How to improve your office experience

Over time, companies have learned that employees don’t only need to fit the organization, but the organization needs to fit the employees. 

Building up an office that gives your employees a positive office experience, encourages them to be innovative, loyal, and overall happier.

With a workplace management system in place, creating a positive workplace is only a step away. Let’s explore how we can achieve the best possible workplace experience. 

Make it people-centric

The first step toward making an office space people-centric is to overcome the bonds of tradition. Don’t hold onto systems or old structures just because they’ve been around for a while. Times are changing and your office should change with them.

Making an office experience people-centric means listening to what your employees want and need. It means being open and flexible enough to make changes that focus on transforming the office into a place where people want to spend eight hours a day, everyday.

We’re moving from the age where offices are designed based on what managers and CEOs think their employees need. In today’s, companies should be listening to the people who are the core of their business.

Offer choice, flexibility

Many employees spend more than 15 hours per week working during their personal time. Employees need flexibility. They want to get the chance to choose whether they will be working from home or the office. 

 Sometimes they want the flexibility to pick their child up from preschool and finish up the workday later. They want to be treated like adults instead of children on a strict schedule. 

Let them choose, and provide them with a system to see if there’s an available seat in the office for a chosen day. 

Gather meaningful feedback

Gathering feedback doesn’t mean emailing a Survey questionnaire to the entire office, although that might help. Keep in mind, most surveys are only as good as the questions asked. 

Gather feedback by observing how employees interact with their environment,  each other and how they feel.

Analytics tools provided by Roomzilla can help you track how employees use spaces: how often they book a room to get some peace and quiet, how often various teams meet etc. Implementing tools like Roomzilla can help the data come to you, instead of you chasing around the office for it.

Use it to make informed decisions and improve the experience.

Now that you have data showing what your employees really want and value in the workspace, ideas should start falling into place.

If your employees want the office to be more like home, add some extra comforts. If they want the flexibility of working into the night in exchange for some freedom during daylight hours, implement a work-from-home system.

Key factors for a better office experience are Engagement, Belonging, Wellbeing 

In many ways, engagement and belonging go hand-in-hand. Employees who are engaged in the workplace often feel a stronger sense of belonging to the company. They are so active in their roles that they become invested in people, projects, and ideas.

It’s important to design your office in a way that encourages employee interaction.

No matter what culture, gender, or which race an individual related to, they still valued the sense of belonging to an organization.

What form the sense of belonging takes does vary from individual to individual. Some people feel a sense of belonging to their team, others to their projects, however, they all should feel that they do belong to an organization and the environment the company is providing. 

Taking the steps to transform your office according to your employees’ wishes not only brightens the future, but also shows them how much the company cares. People who feel listened to feel hope and optimism that they’ll be looked out for, will make your company strong and unique.