Four Ways To Address Employee Engagement Gap In Office
The current generation of skilled workers demands both collaborative (public) and focus-oriented (private) workspace, and these spaces also need to fetch the connection between function and the culture it is meant to incorporate. And, if designed effectively, the workspace can optimise engagement scores, increased productivity and as well as better output quality.
Millennials (born between1980-2000) will serve as a pivotal workforce in the economy for a long time to come. These Millennials will also play a dominant role in promoting technology, communities and new sharing economy-based enterprises, and in turn those organizations aiming to attract brilliant and creative professionals will have to do the same in order to approach them in new innovative ways.
Bolstering the potential of a workplace design also soars the level of employee engagement. A pleasant, scalable workplace will definitely have a positive impact on employee engagement levels. This approach can be modified and interpreted to suit the culture of each organization and the country it operates in. No two companies are the same. But the principles are universal.
Here are FOUR proven ways in which you can address the engagement gap in a Co-Work
1. ENABLE CHOICE AND CONTROL
Employees who possess a greater control over numerous characteristics of their workplace and work experience tend to be more engaged. Encouraging your workforce to decide how and where they will be able to offer most productivity is a one such key strategy, organisations can employ.
Also since no two consecutive days are the same for employees, sometimes it would require them to focus on work, while at times they would need to collaborate or prefer being in a cafe with a host of other individuals around them. In such a situation, it gets vital for them to possess the freedom to choose as what works best for them on any given day.
Technology also plays a critical role in this scenario in furnishing employees with the freedom and greater control over their work.
2. ENABLING COLLABORATION
While collaboration is the key to boost the productivity of any workplace, the space should also be designed to enable a variety of collaboration processes.
A project room for instance which involves an intense discussion and activity among four to six people could offer a high seating facility to enable movement and brainstorming activity along with whiteboards and technology for sharing digital content.
The space should support interactions from a host of different working environments, enabling employees to exchange ideas and co-create, team work without interruptions and receive an environment of innovation and creativity, be it a physical team in the room or colleagues connected virtually from across the globe.
3. ENABLE FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION
As per the University of California, humans are bound to fell victim to distraction every three minutes, which results in a considerable impact on our ability to focus and concentrate.
To help avoid these circumstances, employees should be offered with a variety of spaces which allow concentration and personal focus. Experts agree that creating an office that is crafted to employee needs, and which provides a menu of settings is always the best solution.
4. ENABLE SPACES THAT ARE SOCIAL AND ‘FLUID’
We are social animals. We need spaces where we can connect informally with our colleagues and have the opportunity to discuss work, either/both in a formal or informal manner. When designed effectively, these social spaces should bring to the office the same vibe and emotional comfort of a café while also offering the support required for work, through connection to technology, support of a proper physical posture and also the ability to manage visual privacy when required.
Fluid spaces provide for healthy employees and thus, engaged employees. It is therefore essential for staff to keep moving throughout the day to maintain their physical wellbeing. Space should support a diversity of postures and encourage movement
CONCLUSION
Millennials do not follow the incumbent boundaries between work and home life which elder generations practiced. With the emergence of an 'always connected' concept, thanks to the technology growing leaps and bounds, an office location is of strategic importance. The new age office goers seek a workplace which doesn't involve a long commute to reach and also look for break out areas to cater to different tasks at the office complex.
A 10 minutes breather for playing a game and refreshing the mind is as vital as a standing desk for a productive lifestyle which the top talent expects at present. Engagement is a complex topic, with many variables to consider. Redesigning the workplace is an important factor that can have immense impact.
