're a remote employee, often you don't have the benefit of getting some of the perks that are traditionally associate in an office, and we provide a universal content calendar that our customers have the opportunity to take advantage of if they choose where we negotiate deals with a lot of different vendors, there's added content things of that nature. So just because I'm working remote doesn't mean I get no perks. I'm getting five percent off on Drizly or discounts to other gifting providers as I'm getting my holiday shopping. So it's giving people a little something extra that they can feel good about and associate with their building owner or their employer.

Steve:
Lauren and Nora, we've reached that point in the podcast, where I always ask every guest to give us their best take home value. This is something that our listeners could take back to their offices or to their jobs and implement it immediately to improve what they're doing for their organizations. So Nora, you want to kick us off?

Nora:
Sure. So mine is not a task, but rather a mindset. I'm going to say embrace the ambiguity. Experience management in commercial real estate is new. No one has the right playbook and there is no right answer. All you can do is use what you know to sort of test and see what's working for that specific group of employees or tenants and then changes and try to learn as you go. So embrace the ambiguity. Be my tip.

Steve:
Lauren, how about you?

Lauren:
I think my tip is really not to stay too focused on your industry and think about those around you. Right? We talked about commercial real estate as an industry that's somewhat early in the CX life cycle and other industries that are much further ahead. And I think you'll find companies and industries on other sides of those scales wherever you are. So really, look outside your industry, see what others are doing and how you can apply some of those universal concepts to what you're doing.

Steve:
Well, Lauren, Nora, thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast. If people would want to continue the conversation. Are you both on LinkedIn or do you have a company website where they could find you that you could just share with us?

Nora:
Both on LinkedIn. So feel free to connect and you can visit our website at www.hqo.com.

Steve:
And if you want to talk about anything you heard on this podcast or about how Walker can help your business's customer experience, feel free to email me at podcast@walkerinfo.com. Be sure to check out our website cxleaderpodcast.com to subscribe to our show, find all of our previous episodes. We organize them by series and information contact. You're also can drop us a note there. Let us know how we're doing or suggest an idea for a future podcast. The CX Leader Podcast is a production of Walker. We're an experience management firm that helps companies accelerate their XM success. You can read more about us at walkerinfo.com. Thank you for listening, and remember, it's a great time to be a CX leader. We'll see you again next time.

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