Workplace experience encompasses an employee’s total environment at work. It begins as early as the recruiting and onboarding experience and continues for the duration of the employee’s tenure at your organization.
Workplace experience includes the physical workspace, the digital suite of tools given to an employee, and the people at the company. It incorporates the feeling of belonging to the company and the connection to the company culture as well.
A positive workplace experience is essential because it leads to highly engaged and productive employees. And when employees feel supported by their workplace setup, they can achieve their best work.
If the workplace experience is negative, your organization risks a greater churn in the employee base. Employees become less productive and potentially isolated. When physical and digital workspace fail to promote collaboration, staff experience weaker connections to the organization. There could also be friction or frustration between employees and technology, or even worse, that employees do not feel included.
Strategies to Enhance Workplace Experience
A hybrid work model has the potential to improve workplace experience. Other work models, such as remote work, offer flexibility and autonomy for employees, but little utilization of the physical space. Other risks include a weak connection to your company and challenges with the digital suite of tools.
Fully in-person work does not promote work-life balance or flexibility for employees. However, occasional on-site work improves in-person collaboration, connection to the company culture, and reduced dependency on digital tools.
Hybrid work can improve the workplace experience by:
- promoting a connection to your company culture
- providing autonomy through flexible work models
- encouraging work-life balance
- enabling innovative digital tools
In fact, according to research from Gallup, 59% of workers would prefer a hybrid work model. As of February 2022, 42% of workers were already hybrid. Ultimately, a hybrid work model has the opportunity to positively impact all aspects of workplace experience.
Rolling out a Hybrid Work Model
Using a workplace management solution to roll out a hybrid work model ensures the best workplace experience for your employees. Using these tools results in less employee stress and anxiety about entering the office. This is because employees can book their space in advance and identify who will be occupying the desks around them. Additionally, all staff in the office must declare their health before entering.
A workplace management solution can also increase connection to the physical space and company culture. It increases visibility into office policies, which promotes equity. As well, it supports employees managing their own schedule and flexibility. Employees can also foster important social connections by creating valuable in-person relationships at the office.
Most importantly, a workplace management solution is the integration between the digital and physical workspace that encompasses the workplace experience. It is part of your company’s digital suite of tools, but also encourages employees to visit the office. It further blends the physical and digital through a virtual rendering of the office space.
Measuring Workplace Experience
If you’re focused on improving workplace experience, it’s important to quantify the improvement to understand success. Measuring workplace experience can also help identify areas of improvement and provide a benchmark for success.
Firstly, leverage space analytics to understand how the physical space is being used. Metrics such as frequency of office visit and space use can indicate the connection your employees feel to the physical space. Space analytics can help identify if your office is effectively enabling collaboration, which is an important element of workplace experience as well.
Use employee pulse surveys and analyze the results to understand which employees could be at risk of a negative workplace experience. Interfere early to ensure that changes are made to support the experience.
Workplace experience is unique because there are many varying factors for each individual. When assessing the results of the survey, look for trends or feedback to identify areas of improvement. This way, you can measure the change over time and upgrade accordingly.
Why is Experience Important in the Workplace?
When employees have a positive workplace experience, they:
- feel connected to the company
- effectively utilize the physical workspace
- and are supported by a digital suite of tools to fuel their success.
By specifically enabling a workplace management solution, the workplace experience can be connected between the physical and digital realms. Understand the improvements you’ve made by validating with data and employee feedback. Create the optimal workplace experience for all by rolling out a hybrid work model.
Lindsay Wright
Lindsay is a Marketing Coordinator at Arcadis IBI Group who is passionate about the future of work. Lindsay brings her experience in marketing and communications, creativity, and innovation to help the Nspace team power the hybrid workplace.