The Five-Star Office: Cultivating Workplace Experience with Heart and Hospitality

Connect with: Maggie Cantalupo | LinkedIn

Learn More About: Hospitality, Concierge & Work Order Services | IST Confirm | Where Technology Meets Hospitality | Elevate Your Workplace Experience and Hospitality | Visitor Management | The Rise of Hoteling | Space Planning | Creating Workplace Experiences | Creating a High-End Experience in Unexpected Spaces | More Meetings for the Modern Office | The Golden Opportunity of Hybrid Work

Key Takeaways:

• The Evolution of Workplace Experience: The concept of the workplace has fundamentally shifted, particularly since the pandemic, from basic facility management to a holistic "workplace experience". The goal is to create a "welcoming environment" where employees and visitors want to be, feel comfortable, and can "thrive to work," extending to every aspect from security to the mailroom.

• Hospitality is the Core Foundation: Drawing on her extensive background in five-star hotels, Maggie Cantalupo emphasizes that "hospitality is the foundation" for all professional spaces—offices, universities, and hospitals. This foundation is about creating a specific "feeling and the experience" for everyone within these environments.

• Customization is Essential, Not Just Generic Luxury: The "five-star" office experience isn't about universal fanciness, but about deep immersion in the client's unique culture, personality, and values. Maggie stresses that "a workplace experience isn't one size fits all," but rather "it's the services and how you customize those services is what differentiates", tailoring solutions to specific needs like the discretion required for a law firm or the community focus of a university.

• "Leading with Heart" and Emotional Intelligence in Staff: A crucial element of delivering this experience is the quality of the people. Maggie highlights the importance of hiring individuals who "really lead with heart and wanting to help and care for others," fostering an attitude beyond "it's not my job". This human-centric approach, supported by training in "emotional intelligence," ensures staff act as a seamless "extension of their brand".

• Direct Link to Productivity and Employee Retention: Investing in a superior workplace experience yields tangible business benefits. Maggie explicitly states, "it's important to be cared for because that's where your productivity is going to come from". By creating an environment where people feel valued and stresses are removed, companies can boost productivity and improve "retention" of their "best people," as employees expect to be cared for in the modern work environment.