This year, ServiceChannel commemorates its 25th anniversary. To celebrate, we’ve put together 25 of the most interesting tips for facilities transformation from some of our guests over the past three seasons.
This year, ServiceChannel commemorates its 25th anniversary. To celebrate, we’ve put together 25 of the most interesting tips for facilities transformation from some of our guests over the past three seasons.
Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.
On today’s episode, we’ll review some of the most compelling insights from our guests over the past three seasons of the show. From the impact of AI to addressing the labor shortage to the customer experience of the future, this episode is a heavy hitter!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:48 - Solving the Facilities PR Problem: Jackie Aubel, host of “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast
02:41 - Good Standards Result in Good Experiences: Roger Goldstein, Executive Director of Facilities and Energy at Panda Restaurant Group
04:22 - Raising Awareness About Facilities’ Importance: Kara Cutino, Vice President, Store Development, Facilities Services, Asset Protection & Store Purchasing at Ascena Retail Group
06:13 - Shift to Preventative Maintenance: David Shalenbourg, Technical Director with Delhaize Technics
07:07 - The Short End of the Stick: Nick Ammaturo, Head of Indirect Procurement, Subway
12:02 - Leveraging Technology to Address Shortages: Leigh Pearson, Senior Director of Facilities, sustainability, sourcing, and Procurement at Staples Canada
14:25 - Why Investors are Looking to the Trades: Frankie Costa, CEO of Helios Partners
15:40- Maintenance as Key to Customer Loyalty: Caitlin Wischermann-Ornitz, VP Strategy at Champagne Hospitality
18:10 - Have an Asset Management Strategy: RJ Zanes, Senior Director, Facilities Maintenance at Sam's Club
21:26 - Evolving with Technology: Mike Guinan, Vice President Operations Services at White Castle
22:20 - Make good on Your Investments: Tom Sansoucy, VP, Facilities at EG Group, America
25:00 - Elevate Holistically: John Ludlow, VP of Omni Operations at Designer Brands
28:06 - The Positive Impact of Diversity: Jaclyn Frenzel, President, OnSite
31:23- Accelerate Efficiency with Tech: Deena McKinley, Chief Experience Officer at Papa Gino’s Pizza
33:51 - Leveraging VR in the Trades: Doug Donovan, CEO of Interplay Learning
35:22 - The ROI of Investing in Great Customer Experiences: Josh Witte, Director of Energy, Sustainability, and ESG at Dollar Tree
36:33 - Build the Right Team: Kenneth Jones, Director of Facilities at Heartland Dental
38:40 - Uplift Your Brand Through Facilities: Mark Warren, Vice President, Facilities, Real Estate & Development at KinderCare Learning Companies
39:53 - Make an Experience Seamless: David Bloom, Chief Development and Operating Officer at Capriotti’s and Wing Zone
41:25 - The Necessary Path Forward: Jim Owens, Chief Growth Officer at SDI
43:35 - Using Convenience to Your Advantage: Chris Walton, Co-CEO of Omni Talk
45:22 - Subtle Design is Your Friend: Mark Landini, Creative Director, Landini Associates
47:56 - Good Relationships Result in Success: Jamie Goldberg, Vice President Real Estate and Development at One Medical
49:15- Closing Thoughts from Sid
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[00:00:00] Sid: Hello everyone and welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar, a podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance. I'm your host, Sid Shetty, Chief Business Development Officer at ServiceChannel. This year, ServiceChannel celebrates its 25th anniversary. To have some fun, we put together our 25 favorite and most interesting moments from the show. I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all the great guests we've had on the show. Thank you for your time and for the amazing conversations. I also want to thank you! Our audience for the overwhelming response to the show and for going on this journey with us.
[00:00:43] So without further ado, on with the show.
[00:00:47] 1. Jackie Aubel
[00:00:48] Sid Shetty: Our industry has a massive PR problem because we don't do a good job with really articulating the impact we make on the brands that we serve, right? We are always there when something goes wrong. But no one is necessarily articulating the impact we have on the brand experience, the, you know, the customer experience and the top line because ultimately, what better manifestation of a brand and what they think of a customer than the actual physical site that the customer is walking into. What are you hearing about, you know, from their perspective about the built environment and the space as a whole and the impact that they make, you know, to, you know, the physical space and the brands, do you feel like they believe that they get enough credit?
[00:01:35] Jackie Aubel: I think that all of the providers that I work with are all incredibly versed and know how impactful branding is. Especially when it comes to emergency services like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, all that stuff. This is something that comes up on the show all the time. A lot of the time when you get an inbound call as a service provider, it's an emergency.
[00:01:58] It has to be sorted right now. No one is like, you know what, I would really love a new air conditioning unit, let me just like shop around. I mean, I'm sure maybe there are people out there who do that. But generally speaking, it's, you know, 105 degrees outside, your air conditioner unit just broke, and you have children at home, or going to the facilities management side, you have a business to run, and your air conditioner just blew, you need to get that fixed ASAP, or you can't have people in your store physically.
[00:02:26] So it's an emergency. So the service providers that I talk to talk about how brand is so important because when you're in that fight or flight mode, when you're in that problem solving mode, you're not really going to peruse and do some window shopping. You're going to call the people that made an impact for you.
[00:02:41] Roger Goldstein
[00:02:41] Roger: people don't think, oh, the facilities team must be doing great here or not doing so well. They just think this brand is falling apart. It's really it looks it's dingy, and we don't want that.
[00:02:52] Sid: that's right. And there are stories out there right. Of, of brands. You walk in and you'll look up and tiles are broken, fixtures are broken and, and in today's world, like, you know, social media and photographs that that can be posted in, in, in one second. Um, you know, consumers have a higher expectation now, right? Consumers, uh, rightfully so consumers want to know that.
[00:03:20] the, the brand is investing in their experience. Um, and, and when they walk in, uh, they expect a certain level, um, that, that, you know, makes them feel good about. Getting out of the house, right? If, cause if they didn't want to come into the store or the restaurant, you know, there's mult, there's multiple channels.
[00:03:43] Now that allow you to just sit on your couch and an auto food or order for any goods, right. It'll just come to your doorstep. But someone is vested in that experience and they're getting out of their home, getting into a car and driving to your store or restaurant. And, and with that comes expectations.
[00:04:03] Roger: That's absolutely correct. I mean, dining out as an experience. Uh, very few places can get. Just tell her outstanding food in a dingy, terrible atmosphere. And so to, to, to provide that experience to people, uh, you really do have to, to maintain a certain level of standard
[00:04:22] Frankie: Kara Cutino
[00:04:22] Sid: Do you think that as an industry collectively we can do anything different to raise awareness about what we do and, and why we do it?
[00:04:32] Kara: I think there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure that a, a business stays open. And I think there's a lot of strategy around how we deploy. Uh, work. And I think there's a lot of work that's done behind the scenes around trying to keep costs down in this economy, et cetera, that we just don't publicize. Um, and I think that comes with, um, having greater levels of detail provided to us so that we can tell that story.
[00:05:01] And I think as an organization or as an industry, I think we talk a lot about, um, service, but I don't think that we, we don't provide great. Um, Insight into what that looks like. I mean, people think it's a broken toilet all the time, right? That's not necessarily what it is, you know? And I think that, um, you know, we probably don't celebrate ourselves well enough at all.
[00:05:22] David Schalenbourg
[00:05:23] Sid: I love how you talk about customer experience about the brand like that is front and center to the, you know, to, to your mission and your, and your purpose as well as sustainability.
[00:05:35] Um, and fixing broken things like comes with it at some point, right. But that's not the primary function. And it's one of the things that we're trying to. Uh, spread the word about, which is, um, facilities, um, is way more than just, um, you know, being able to fix things faster. Right.
[00:05:55] David: Um, I, I fully agree. I think, um, there's a for every organization or every company, uh, I think it's very important to have a, a good follow up on, on their assets.
[00:06:11] And, uh, I think we waste a lot of money on, on that by just, um, not a proper maintenance, no timely maintenance, uh, being more in reactive maintenance. And, um, we worked a lot of that at, at and we really went, we shifted from reactive maintenance and being very good fireman and okay. We can solve any problem.
[00:06:36] No problem. Uh, to being more like in preventive maintenance and anticipating, and, uh, we're even moving beyond. And the next, uh, thing is going to predictive maintenance. IOT plays a, a major role in that. And you want to have a brick network, but you want to have an intelligent brick network. Yeah. And you need to connect your stores and be able to follow and monitor what's happening in the store.
[00:07:06] Joshua Witte: Nick Ammaturo
[00:07:07] Sid: So Nick, if you, if you look at the variety of organizations and verticals and, and demographics, uh, that are being catered to out there, um, yes, different organizations maybe do things differently. What do you think they all really understand, uh, the importance of facilities as it relates to, uh, the overall perception or the overall experience of customer has, uh, is that.
[00:07:39] Nick: Yeah, I think it's, there's never, there's never enough focus. I will say that in any organization I've worked, uh, I don't think that it's taken as serious as it could be. Um, and, and because I've touched so many different categories of procurement from the services side of the business to direct materials, to packaging you name it, I've, I've touched it in procurement and supporting multiple organizations.
[00:08:04] I always, I never felt that facilities has the attention. It deserves as having the impact it could have on a location. It's always more reactive. I've seen it very reactive. I've seen high turnover. I've seen underpaid staff with not getting the recognition, um, qualified staff in roles that they're just not suited to support.
[00:08:30] And it is a constant challenge, especially coming in as a procurement professional, looking to support these departments and roles that there's, there's a lack of education. It's not, it's not the individual's fault. They may be fell into the role because they were in a position that it just made sense to.
[00:08:49] Oh, you know, you're in operations, you know, facilities make sense for you to take over. Um, but unfortunately I've just never seen the attention. It each, it really deserves. And it, it, it then impacts the stores. You know, it impacts the stores, um, the morale, you know, that it's not important that, you know, the, the facilities team doesn't have a seat at the table on decision makers. You know, construction tech typically, especially in, you know, actually most organizations it's construction led, you know, sort of projects where construction will determine specs. They'll determine, you know, they'll work with a creative or an interior designer, architect and facilities is left sort of cleaning up.
[00:09:33] I'd say the mass because, and I wish it wasn't a mess, unfortunately in most remodels or store redesigns and renovations, there's typically an issue like it's, it's whether, you know, this elevator is hard to clean and it, because it's total, it's all glass, of course, it's hard to clean. It's all glass, you know?
[00:09:53] And so it's, it looks really pretty. But, you know, to actually maintain the cleanliness is really difficult. And then, so not only from the cleanliness perspective, but even the maintenance, it's a, it's a space elevator example. Like someone thought it was a great idea. And there's only so many service providers that can maintain that elevator.
[00:10:13] So now you've limited your pool of vendors in a, in a very challenging market, if not the most challenging, this is a specific retailer in Manhattan in Manhattan and San Francisco are the two most difficult markets to really find, you know, affordable talent and vendors. And so you've limited. Now the design does, it was a design driven.
[00:10:36] At that, that led that store design. And I see that constantly, and it's from rugs to material floors, you know, types of wood, you know, people are choosing softwood for their floors and next thing you know, they're gouged up and dented. And so I've seen it so many times that unfortunately there's a lack of communication.
[00:10:57] And importance on the role of facilities that that is, could have, they could have on a store. Um, and even just being included in the conversation. It's, uh, I've never seen it really done well. Um, and I've, I've been fortunate to work with some very talented facilities, um, sort of support roles that people that really shine because they know what they're doing.
[00:11:20] And I'm like, okay, so I know what success looks like, but I don't see it often at organizations. Um, and there's very few talented individuals out there in, in facilities. And I think there'd be more, I feel, I feel really strongly that there would be more if it was a better supported category. And if it was important, you, you would be able to develop that Um, but when it's not important and there's high turnover, low wages, it's, it's very difficult to motivate somebody to stay in that role and continue in that role. Most of them want to transition out of that role and it might just be a stint because that's, that's all they could get. And that's really unfortunate for the category.
[00:12:01] John: Leigh pearson
[00:12:02] Sid Shetty: Organizations today are doing some really interesting things, as it relates to robotics and AI uh, to address the challenges, the labor shortage because it's not enough folks available in the front of house to greet the customer, and spend time with the customer. And so the kind of experience that they're trying to create in the location. It's leveraging a lot of new technologies.
[00:12:29] Do you think facilities is doing enough to be that department that handles the tech of the future as well?
[00:12:38] Leigh Pearson: I think, and I'm generalizing so I can only speak from my experience. I think facilities, individuals tend to jump in no matter what.
[00:12:46] Sid Shetty: Yeah.
[00:12:46] Leigh Pearson: I think we are a community of doers. We wanna help. So, you know, and, and I'm probably extremely guilty of this myself. No problem. We'll take it, we'll do it. We'll look at it. But I do think that as things continue to automate, we have to really reflect on what are the skills we require internally to help support that. So, as an example, when I think about the composition of my team and how it's changed over the years, from having perhaps some coordinators and, and having individuals who support, say mail services, food services, things of that nature, and more corporate buildings, onsite maintenance technicians.
[00:13:29] But moving now to, okay, we're gonna require some electricians on site, we require engineering expertise because, It is changing around us. And the reality is if we're going to support it and support it well and be a trusted partner we need to have the goods, right? So we need to have that expertise. And so it's, it's about also really looking and saying, now what are the, what are the new skill sets? What are the new types of roles that we need to think about to better manage that? And then I would say, but also we have to think about what training aids and learning aids and job aids are required on site now to support, like it's not just how do we support.
[00:14:07] Frankie: 7. Frankie Costa
[00:14:08] Sid: We're seeing this happen across the board where there's PE money coming in and there's consolidation of, you know, of certain types of trades and companies. What's driving that? You know, as, as a trend, what's making it an attractive space for, for this to happen.
[00:14:25] Frankie: We're seeing a lot of dislocations in the economy from the rise of AI to the pandemic and You can track what's happened in some of the more glamorous spaces and some, you know, turned down in technology and elsewhere. I think there's a real appetite in the investment community for core service market fit, inelastic demand, and things that are less subject to automation or offshoring or some of the primary disruptions that have changed the landscape of the industry rapidly.
[00:15:05] But there is no immediate view that AI is going to have the dexterity, uh, the diagnostic ability, um, to go up on a rooftop, right, robotized, and change a compressor, right, or in a mechanical room. Um, and so a lot of it is that it is a great fundamental business where you have rapidly increasing demand. People still need these core trades, actually more than ever. Um, and you have, uh, supply that is, you know, less subject to disruption.
[00:15:39] 8. caitlin ornitz:
[00:15:40] Sid: what are your views on the role of design and construction, and honestly, you know, maintenance of those physical spaces in delivering your brand promise, especially when it comes to luxury.
[00:15:54] Caitlin: It's important to build a beautiful product. People want to stay in a beautiful hotel, right? This is something a lot of people can get right, by the way. There are many phenomenal architects in the world. There are a lot of people willing to invest a lot of money into a beautiful hotel, right?
[00:16:13] There are less phenomenal locations, by the way, so you can be the world's greatest architect and be given a terrible location to build that phenomenal hotel and, by the way, it's never going to cut it. But if you have the combination of a great physical location, you've done your investment correctly, you've built a beautiful product, um, it has a good feeling, the architecture is beautiful, the design is beautiful, that is one half of the equation. And it is a very important one, but I don't think is necessarily the hardest thing to get right. What you're alluding to on the second piece is how do you take care of your investments. And I think that takes one, the ownership side of things need to have a committed investment to maintaining your asset, right? Making sure that you're putting capital, um, into taking care of it, having, and for us, our investment horizon helps support that. On the operational side, though, it's something that I've alluded to already is like the people who work with us. Care about the product itself.
[00:17:24] Sid: What is your view of the biggest driver when it comes to gaining customer loyalty?
[00:17:32] Caitlin: Loyalty is all guest experience. It is delivering what you said you would, when you said you would, and going beyond. It is about making people feel seen, and like you are not just customizing something to them because, um, you do it for everybody and it's got like a little tiny spin because it's this person, but really going the extra mile to make them feel like they're wanted and seen and feel like they, Um, and also being there in the moments when they need you.
[00:18:09] RJ Zanes
[00:18:10] Sid: Sam's club locations are as large as they get. So what does your asset management strategy look like?
[00:18:17] RJ: Yeah, no, I said, I'm glad you brought that up. I mean, members come to shop with us to buy bulk, right? I mean, you think about the changing economy. With COVID and the way that it impacted the way that individuals purchase products, right. Um, they purchased in bulk because, you know, they shifted from working at a brick and mortar office to working from home.
[00:18:38] Um, and even in today's environment, uh, you know, working from a hybrid situation, it's still that demand and then there's supply chain issues. And so people are going to stock up to offset the supply chain issues and they'll continue to, and it's important that our product is readily available. Uh, to them on time, every time.
[00:18:55] And so our asset strategy is really a hundred percent around, um, providing that member delight. Right? I am, I'm a hundred percent obsessed with, uh, with maintenance. I'm very passionate about it. Um, I've done it for a long time and I absolutely love it. And I wouldn't want to do anything else other than one ID today.
[00:19:12] And, um, if you think about an asset strategy and you think about life, uh, life cycle, asset management and life cycle, asset modeling, and really working to lower, the total cost of. By optimizing, um, your uptime, um, you, you talked about, uh, reducing downtime and, uh, you know, getting to, to no downtime, right.
[00:19:32] But there's, there's a pivotal moment, um, in, in that lifecycle, um, asset strategy. Um, where it, you know, you can, over-invest in an asset to try to get to a hundred percent, um, you know, uptime, which, uh, may cause a higher, uh, total cost of ownership than what's needed. And so you've got to work to find the optimal uptime for a specific asset.
[00:19:56] And what that really means is balancing investments into an asset against the cost of downtime and finding out where those two meet to identify what your optimal uptime state is for that specific asset. And so that's what we work on here. Um, quite heavily is, is identifying the optimal uptime states, um, through all of the means of investments. Proactive maintenance to reactive maintenance, to predictive maintenance, to condition-based monitoring, to spare parts programs, all of that kind of stuff from an investment perspective, and then determining how each of those are going to offset downtime and what the cost of that downtime is. Right. And that's things like lost product, lost sales, lost productivity hours, right?
[00:20:38] And so we work to balance all of that to identify that optimal uptime state, um, for our. Right. As we want to ensure that we are hitting that optimal uptime state. So when they come shop with us, it's there. Right. Um, and, and further, we want to ensure that we are quantifying the conditions of our assets, right?
[00:20:54] We want to ensure that we understand exactly where those opportunities lie within our buildings. Whether that be lighting levels, whether that be floor gloss scores, whether that be our restrooms, and the need for updating from a fixture perspective or whether it be out in our landscaping and we've got dead trees or, or other, right.
[00:21:14] We want to ensure that we quantify those conditions and understand exactly where those gaps lie. And so we can work to pinpoint investment, but then also drive accountability through means of quality assurance.
[00:21:25] Frankie: Mike guinan
[00:21:26] Sid: How are restaurants looking at the space evolved? What do you think is working and where, where do you think we still as an industry, you know, need to adapt, you know, to do what? What's going on right now in The space?
[00:21:41] Mike: We need to be prepared to give the customer what they want, when they want it, and how they want it .
[00:21:47] Sid: Yeah.
[00:21:48] Mike: right? And so as we look forward, we're very much in tune with, today. I may be a drive-through customer tomorrow. I may want it delivered the next day. I may want to come in and sit down with my family or have a business meeting.
[00:22:03] And so, depending on what you want or how you wanna interact with the brand, We've gotta be able to deliver that to you no matter how, no matter what way you want it. Very timely with quality food and to meet or exceed your expectations.
[00:22:20] Mike: Tom Sansoucy
[00:22:20] Sid: can you share what has been some of the greatest challenges that you know, within facilities you see. that prevents you from fulfilling the full potential, that you or your teams can have on, on the brand. And can you also share like some important investments that have helped you along the way?
[00:22:41] Tom: well, when I think of challenges, and I hope I'm answering your question the way? you intended it, but, issues that, that we have in our, in our department today, I think that maybe, we're not able to offer the level of service that, that we would really need to offer.
[00:22:57] I think directly related to some of the issues that we've had since the pandemic, like landscaping services and floor care services, have become more difficult to manage. And it's been a challenge for us trying to find a way to, to manage those programs and, and have our,facilities, kept at the standards that they need to be.
[00:23:18] I feel like, we're falling short there and that's not good. So we're putting a lot of effort into that, investments that we've made. I would say that, A lot of investment was made, prior to our acquisition by AIG group, at Cumberland farms, we, we invested in people, and in our process. And, it was a good thing because when we were acquired, we were able to, a lot of what we had built was, could be scaled, to a larger number of stores. And, in some cases, straining those procedures and systems revealed weaknesses, and we had to make some more investments. Technology is as an area that, we had made an investment in and that paid off for sure.
[00:24:00] Having, they. Our work order management system set up and having it be able to scale that was, that was, an important, an important piece of being able to take on all the new locations. And other investments are really in building our internal group, so we're, we're investing in like trainers and, more, supervisory and management, so that we can really, we need to take care of, of, of the technicians, provide for them, make sure that they have everything that they need. And that there is enough, folks to, to spread the workload so that we're not burning people out. That's something about facilities. I think we all, anyone who's in the, in the facilities world knows, you've gotta be careful. there are a lot of broken things out there. There are a lot of problems that need to be followed up on. And frankly, any given time, all the, all those issues are waiting for you and you can give as much of yourself as you want towards resolving them. And so it's, it's like a balance of working smart and working hard,
[00:24:59] John Ludlow
[00:25:00] Sid: it's interesting because there's still a labor shortage in the market, depending on which kind of, industry or vertical or the kind of business we're talking about.
[00:25:10] There's a dearth of like skilled workforce. There's a dearth of Talent that can help, businesses, run their day-to-day operations. And so a lot of businesses are leveraging technology and robotics and a lot of interesting innovation to simplify, the jobs, right? it's in the restaurant space, you've got so many, different restaurants trying out new things.
[00:25:35] To, make the more physically, challenging jobs become slightly more tolerable. for example, pandas coming out with auto walk, they actually already have it, where you make the food using a robot versus having a person like work the walk. All day, every day. More kiosks are seen now. Likeif you walk into the, an airport today, my God, like you see kiosks everywhere. kiosks at traditional restaurants, takeouts, like you see them in the airports. it's unbelievable. Like you're, different retailers are trying different things, different restaurants are trying different things, but it's not to, make this less human. It's probably to just reallocate the people that you do have to give a better human experience to your consumer. What are your thoughts on that?
[00:26:26] John: You're, I think you're exactly right. technology. is a compliment to the human interactions, right? I think people still want to talk to people. that's another, that's something, that's another thing that hasn't changed.
[00:26:39] Sid: Yeah.
[00:26:39] John: despite Covid, people still want to have, physical interactions when they're in a store.
[00:26:43] They want to, get help when they need it. So we are investing in technology to compliment that. To your point, in our warehouse reimagined story headway. We invested in scan and go checkout kiosk. and it's to do exactly what you said, it's a compliment. if customers want to be checked out by one of our associates, they still can.
[00:27:03] but we want to be able to invest in that technology. So when you're a customer and you just want to grab and go, and be on the run, that we have the Cape technology capability to support that journey. and so we've seen tremendous results, from a scan and go, kiosk perspective is something that we continue to be investing in all of our go forward warehouse reimagined stores.
[00:27:24] And it's also something that we're gonna be looking at for our high volume locations as well, because we wanna drive. if you look at most retailers, the majority of your payroll spend is at the cash wrap. So if you can alleviate some of those, long lines, right? people leaving their bags because the line's a little too long, and get people through, to your exact point, you can, reallocate those, associates onto the sales floor.
[00:27:48] Whether it is to help, a customer buy something online, they're not seeing that size or color in a store, or just answer any general product inquiries, I think. Through technology and reallocation of labor, you can, holistically elevate the in-store shopping experience.
[00:28:05] Jaclyn Frenzel
[00:28:06] Sid Shetty: we should all care about diversity, right? it's so important, that we do the right thing, but, uh, I wanna understand. Why is diversity important? why do you do what you do? Right. We know it's the right thing, but I'd like to share with our audience, on your perspective, on the impact it's had within your organization and ultimately, how does it help, what you offer as a service to your customer?
[00:28:31] Jaclyn Frenzel: It's an interesting question and I wanna take it a little bit further and say that I think it's also different between the. Of facilities that they manage. So if you're looking at retail facility management versus say restaurant facility management, I see a large difference between the type of facility managers in both of those spaces. and in one side I see a lot of highly educated, very, um, construction driven, professionals that are using a lot of data and analytics. And then in the other side, I see a lot of grassroots having learned on the job came from skilled trade type of organizations and then worked their way into facilities. And so you see them managed in two very different types of ways. Not for, you know, one being better than the other. Um, but it's just an interesting, I I've noticed it. And it was, it's always been very curious to me to see why that is. Uh, and I think it goes back to the type, the number of facilities that you're managing and who you're reporting to. So some organizations report are public and they report to boards and it's, it's very, necessary that they have, they have an education with business and, and software and analytics and all of that behind them where the other they're managing fewer locations and they are very hands on and need to have that skillset to be able to diagnose and properly fix the equipment. So that's where I see it. where it currently is, where I see it going though, regardless of what your background is, I see it going very much. with data and analytics driven and AI, humans and all of us are still gonna be very much a part of this process, but we are going to be relying upon. Real time data to make very quick decisions and be able to deploy, the best solutions in a much shorter amount of time. I think this will help lessen the burden and stress on facility managers in some respect. Um, it might have its own repercussions on, on the back end because now you're managing a lot more. however, I.
[00:30:48] see that. It's going to be a positive impact because we'll be able to see exactly what's happening, where it's happening and then how to deploy solutions, you know, rather quickly, over the last decade, I've seen this go from a very paper industry to a very digital industry. And I see that now progress even further with the advancement of AI and it's starting to. Diagnose the problems and see patterns. and I see that that's going to really impact the types of professionals who get into this industry.
[00:31:22] John: 15. Deena McKinley
[00:31:23] Sid: Some really cool things that are happening in the restaurant space with robotics. There's all these things that are happening, you know, back of house. But also like front of house with robots being used to, you know, bus tables deliver your drinks. These are just some of the advancements that are happening in the automation and the world of robotics. What excites you? What do you think is here to stay and what do you think is not gonna change about the business that, that you are in?
[00:31:51] Deena: That's a great question. I think that the best part about automation and robotics and the advancements in technology is anything that will help us create more efficiencies within our labor. I don't like to look at these advancements as replacements of people. I like to look at them as ways that we can enhance the guest experience, because what these technology advancements allow us to do is free up our people to do the things that they do best, that the robotics and that the technology cannot do, which is have better guest interactions, make our food faster and better, present it faster and better. Try to figure out what else we can do to create better experiences, get more involved with people in the restaurants, know our customers better, and try to advance frequency and, and other things by gaining more knowledge of, the guests in our restaurants. So, to me, having all of this great technology, it serves a purpose as labor reallocation instead of labor replacement. And I think that it's really important for us to remember that because that reallocation of labor to doing the things that people are best at doing is what's gonna make our businesses better. And we have to remember, I mean, first and foremost, we're in the people business. We are. The whole thing about restaurants and hospitality industry, I mean hospitality, we are a people, business people first. You know, going back to the very beginning of this conversation. we are all here because of the people in the restaurants, the team members in the restaurants are our whole reason for being, and that's not gonna change anytime soon, in my opinion. And so anything that we do, again, just enhances what they can do.
[00:33:50] 16. doug donovan
[00:33:51] Doug Donovan: We're trying to build trainings on installation, diagnostic repair, commissioning, inspection, equipment operation, procedure, preventive maintenance, right?
[00:34:01] Sid Shetty: How do you go about deciding that journey in terms of what content is the most important and where the need exists?
[00:34:08] Doug Donovan: As you can imagine, to train in HVAC is typically one of the more challenging things in running a building. Plumbing tends to be a little more straightforward. Electrical on its own, obviously, is challenging. So it's complicated enough that you could really leverage the power of simulations. You could really take a, let's take a, you know, two ton rooftop unit and you could, you know, build diagnostic scenarios that would be really hard to train on in real life, right? You can't, maybe you can't blow a motor in real life or train people. It was that like HVAC made a lot of sense because of the power of simulations really aligned well with the learning objectives and the challenges of learning that material and the skills gap was there. The needs was there, needs were there. Um, it tends to be a long tail market. A lot of small mid-size service contractors who didn't have, hadn't invested a lot in their own training program. So there's a real opportunity to step in and become the foundational training program for a lot of these companies on day one.
[00:35:06] the next few years, if anything, like, I think VR is going to... You know, get, if VR is in the spotlight at all, it's shifting, obviously, AI has been the spotlight now. I think it's going to be more powerful for in the field, uh, in the field technician work.
[00:35:22] Josh Witte
[00:35:22] Sid Shetty: there's a balance between, you know, the kind of experience you want to deliver your cut to your customer. And your budget, like how do you, how do you have that discussion with operations? How do you essentially achieve that balance where you still have that gold experience, um, but it's not impacting the value that you drive to the consumer.
[00:35:44] Joshua Witte: You know, it's a very delicate balance, Sid. It's, uh, sometimes it's hard conversations with the operators. It's about making, prioritizing and making choices. Uh, we all, but, you know, on the other hand, we're also taking a market by market approach where we look at historically underserved and underdeveloped markets and invest in those stores. And then monitor, we look at the sales lift pre and post. Refreshes, as we call them, and you know, there is an impact, it just continues to build the case that proper investment in facilities does see, uh, you know, a sales impact, and you know, in the past, it's been tough to tell that story, but when you can, you know, demonstrate this with concrete data, uh, and tell that story, it really, that carries an impact and allows you to build upon that value and, you know, keep moving forward with that approach.
[00:36:32] Kenneth Jones
[00:36:33] Sid: so your facilities team is pretty young. If you look at when it was originally formed. What has that experience been and how important has your team been to the success of, your program within your organization?
[00:36:47] Kenneth: Yeah, so I've, I've had a lot of chances to talk to other people in my position, especially in the medical field. And we all are pretty young, so we're unlike retail, where retail, some of these companies have been open a hundred years and had facility teams that are, uh, 50 years old. So they've been doing this for 50.
[00:37:07] Uh, we, you know, we've been doing this for about seven years in the facilities. I've talked to other companies. They, they're pretty new. So a lot of our focus in companies like myself and medical is all those other things, and this is something that's come along. So we've kind of growed with the company.
[00:37:23] Uh, the team is everything. When we're hiring people, and again, the whole team is part of this, the, the process, we want to find someone that's hungry. They're, they're looking for this challenge, they're humble. Again, they're not over the top, but they're also not in that, that bottom, you know, Hey, I don't know if I can do this.
[00:37:41] And then people smart, which is the most important. , you know, understanding people, understanding their, their dominant buying motives, understanding their, their personalities so that we can help them and accommodate them to their, their needs. So that's a big part of it. Also, the team is young and, and again, this is an exciting thing about my team.
[00:37:57] They're super hungry. They want to learn. They learn the trades, they learn the plumbing, the electrical, all those things. They're diving into 'em, but at the end of the day, it's customer service and, and really diving into making sure the customer is getting what they. And again, it's a team effort.
[00:38:13] And the great thing about facilities, uh, the one thing I love about facilities, we're fixers. So even if we get to the point where we're fixing something and something goes wrong, we don't have time to dwell on it. We have to go on to how am I gonna fix this issue now? So that's really what the team is about. And each one of those team members that are on my team, and again, very new. , they're leaders in their own dimension, so they find a way to lead and they find a way to, to bring innovation.
[00:38:39] mark warren
[00:38:40] Sid Shetty: Perception too, right? How do you position what your team does in terms of the impact within the organization and, what is your mission statement, if you may, when you, when you talk about your, your, your teams, inside and outside.
[00:38:53] Mark Warren: From a brand perception, my team has a, a significant impact, with that physical plant, whether it's painting the building, whether it is, you know, upgrading playgrounds, even something as simple as, as making sure that the kitchen is, in working order.
[00:39:08] And so there, there's a lot of activity that goes into doing those projects to make sure that center looks warm and welcoming. Like every company, there's gonna always be some deferred maintenance in some o older locations, but we, we go through that, pretty regularly to try and make sure that there's no licensing issues. One of the, one of the challenges with childcare is it's heavily regulated, and so you have childre licensers coming in. You have a variety of other organizations, fire marshals, uh, other things that are all watching out for safety, and we have to have a more critical eye for that safety needs than most.
[00:39:40] And some of the things, uh, that need to be repaired in centers, upgrades, things that we're trying to do, but everything we do is focused on health and safety of the children. Making sure that that environment, is right for a child to be there.
[00:39:52] David Bloom
[00:39:52] Sid: clearly your growth is dependent on the actual physical space.
[00:39:57] So, you know, you look at the physical space and on the assets that are contributing, to the experience of the consumer revenue generating assets, how important it is to you. what the physical space looks like on day one, how it looks like on day 100 and the contribution it has to the consumer's experience when they walk in through that door,
[00:40:21] David: Yeah, I think that's a great question. First of all, it is certainly a critical part of the customer experience, right? When they walk in, does it feel good?
[00:40:29] Is it clear? Is it clear where they should go? Which way should they go? Is it convenient? Is the ordering process really convenient?
[00:40:37] Is it personal? yeah, it's easy and it's digital and it's, high tech, but does it feel good? Am I talking to somebody? Is there any kind of a, I just walked into your business? Is there a greeting? So there's the physical space, coordinated with the, I'll call it the human resources side of the business and integrating those, along with all the technologies that may be tracking people when they walk in the door and, starting to connect with them and, provide all the loyalty programs access to payment and menu ordering.
[00:41:04] So it's this. confluence, or integration of physical space, human resources and technology, and making sure it all works in a way that's seamless. And I th I think that's the consumer experience. That's the consumer expectation today, because they know what can be done well, cuz lots of brands are doing it really well.
[00:41:24] Mark Warren: Jim Owens
[00:41:25] Sid: Jim, as. As a partner and service provider, you know, to a lot of retailers and businesses, what are you seeing or hearing from brands that when you talk to them about what they care about, you know, especially as it relates to facilities, but maybe even broader, what's important to them?
[00:41:47] Jim: The two things that seem to be most front of mind, um, for the folks that we're talking to is, is labor and the supply chain disruptions. So those are two things that are the burning platforms that people are addressing, you know, each and every day of, of their professional lives.
[00:42:03] The, the other thing that we're, we're hearing, um, you know, when you get deeper into these conversations is sort of, you know, what's the, what's the post pandemic consumer look like? What's the, what kind of behaviors are they gonna have? What kind of expectations are they gonna have? And then what does that mean from a facility perspective?
[00:42:22] You know, So there's, there's all kinds of things that are changing and are changing rapidly. You know, whether it's omnichannel or, you know, friction free, um, uh, commerce or, you know, um, You know, there's really a, a multitude of things that are happening in, in, not only in the consumer space, but also in in the, in the B2B space, and expectations are changing.
[00:42:43] And so I think there's a, there's a little bit of a wake up call that's, that's happening in terms of, um, facilities management. It's that technology is no longer a, it's a nice, nice to have. It's really a must.
[00:42:58] It's becoming mission critical because it's not just about, you know, doing your work more efficiently, but the, the facilities are changing, the facilities are becoming much more digitized and automated.
[00:43:09] And so that even the skill set to repair those facilities and maintain those facilities is, is changing as well. So, lots of change. Um, lots of uncertainty, but I think there's, um, probably more than anything I see just a more open-minded. This of, you know, with within the industry people, there's a much greater curiosity as to what others are doing, looking for best practice sharing.
[00:43:34] Frankie: Chris Walton
[00:43:35] Sid: To meet the customer where they want to be met and serve the customer in new ways.
[00:43:40] there's also omnichannel,interactions with the customer. So you got Instacart, Uber Eats, DoorDash, all of these different channels that maybe previously were a smaller part of your revenue now are,are. Bigger part and you have to get it right cuz consumers don't, like when only one of the ways they interact with you is great, they want every interaction with you as a brand to be great.
[00:44:05] And in the physical spaces, like restaurants have to install, drive-throughs and change their kitchens. So they have separate sections for all the takeouts, right? So there's a lot going on, are these things. Like in your mind, are these things that are just after effects of a couple of years of, of change in behavior and we're gonna just level set back to what we are used to, or this is going to be a trend now and retailers and grocers and restaurants need to be just ready to adapt as consumer demands and behavior.
[00:44:38] Chris: This is the new normal and it's like goes back to what I said in the opening, The convenience dynamics have changed in the minds of the consumer, and it's a universal truth to
[00:44:46] me that we, and particularly the younger generations, want to consume everything on their schedule and on demand to the best of their abilities.
[00:44:57] And so that means that retailers are gonna continue to have to adapt to this. And we're really only in the first inning of that adaptation. It's gonna be really interesting to see how it plays out from here and what comes next. . Yeah. I would still be investing in anything that helps answer that question of how do I make myself more convenient for my consumer? I'd make that top of mind.
[00:45:21] Mark Landini
[00:45:22] Sid: Are there any trees that you think ahead of the curve in terms of how they utilize design there's retail, there's grocery stores. There might be airports, there's different sorts of industries that touch consumers in different ways. Any, any particular industry that you think understood the relation between good design and desired outcomes, you know, before everybody else.
[00:45:51] Mark: I think the ones that do best are probably the more organic ones, um, where design is just a part of the day to day, um, breathing of a business. I think is probably too much visible design in the world. And and for that reason, it has become fashionable and attracts people who want to be be fashionable. Um, I don't believe design should actually, particularly in retail, be visible, it should be a support system. And the thing that should be visible is the stuff that you're buying. Um, and that's why I think markets are, um, you know, old fashioned street markets are one of the best forms of an expression of design, where really all you see and smell and touch and interact and bang into on a banged into buyers is the amount of, you know, wonderful displays that have been sort of just thrown together almost on the spot and then dismantled data on,
[00:46:48] uh now that that's a hugely sophisticated machine of which there is a enormous amount of design involved.
[00:46:55] um, the design can sometimes be system driven. How do you get it there? How do you get it? How do you get it away? Um, but often the design is, is, is taught through generations.
[00:47:05] our job is to understand all of those things and all of their needs and all of their requirements and all of their skills and all of their abilities and all of the things that they can. And also can't do, uh, within their current structure and to integrate them into a singular vision that creates a benefit for the business.
[00:47:27] And, uh, the only way of doing that is by creating nice places for people to visit because that's otherwise they won't come. Um, so. design for retail is very complicated if you do it well. Um, if you choose not to, to take that path and a lot of designers can't because they don't have that experience, um, then you do tend to get stuck in the superfluous decorative side of design.
[00:47:56] Sid: how do you kind of maintain a relationship like with the operators? who run those offices?
[00:48:02] Jamie: They expect us to be able to read their minds if something's broken and they don't tell us about it. this is, we need to fix it right away if it's, if we know about it or not. Kind of what goes on in facilities, whether there's a facilities ticket or whether anyone's been notified, they expect it to be fixed.
[00:48:18] So you always have to play that type of, scenario out of how do you delight your customer and really communicate well with them and have them trust you that you're gonna fix something and. Tell you about things that go on. So that's the hard part, that I talked about at the beginning about facilities, that you're expected to, have everything look great, whether you know about it or not.
[00:48:42] And I think building that trust and knowing that they could count on us for communication, that we're gonna take everything they say serious. Really helps our team build that, cross-functional partnership with operations. The operators in the locations are employees of one medical. they are, have a stake in making sure that we're all aligned to hit that high net promoter score.
[00:49:05] So I think that all of us really working towards delighting our members really is part of the way that we're successful and work.
[00:49:14] Mark: music break
[00:49:15] Sid: Thanks for listening to our special 25th anniversary episode. We had some fun putting it together and hope you found it beneficial as well. Throughout these conversations, industry leaders have shared the critical role that facilities and operations play in driving brand performance and elevating the customer experience.
[00:49:36] Our guests have shared valuable tips on how to elevate your built environment to meet and exceed customer expectations, from solving the facility's PR problem to leveraging technology and automation for greater efficiencies. Remember, facilities, operations, and other teams tied to the built environment are not just cost centers.
[00:49:59] They are strategic functions that elevate your brand image, increase customer loyalty, and have a huge impact on revenue. By investing in our facilities and operations, we create great experiences for our customers. and ultimately drive long term success for our brands. Once again, thank you for listening and for joining us on this journey.
[00:50:23] We hope you continue to enjoy the show and find our conversations beneficial. I know I do. With that, I'm Sid Shetty and I'll see you on the next episode of Elevating Brick Mortar.