In response to the disruptions created by the pandemic and to ensure continued operations during community quarantine, conscientious company owners have put in place Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) that include staff housing.
Making staff housing part of a company’s operations can help reduce late or absent employees, coronavirus infection risk from commuting employees, employee churn, and address Work from Home (WFH) programs’ lower employee productivity. Jogee Arellano, Chief Leasing Officer of MyTown, indicates that “given these direct costs to a company, staff housing has an attractive return on investment for many. The corporate clients who utilize our staff housing have seen attrition rates decline up to fourfold, which have material direct and indirect impacts on companies’ bottom lines.”
MyTown, the largest co-living brand in the Philippines owned by Philippines Urban Living Solutions, had seen a significant increase in corporate partnerships for staff housing over the last 12 months. “We have seen a dramatic increase in staff housing by more than 70% over the last year. The number of inquiries and sector diversity more than doubled over the same period,” Jogee further adds.
Equipped with furnished rooms, extensive amenities, effective and comprehensive COVID-19 protocols, housekeeping, daily meal plans, and accessibility for Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC) corporate offices, MyTown has provided a one-stop-shop solution to its partners.
MyTown’s partners have different staff housing needs depending on their operations.
China Banking Corporation (China Bank), one of the leading private universal banks in the Philippines and who recently celebrated its 100th year of banking service, remains to be a catalyst of wealth and value creation for its stakeholders, and ensures continued employee services amidst stricter quarantine measures. China Bank president, Mr. William C. Whang, said that “MyTown was able to provide staff housing for a number of our employees, to safely, conveniently and efficiently support our operations.”
The Aboitiz Group, a multifaceted investment company, houses its employees at MyTown due to its proximity to their head office in BGC. “MyTown has helped us protect the well-being of all our team members by ensuring they get to the workplace conveniently, without any worries about how to get there or whether they will get there,” shares Czarina Markines, administrative manager at Aboitiz Power, the Aboitiz Group’s power arm.
KMC Solutions, the country’s largest provider of flexible workspace and staff leasing solutions, wanted to provide added reassurance to its employees by reducing their risk of contamination in public transportation commute. Alex Gomez, the Vice President of People & Culture at KMC Solutions, mentions, “MyTown’s locations help avoid the need for public transportation, which drastically helps limit coronavirus exposure from commuting. Our employees can now walk to work, save on their disposable income, and still enjoy their time off work at MyTown’s amenities.” MyTown worked with experts at INSEAD last year to find that up to 98% of the average young professional’s human contacts in a typical workday are from public transportation.
