People Places And Parables

Striden is a national facilities and hospitality management company headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Over the past eight years, it has been redefining the workplace experience for its clients by managing a broad range of on-site support services.

Hospitality in the workplace goes beyond providing amenities; it’s about creating an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired. By adopting a hospitality mindset, companies can:

Gone are the days of having hard copies of every document filed in a cabinet, faxed, and mailed for record keeping. Similarly, we don’t have...

Many companies are now partially or fully back at the office, and some of the holdouts are also changing their tunes to get workers back at their desks. Resistance from some employees and the “great resignation” that took place last year have led to companies dragging their feet, despite the abundant evidence that productivity has declined. How can you incentivize employees to return to the office?

You don't need a second chance at a first impression if your office is already set up for success. Here are some tips for how to make that happen.

Return-to-work policies are in the news, and many businesses use analytics and data to help guide their decisions.

Office hoteling makes remote and hybrid work environments more efficient for teams who need to collaborate, and for cutting overhead costs.

A focus on human connection in the workplace allows for an inclusive, creative, and ideas-sharing team. That means higher performance!

Some businesses have opted for fully remote workplaces. But which companies are requiring workers to return to the office?

It has to be acknowledged: the COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized both the workforce and our concept of the workplace. During this time, remote work skyrocketed. According to Owl Labs, after the start of the pandemic 59% of employees said they would be more likely to choose an employer who offered remote work as an option. As the global emergency subsides, however, a return to the office will be beneficial for fostering a team environment.

Many businesses today run their operations with facility management in-house. If you are in this situation, you’ve probably realized how critical top-tier facility management is to a streamlined process. However, operating at peak effectiveness with in-house management can be a struggle at times. There are several clear advantages to switching to an outsourcing solution like Striden, how can outsourcing facility management help your company?‍

New York City and Chicago are two of the nation's biggest and most popular cities for young professionals, but which is better?

Amid a global recovery from the pandemic, hybrid work has become a topic of fierce debate. On one end of the spectrum, you have tech moguls like Elon Musk threatening to fire workers who don’t return to a.....

Every business leader knows that a company's culture plays a crucial role in its success, but what is culture? Essentially, it’s a set of shared beliefs, values, and behaviors that guide the daily activities of the organization. When new employees join a team, they are typically welcomed into a company’s culture. Their first few days are spent learning about the business' mission and getting accustomed to their new role. This has become a little more difficult today since many U.S. companies are currently using or plan to use a hybrid work model.

For many employers, the term “hybrid work environment” is becoming an increasingly familiar one. Both workers and business owners have struggled with going fully remote, but hybrid work offers a favorable compromise. For many, it’s viewed as the best of both worlds. Plus, there’s no denying that it’s been mostly successful so far. Hybrid work models have been adopted by 63% of high-revenue growth companies, according to Accenture. Meanwhile, 69% of businesses with negative growth or no growth refuse to offer employees hybrid options. A simple conclusion can be drawn from this data: the future belongs to flexible models, such as hybrid work environments.

Facilities management is a professional service that provides support to the workplace. It is an integral component for all businesses, but some companies try to tackle too much on their own. Though helping customers should always be the main focus, there is much more to be done. These duties include administrative and project support, reception services, hospitality, concierge services, supply management, mail room coordination, security, print production, and more. With facilities management outsourcing, staff members can return to focus on their core competencies that create revenue for their respective organizations.

Does Your Outsourcing Contract Effectively Address Minimum Wage Increases? More than a dozen states plus the District of Columbia hiked the minimum wage for 2017. If you’re outsourcing services, customer service, or any other areas, the change can profoundly influence your organization’s daily operations. Frankly, mishandling the rising minimum wage can wreak havoc. Let’s look at one example from my own backyard: Washington, D.C.

Look Before You Leap Any firm your company outsources services to must take care of its own people so they can take care of your customers and employees. When an outsourcer treats employees poorly, your organization pays the price. You’ll either have a constantly revolving door of new workers being trained or disgruntled people embedded in your workplace. Fortunately, by including these seven smart questions in your next RFP, you’ll be better informed to determine which future partners treat their people right.‍

Background As a child, I was that kid who got excited about selling gift wraps, chocolate bars, and magazines to raise money for school. Admittedly, I was always beaten by the kid whose parents just dropped the list off at their work and crushed me in sales. Meanwhile, I went from door to door trying to sell what I could to make a difference. I loved starting businesses. I set up lemonade stands, ran car washes, mowed lawns, started a sign company, and opened a rad 80s DJ company.

Several factors add up and ultimately shape the perfect outsourcing partnership. Some of them are quite clear, and others not so much. It doesn’t come as a surprise that a flexible and technically advanced partner would probably be a great candidate for facilities management outsourcing. However, one of the most overlooked factors that we emphasize here at Striden is taking care of our employees!‍

Over the last few years, I have been on a rather large reflection journey about my career and how I have gotten to where I am today. One person that played a huge role in my career development was Jem, my boss at Sapient. He has been one of my favorite influencers throughout my career for several reasons, and he taught me three crucial lessons during my time with the business: Learn to be comfortable while being uncomfortable. Trust the team around you. When things are bad – I have your back.