The Scent of Business Success

The business experience is, in essence, a human experience. Whatever the application or industry the common element is humanity and everything that comes with that. A large part of the human experience is the sense of smell. Every human smells of different things. The favourite brand of soap, a distinct cologne, last night’s curry or simply of “human”. These smells do different things to different people and have a greater effect on our decisions than we sometimes give credit for. The decisions we make with our nose include our partners, friends, food, car, coffee and so much more. It is vital for business to ensure that their human experience is a positive one and one that drives people to make the right decisions.

Fragrance is something we take for granted yet plays a continual role in our life. Taste is a combination of taste and smell. Women’s sense of smell appears to become more acute during pregnancy which would allow for her to ensure that her food and environment are clean so that there is no ill effect on her of her unborn child. We choose our partners with sense of smell playing a higher part than we often give credit. We try to disguise our human smells as we believe them to be offensive to other humans. Effectively there are a myriad of decisions made by humans that are dictated by smell. Studies have also shown a relationship between certain smells and the ability to focus on tasks. Scents like lemon, cinnamon and peppermint assist clarity of thought and awareness making them great for meeting rooms and research departments whereas lavender helps to reduce stress making it ideal for sales floors. Working with your hygiene supplier you should be able to rotate your scents and discover what works for each of your departments to help with productivity and staff morale. Constantly evolving smells in the workplace help to remove the issue of “fragrance fatigue” and ensures that your workplace is a constantly evolving environment providing your staff with a continually adapting workplace that will make every day feel like a fresh experience.

The commercial air freshener market is saturated with aerosol dispersal sprays with little product evolution over the past 5 decades. Agreed, aerosols themselves have changed since the beginnings with the removal of CFC propellants, the introduction of natural essences and the quantities required for each application. Implementation has also modernised allowing for timer based automated application to ensure a constant level of service only during the times it is needed to ensure that costs and wastage are kept low providing businesses with a greater return on their investment. Even with these changes to aerosol solutions there are still a number of environmental and health concerns associated with traditional aerosol-based air freshening solutions.

Roughly 30% of the population have an allergic condition and many of them find that aerosols trigger these issues. This author is asthmatic and find a noticeable effect on my breathing if I am in a room with an aerosol air freshener for any length of time. As well as asthmatics it is noted that people suffering with eczema and rhinitis suffer more when exposed long-term to aerosol dispersal agents. Effectively 1/3rd of your workforce could be suffering increased irritations to their condition simply by being in the room with your air freshener solution. Meanwhile aerosol waste contains pollutants that require specialised disposal.

What is the solution to the issue of aerosol based air fresheners? Passive air freshening solutions. Modern passive air freshener solutions can provide a refreshing and pleasant scent with the same coverage as their contemporary aerosol competitors. This is done without any batteries offering a further financial saving whilst decreasing your environmental impact. With no moving parts servicing is simple ensuring your hygiene supplier can minimise their presence on your site too. Passive air freshening simply needs to be placed in a place with a natural airflow to ensure a constant positive scent through your business application. With bio-degradable disposables and simplified service requirements you can be sure that your environmental impact will be as low as can possibly be saving you money and giving your business that green feel.

Working with your hygiene supplier can provide you with a unique perspective on how different passive scents affect your staff to become more adaptive, focussed, happier and healthier providing your business with a more motivated and productive workforce or more receptive customers. Both of which will help your business to realise a greater return on investment whilst your business can continue to enjoy the sweet smell of success.