Workplace Solutions That Enhance the Employee Experience

The right workplace solutions set the stage for a happy, productive office. Many of the world’s most successful companies are doubling down on efforts to enhance the employee experience—and for good reason.

It’s far more cost-effective to keep top performers than to hire new ones, and the employee experience (EX) directly impacts recruitment and retention. Recognizing this, companies like General Electric have created leadership positions devoted to the employee experience.

“We define employee experience simply as seeing the world through the eyes of our employees, staying connected and being aware of their major milestones,” said Susan Peters, senior vice president of HR at General Electric, in a recent Forbes article. “We are developing a strategy to create an employee experience which takes into account the physical environment our employees work in, the tools and technologies that enable their productivity and learning to achieve their best at work.”

Although there’s no magic app that can solve this challenge, workplace solutions and technologies do play an important role. Here’s a look at a few of the most transformative workplace solutions technologies impacting the employee experience.

1. Workplace Solutions That Measure Employee Performance

To create an engaging employee experience, employees need to feel connected to the broader mission of the company and understand how their role fits in.

Performance management software and related workplace solutions that offer visibility into the company’s KPIs as well as individual and department goals can help employees to better visualize their contributions. Employees can regularly evaluate their own performance using this software, noting their accomplishments, progress on key objectives and any challenges they’re facing. These reviews increasingly are taking the place of annual performance evaluations and being used to influence bonuses.

2. Workplace Solutions That Take the Pulse of the Workforce

Performance management software may not always tell the full story of how employees are feeling from week to week. That’s why some organizations use less formal employee pulse surveys like TINYPulse and CultureAmp. Most have mobile apps so employees can use them wherever they are, whether they’re in the office, traveling or working from home.

These workplace solutions aren’t meant to replace face-to-face communication between managers and employees, but they can help facilitate more frequent feedback. For instance, employees can give status updates and raise concerns without constantly tapping their managers on the shoulder. These short bits of feedback can lead to more meaningful conversations later. They also can help managers evaluate performance and follow up with employees more frequently, before smaller issues become deal breakers.

3. Workplace Solutions That Enhance Collaboration

With more employees spread across the country or even across the globe, collaborative workplace solutions are helping to bridge the distance. These workplace solutions include project management software like Asana, Wrike and Basecamp, as well as communication tools like Slack and crowd-sourcing tools like Jive Software or UserVoice. These tools boost accountability and encourage idea-sharing among employees from different departments or functions.

4. Workplace Solutions That Connect the Digital Workforce

Today’s employees expect the workplace solutions that they use  to mirror the technology they use at home. That means having access to all the information they need to work efficiently with a few taps on their smartphone. The latest evolution in employee experience technology makes this possible in the form of workplace solutions that allow employees to quickly locate people and places, find and reserve available space and more. iOFFICE Hummingbird makes this possible by connecting a company’s integrated workplace management system (IWMS) to employee-facing apps.

This workplace solution is a two-way street, empowering employees to be more productive while also providing workplace managers with the real-time data they need to make adjustments and plan for the future. For instance, workplace managers can see which rooms are in use on any given day so they can adjust cleaning schedules and respond to service requests accordingly. They also can identify space that’s being routinely underutilized and make decisions to consolidate.

Quality workplace solutions are only one part of the overall employee experience, but it’s an increasingly important consideration. It won’t keep employees working at an organization if they’re unhappy for other reasons, but it can help employees stay connected, stay engaged and stay focused.

Discover how to enhance the employee experience with iOFFICE Hummingbird, a set of innovative workplace solutions that create connected experiences. Request a demo today.