After years of stops and starts as they sought to balance business needs, employee quality of life and positive positioning in a competitive talent environment, many organizations got serious in 2025, calling everyone back to the office five days a week. The results have been significant. Placer.ai’s November 2025 Nationwide Office Building Index reported that November 2025 “… marked the strongest November office attendances since 2019, with average daily visits on working days reaching a five-year high…” Kastle Systems reported occupancy in its tracked properties for the week beginning December 8, 2025 jumped more than 56% to a post-Covid high. And both agreed that while regional results vary, indications all point toward a continuing increase in office usage.
This blog series takes an inside look at how the acceleration in return to office impacted some of ISS’ facility management operations over the past year.
Before Covid, all employees for a financial services client to whom ISS provides integrated facility services and culinary experiences were expected to be in the office all week. Both office-focused buildings on its Northeast campus were fully occupied. That traditional work model changed with the pandemic, with most employees fully remote until 2021, when the client introduced a hybrid policy.
In the second quarter of 2025, the client increased required days in office to three for colleagues and four for managing directors and directors. This relative flexibility of schedule represented an acceptance of the hybrid model as a legitimate option — a move many companies, and especially financial services organizations, have rejected as not conducive to productivity, culture and more.
Our client feared the return of so many people would overwhelm both the services provided and space, which was not meant to accommodate all 4,000 employees at once. Fortunately, between the employees’ natural off-site responsibilities and activities, daily absenteeism and a relatively lax system of checks and balances for on-site attendance, that has not come to pass. Tuesday through Thursday are busy days, however, with several hundred more employees on-site than just a year ago.
Though in-office work is mandated for client employees, our facility team works hard to make sure they feel the time spent on-site is worth both the time and expense of their commute. The client built the campus as a “next generation” workplace that embodies corporate values, unlocks potential, provides immersive experiences, fosters innovation and collaboration, connects colleagues, encourages wellness and delivers on sustainability commitments. While daily touchpoints boosted well-being, engagement and productivity, and strong employee resource groups (“ERGs”) helped build culture, big events, some held after work, were considered a critical element in the employee experience.
Now we seek to positively impact people all day, creating unrivalled on-site experiences that make employees want to be there versus at home or a competitor organization. It’s not just about FOMO, it’s about cultivating an environment that makes people feel valued, welcome, accepted and part of a community. Regular collaboration with the client’s ERGs helps make that happen — especially when developing cohesive programming for all five generations currently in the workplace.
Foundational to creating a desirable destination is the intentional, choreographed application of an old concept that’s had minimal play in the workplace until now: hospitality. The same concepts and behaviors that make a five-star hotel a preferred destination can make an ordinary workplace extraordinary. While we have always gone above and beyond in our treatment of the client’s employees and guests, over the past year, our efforts have amplified tenfold. Our placemakers now continuously walk the floors of every building on the campus, greeting individuals, ensuring smooth operations, assisting with a perceived need even when outside their focus responsibilities, looking for potential issues before they require action, frequent checking of both infrastructure operations and task-focused areas for functionality and comfort, and acting as ambassadors and advocates for people’s needs. They are integral members of the client’s culture and community, building connections and feelings of security and safety, and purposely creating positive experiences that leave lasting impressions. Advanced technology including restroom and temperature sensors ensure additional oversight of details that can make or break someone’s time at work.
The client still hosts major events, but during the workday and secondary to amazing everyday experiences that build culture and community and celebrate the value of diverse people and perspectives. Short-term perks such as massages, pet therapy, farmers markets and local vendor showcases combine with permanent amenities including pickleball, fitness center, nature walks and barista bars to express the client’s appreciation and drive positive feelings toward being at work. Mondays and Fridays see the occasional “surprise and delight” activity, but participation has proven minimal on those days, so the focus is on the more populous weekdays. ISS has expanded not just its facility and experience teams to manage these workplace offerings and the additional pressure they put on the campus infrastructure, but its creative mindset to drive ongoing new ideas for employee engagement and happiness.
Memorable experiences are also carte blanche in our culinary services as food has become a major driver for office attendance post-Covid. Client employees at my campus have access to a full-service, on-site restaurant as well as coffee shops with barista service, stocked pantries, fresh-food vending machines and more. Our culinary division Guckenheimer’s chefs and staff have significantly ramped up both their output and creativity over the past year to feed both more people and a demand for greater diversity of fare from a larger, more diverse customer base.
Production of food remains somewhat of a balancing act, however, as the number of guests varies depending on the day of the week. On Fridays, in particular, we offer fewer stations in the on-site restaurant and shut down kiosks and kitchens in some buildings in reflection of reduced traffic. And while we have always tailored our menus to the profile and preferences of our customers, holidays, days of note and cultural celebrations, now our culinary team looks for opportunities to showcase their creativity, accommodate dietary preferences or restrictions, introduce international cuisine, and practice sustainability and waste management, among other innovations.
Mondays and Fridays also now offer the ability to further the client’s sustainability commitments through reduced use of energy, water and other resources. By consolidating the few on-site workers into one building and closing down the other, savings are generated on many levels. A single location also gives our placemakers the opportunity to strengthen connections with those employees and make them feel special and cared for via enhanced interaction throughout the day.
So, while some things have remained the same for our team at my client’s campus as greater numbers returned to on-site work over the past year, a lot has changed — and us with it. More people in residence means more effort and diligence to create and maintain both excellent experiences and a safe, clean, functional facility. Additional staff and increased license for creativity from the client has helped success in execution, but the commitment of our ISS and Guckenheimer team is the true key to this standout corporate campus. We come to work each day with renewed excitement, renewed dedication to fostering a place where people thrive, a destination for the best talent, and a home where our client meets and exceeds its own goals.