Spotlight Interview – Daniel Hawkins | JLL

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24 July 2020 | Updated 20 August 2020

Daniel Hawkins has spent his career leading, delivering and developing commercial workplace operations and solutions. He is currently the EMEA Account Director for one of JLL’s flagship accounts, which is a leading technology company with an extensive portfolio.

Hawkins is a people-oriented leader who champions thought diversity and is active in promoting the industry and its emerging talent. In this Spotlight Interview, he discusses his career development with insight on how facilities teams can build more inclusive environments. 

 

Creating More Inclusive Workplaces

 

Hawkins enjoys managing a large and diverse team. As an active member of the LGBTQ+ community, he is considerate to those across the spectrum of diversity and this enables him to be an effective ally to others experiencing any form of injustice. He speaks passionately about the need for equality for all, as well as the benefits this brings to the workplace. Listening to him speak, it’s easy to see that he’s an inspiring leader who leads his team by example.

He advocates an empathetic approach to ensure that people feel free to be themselves at work – and employers will reap the benefits of the additional productivity this achieves.

"Employers and workspaces can become safe havens for employees to bring their entire selves to work – did you know that people who have to cover their identities at work can spend up to 10 per cent of their productivity doing so?"

– Daniel Hawkins 

EMEA Account Director – Facilities Operations, JLL

He suggests that listening and gaining a deeper understanding of the needs of people from minority groups is an important step in promoting a culture of equality – he has recently organised talks to help his team confront the challenges faced by their BAME colleagues.

Hawkins also questions how easily employees, or prospective employees, with a physical disability or autism can navigate workplaces in their current state: “Where I think the industry does need to do more, is around neurodiversity and accessibility, JLL are doing a lot of research in this space.” 

 

Effective Employee Engagement 

 

Culture is the most important thing amongst a team, Hawkins told us. "If you don’t have the right culture, you will never deliver on your strategy", he states. 

Ensuring your team is aware of what success looks like and measuring performance against a clearly defined value set are also key factors in ensuring people stay engaged. “With my current team, we have refreshed all of our cultural literature to ensure we recruit people effectively, we manage their probation successfully and they know what is expected as part of their ongoing performance management.”

 

Attracting Young Talent 

 

Hawkins highlights that the industry needs to clearly demonstrate the opportunity for career progression from the front line through to leadership. He explains that when he left college and became a receptionist, he had no idea where that would take him – and whilst apprenticeships are a good start, more awareness of the exciting opportunities beyond front line roles could stimulate greater interest within the younger workforce.  

 

“We need to get into the educational institutions and show that our industry is one of the few sectors where you can go from getting your hands dirty at the front line, through to managing complex global operations.”

 

Watch the Spotlight Interview to Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

Image: Daniel Hawkins, EMEA Account Director – Facilities Operations | JLL

Article written by Daisy Miceli | Published 24 July 2020

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