Ask someone 5 years ago what workplace experience is and they might have talked about the placement they did where their only task involved making a lot of cups of tea and coffee. The rise and importance of W/Ex or WX is thanks in part to changing work values, the pandemic’s work from home experiment and the wave of cloud technology allowing hybrid work to flourish. Nowadays people need a reason to visit the office, when they can choose from home, coffee shops or the beach.
What is W/Ex?
Lets break it down, workplace experience is the feeling employees get and how they perceive their workplace and what happens in it. Workplace experience sits within the overall employee experience ecosystem. So if employee experience are shoes then workplace experience are boots, not all shoes are doc martin boots but all doc martin boots are shoes and one size does not fit all.
Employee experience encompasses a lot of aspects often siphoned down into 3 categories; cultural, physical and digital. So like employee experience, workplace experience touches on company culture, digital and physical interactions team members have but within the office setting. These aspects intersect to create the overall employee experience but the workplace experience touches on them as well. The Digital category has ballooned and the physical has changed, not in importance but in purpose.
| Employee Experience | Workplace Experience | |
| Cultural | company norms, feedback, work socials, diversity, equity & inclusion, wellbeing, pay & incentives, leadership | onsite groups & activities, onsite work socials, onsite amenities for wellbeing |
| Physical | environment & space, the office, health & safety, office design, location, commute | office design & layout, building architecture & landscaping, furniture & supplies |
| Digital | works tools & facilities tech, cyber security, online collaboration | workplace tech, digital kiosks, meeting room panels, computer equipment, collaboration and comms tools, booking systems, maintenance systems and security systems |
The Employee Journey
We can look at the bigger picture in the employee journey and get what may seem like a straightforward path.
Recruitment -> onboarding -> performance > development -> feedback -> off-boarding/exit -> post-exit & advocacy.
These are all big milestones that are often given the time, attention and resources they deserve. What happens in between those milestones shouldn’t be forgotten, the everyday happenings have a big impact on performance, retention and advocacy. That’s where thoughtful planning around W/Ex comes into play.
Who is in charge of workplace experience?
The Workplace Experience discipline sits at a crossroads between Facilities Management, Human Resources, IT, Health & Safety and Leadership. With so many cooks in the kitchen who already have so much responsibility W/Ex projects can get lost in the shuffle. That’s why you might have noticed new titles popping up on LinkedIn profiles with the likes of Workplace Strategist, Head of Workplace or Workplace Change Manager. As of today there are 43,000 job openings for Workplace Coordinators in the USA today. They might be their own department or sit within FM, IT or HR but ultimately their goal will be the same, create great workplace experiences.
What is a great workplace experience?
What is great to one person may look like hell to another. A one size fits all approach will not be feasible here. That’s why setting up a dedicated person or team to workplace experience has started to become the norm. You need someone to measure it, manage it and keep it on track. Your employees are your source of truth, they need to understand and buy into why changes to their workplace experience are happening otherwise adoption of new processes or tech could fall flat on their face.
Why does it matter?
It’s the right way to work, just from the standpoint of being a good human is to care about the other humans you affect. Hopefully your boss cares about that but if not mention the worldwide $8.8 Trillion is lost in productivity thanks to disengaged employees, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report.
The bottom line for employers is that staff who report good employee and workplace experiences perform better, they stay in their jobs, take less sick days and the company makes more money.
High Engagement = Increased Retention & Increased Performance
Measurement Tactics
Some of these tactics will be old hat but are tried and true methods, others come from innovative new players in the field of feedback but each method should be considered when building a larger picture of how your organisation is performing. When taking on any new tactic ensure you have your benchmark stats and more qualitative feedback to compare after implementing any changes. Here’s some methods and tools to consider:
Turnover Rates
High turnover rates can be a red flag indicating poor workplace experience. Monitoring these rates and understanding the reasons behind employee departures can help identify areas for improvement. You can calculate this percentage by dividing the number of employees who left by the average number of employees, then multiplying by 100.
Employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS)
Employee NPS is a metric that gauges employee loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend their workplace to others. This simple yet powerful question can reveal much about overall satisfaction and engagement. Bear in mind anything below an 8 is considered passive and 3 or below are detractors.
Surveys
Regular surveys and interviews are foundational tools for gathering employee feedback. Surveys can be distributed widely and analysed quantitatively.
Focus Groups
Focus groups allow for in-depth discussions with a small group of employees. These sessions can uncover detailed insights and foster a sense of involvement among participants.
One-on-One Interviews
Personal interviews provide a confidential space for employees to share their experiences and suggestions. These conversations can reveal nuanced issues that might not surface in group settings.
Feedback Monitoring Tech
Innovative tools like AI-powered Audiem can analyse and identify employee feedback trending topics. These platforms can identify trends and issues as they arise, allowing for timely interventions.
Employee Review Sites
Platforms like Glassdoor offer a wealth of information from current and former employees. Regularly reviewing this feedback can provide an external perspective on your workplace culture and practices.
Workplace Usage & Occupancy
Understanding how employees use and occupy workspace can offer insights into their experience. Tools like GemEx can track workspace utilisation and occupancy, visualising data to help optimize the physical environment.
Actioning the Results
Collecting data is only the first step. The real value lies in analyzing the results and taking action. Larger enterprises often have data warehouses to store and analyse vast amounts of feedback. This data can be used to identify trends, measure the impact of changes, and continuously improve the workplace experience.
By combining these methods, you can build a comprehensive picture of your workplace experience and make informed decisions to enhance it.
