Prime location offices key for employee retention

According to Savills latest ‘What Workers Want’ report, office space developers, landlords and providers must focus on location and connectivity in order to keep their employees. 

As unemployment across Europe reaches its ten year low, employees are much less committed to staying with the same company for the long term. The report, which analyses data from 11,000 workers across the continent reveals that 40% of Europe’s workers are expecting to leave their current job within the next 5 years. In countries such as Sweden, Ireland and Britain, this number is as high as 52%. 

“Employees are of course a company’s most valuable asset which means the pressure to attract and retain the very best workforce is now creating one of the most significant challenges” said one representative of Savills European research. 

With this in mind, the report examines why people leave their jobs and subsequently what companies can do to combat this. 

The top factor was length of commute to work, with 86% of people considering it an important factor in whether or not to stay at a job. This comes as no surprise to the 44% of the UK workforce that travel over 30 minutes each way for work, which have the most expensive rail services in Europe despite also being the most crowded and understaffed. 61% of respondents said they would rather leave their job than add an extra 15 minutes to their commute each way. This would imply that office developers must put location above everything else in order to attract more occupiers that understand this trend. 

Offices in prime central London locations boast a 4.2% vacancy rate, down from the 4.3% ten year average. Having said this, it can be assumed with a reasonable degree of certainty that the lowest vacancies would be those situated near tube stations and bus stops. 

This was followed closely by the quality of Wi-Fi and a good 4G signal reaching the office, with 83% considering it important. With connectivity being more important than ever before, internet access beats factors like car parking with ease. Office landlords/providers must prioritise building-wide high quality Wi-Fi to remain relevant in the current market.

Among the least important factors in staying at their job included the ability to recycle and proximity to parks. 

For further insight into the prime office market and occupancy drivers, Europe GRI takes place on 11-12 September in Paris. 

For a more in depth look into occupier demands, commercial investment strategies and future office trends, GRI Offices 2019 takes place on 19-20 November in London. 

Article by Matt Harris