Introduction This white paper is about the importance of workplace experience – and on the role that carefully designed workplace services centred on the needs of individual users can play in improving employee motivation, engagement and productivity. Offering a positive workplace experience can help companies to attract and retain the staff they need to be competitive. Workplace services play a key role in making this a reality. Client meeting by Account Manager John Neuman “Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy,” according to Herb Kelleher, Co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines. “Start with employees and the rest follows from that” Research indicates that a good workplace experience is as much about the intangible aspects of being at work, as it is about tangible aspects such as interior design and floorplans, decor and furnishings (Leesman, 2017). According to a sevenyear assessment of workplace effectiveness, analysing survey results from 276,422 employees across 2,160 workplaces in 67 countries, only 53% of employees said their workplace enables them to work productively (Leesman, 2017). The implication is that in nearly half of workplaces there is work to be done to improve workplace experience. Creating good workplace experience is a priority for business in most sectors and most markets because of the growing competition they face – not only for customers, but also for the talent they need to innovate and improve their products and services. Workplace experience is an increasingly important differentiator in the battle to attract skilled staff. Offering a high-quality workplace experience can be a recruitment USP – in our ever more connected world, the reputation of a particular workplace becomes common knowledge. Good workplace experience correlates with higher employee engagement – and substantial research evidence links employee engagement with critical business outcomes such as increased return on assets, higher earnings per share, increased customer satisfaction, profitability, productivity, and fewer accidents. (Harter et al, 2009). The way employers treat employees has been shown to have a direct effect on how employees treat customers (MacLeod and Clarke, 2009). Most companies need to improve their productivity – and positive workplace experiences can help companies do that. There is evidence of a correlation between employee subjective well-being – how they feel about their work - and productivity and performance (Bryson et al, 2014). A good workplace experience, created through physical spaces, workplace services and company culture, can reduce aspects of work that can have a negative impact – such as stress and noise – and promote positive ones – such as collaboration and enjoyment. 4 Proprietary information ISS World Services A/S - Copyright © 2018
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