Workplace Culture – Part 2

Image: Steelcase

CREATING A GREAT EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

The first step to creating a great employee experience is understanding what people want. By listening to people and observing how they work, companies can focus on:

– an approach to meeting people’s needs for wellbeing

– smart and connected technology

– and access to a range of spaces.

With this approach companies can create places where people want to work & gaining an edge over competitors searching for talent.

01 Offer Choice + Control

Here are some ideas:

Give people the freedom to work wherever they want by providing a range of spaces with different tools and atmospheres that meet their changing needs throughout the day.

02 Make it Authentic

Create places where people feel free to be themselves. Lighting, materiality, informal spaces and natural elements are powerful influences on behavior and communicate company brand and culture.

03 Keep Them Nourished

Think about physical and emotional needs. Great coffee and healthy food options signal that wellbeing is a priority. Stronger relationships create stronger ideas, both of which increase team synergy and creativity.

04 Provide Top Technology

Without easy-to-use, accessible technology, workers can’t do their jobs and often get frustrated and distracted. It’s important to provide both mobile devices and thoughtfully integrated large-scale technology in spaces to make it easy to share ideas and information.

05 Support Solitude

Help keep distractions low with respite spaces where individuals can rejuvenate, take a private phone call or focus on heads-down work throughout the day.

06 Keep them Connected to Coworkers and Community

Invest in diversity, inclusion and community outreach opportunities. These groups give employees a chance to form a sense of belonging to the company and feel that what they do and who they work for serve a larger purpose.

Sometimes we forget to think strategically about creating an employee experience that will influence  decisions about where to work and how engaged they are likely to be. Instead, the office should be leveraged to encourage new social norms and a mindset leading to the behaviors that enhance innovation. Over time, this will shape the culture you desire, as well as create the type of work experience people are seeking