4 space utilization metrics to measure — and how to optimize them

There are six core benefits to incorporating workplace utilization in your workplace strategy:

  1. Reduces costs — Facility managers and executives concerned about reducing square footage need to know what space is underutilized. Underutilized space can be repurposed to fit a new need or downsized to cut costs.
  2. Improves portfolio management — Workplace utilization tools (like Density) offer deep insight into portfolio management and how every square foot is used. Cost-saving changes such as moving to a hot-desking model can be tested in one office, and if successful, applied across the entire portfolio for additional savings.
  3. Simplifies space planning — Occupancy data can help you design more efficient office spaces and policies by tracking utilization trends and providing real-time information. You can make on-the-spot modifications to address a bottleneck, or you can use trends to guide future planning.
  4. Improves the workplace experience — Understanding your space allows you to make informed decisions about workstation ratios, the best amenities to offer, and when you need to expand your space. These all improve the workplace experience, which in turn can boost employee engagement and retention.
  5. Validates needs — Employees are always asking for things, but knowing how they use your space tells facilities managers what they actually need. 
  6. Supports sustainability — Utilization data can help your workplace go green by identifying areas where you can cut utility usage or repurpose space instead of expanding your square footage. Eco-friendly practices like these are becoming increasingly important to workers, and they offer a strategic advantage for recruitment and retention. 

This article will cover four important metrics to measure and highlight several examples of how teams use workplace utilization data to make data-driven space decisions.

4 space utilization metrics to measure — and how to improve them

The building utilization metrics below provide insight into how employees use your space and whether it performs as needed. You can apply these metrics at every scale — from an entire portfolio to a specific workstation — to make informed decisions that optimize your space planning.

Peak occupancy

Peak occupancy is an important metric that identifies the days and times your space is busiest. You can track peak occupancy for the building or individual areas. Understanding the peaks and valleys of your space occupancy means you can make changes as needed to ensure the work environment can meet the demand for dedicated desks, quiet rooms, and other office resources.

Optimization tip

If demand exceeds supply, consider making schedule adjustments to level out occupancy throughout the week. This ensures better resource allocation and keeps the office operating smoothly.

For example, a hybrid office could designate particular days for each team to come in for collaborative work. Instead of sales, marketing, and design all converging in the office on Wednesdays, you could have sales on Tuesday, marketing on Wednesday, and design on Thursday. (Try not to assign Fridays as any team’s in-office day. Historically, Friday is the least productive workday.)

If you want to allow teams to maintain more flexibility while still balancing supply and demand, you can use scheduling software that allows them to see which days and times the office resources they need are available. 

Average utilization

The average utilization rate of your office indicates the typical amount of time employees use the space you’re measuring. The higher the average utilization, the more value you get for that space. 

To calculate average office space utilization, take the total number of employees present in the space, divide it by your office capacity, and average it across your given time frame.

Let’s say you want to find out which day of the week your office typically has the best utilization rate. Looking at every weekday in turn, calculate the utilization rate for each hour and average it across the entire workday. You’ll be able to see the average utilization for each day and pinpoint the days that see the most activity. 

Optimization tip

This metric is where the “efficiency versus experience” tension happens. You don’t want square footage and resources that are paid for to go unused, but you also have to consider the employee experience. Employees don’t want to feel crowded or have to fight for last-minute meeting room space. If you hit your average utilization benchmark, that’s a great time to do an employee feedback survey to find out how workers rate the experience.

When determining average utilization for your workplace, remember to compare the occupancy rate against the total usable space capacity. Including square footage that’s not usable office space, such as an elevator or electrical room, will give you an inaccurate picture of your utilization. 

High-traffic areas

It’s important to know where your high-traffic areas are and when they see the highest number of people. These areas will need more frequent cleaning, maintenance, or inventory (depending on the type of space) to keep them hygienic and functioning as needed.

Optimization tip

People vote with their feet for the areas they like or find useful, so high-traffic areas can also show you what spaces, resources, and amenities your employees value. These are the areas worth investing in. For example, if the kitchen sees nonstop traffic from employees in search of a snack or another cup of coffee, that’s clearly an amenity that workers value. Keeping the kitchen clean and well stocked will optimize this amenity for your teams.

Meeting room and desk utilization

For an optimal workplace experience, employees need reliable access to conference rooms, dedicated desks, and collaboration spaces. Monitoring utilization for these areas of the office will let you know if they’re underperforming (a sign that you need to make changes) or if there isn’t a satisfactory ratio of employees to workstations. 

To determine utilization rates for specific workspaces in the office, take the total number of occupied meeting rooms or desks on a given day and divide it by the total number of those particular spaces. Review this data to find out how each type of space is performing.

Optimization tip

Many companies are seeing a trend of ghost or zombie meetings. Ghost meetings are those that are scheduled but no one attends. These ghost meetings turn into zombies when they’re set as recurring reservations that were later deemed unnecessary — but no one remembered to cancel them. 

If your reservation software shows higher utilization than your occupancy data reveals, you’re dealing with these ghoulish non-meetings. This leads to valuable resources going to waste, not to mention frustrated employees who can’t book the meeting spaces they want. To remedy this, set a time limit for check-ins. If no one checks in within 10 minutes of the reservation time, the room or desk is automatically freed up for others to use.

Checking your meeting space utilization metrics can also help you identify the most popular rooms. Once you know this, you can begin extrapolating the “why” behind it with a quick game of “spot the difference.” Does it have newer technology than the other rooms? Are there more soft seating options? Is it closest to the snack bar? Use this information to improve the meeting rooms that are underperforming.

Additional tips to optimize your workplace utilization

  • Let technology do the heavy lifting. Technologies such as occupancy sensors and space management software are a faster and more accurate way to see how your space is performing. They’re also the only way for facilities managers to get real-time data for a large area. 
  • A/B test your space. Not every change in office policies or floor plans is going to be a winner. Use A/B testing to find out which updates lead to increased utilization. 
  • Get feedback from employees. Space utilization is about more than reducing expenses and optimizing every square foot of real estate. You also have to consider the workplace experience for employees. Seeking their feedback provides valuable context to your data, and it shows workers that their office experience matters. 
  • Be mindful of trends. Use historical utilization data to see days when office occupancy has peaked in the past. This can help you project everything from inventory to staffing for those peak days. 
  • Offer amenities employees want. If your office occupancy is low, you’re not getting the value you need from your space. If downsizing isn’t an option, focus on enticing employees into the office with popular amenities such as commuter programs and free lunches.

4 tips for your flex work policy from 3 top companies 

Key takeaways

  • Employees want both location and schedule flexibility, but they value flexible schedules the most.
  • Create flexible policies that balance your business needs and your employees’ needs. If you can’t offer total flexibility, look for areas where you can make policies a little more flexible for workers. Some are better than none when it comes to flex policies.
  • Flexible work conditions provide a range of benefits for both employees and employers.

Flexible work options are a dealbreaker for employees

Employees wanting flexible work conditions isn’t a new thing. 

In 2016, 62% of workers said they would turn down a job that didn’t offer any flexibility. But in 2016, it was still an employer’s market. If workers left because they weren’t happy with company policies, plenty of candidates were available to replace them.

That’s not the case anymore. Now employees hold all the cards. 

Companies are scrambling to attract and retain talent, and workers can ask for what they’ve always wanted: flexible work policies. This bucks tradition, so it’s easy to understand why some organizations might see giving in to flex demands as losing valuable control. But there’s a better way to look at it. 

Here’s what can happen when employers move to flexible work options:

  • Improve recruitment. 95% of employees say they want flexibility at work. Updating your policies to accommodate this is an inexpensive way to massively improve your company’s appeal to job candidates. 
  • Reduce turnover. Policies that cater to workers’ needs create an unbeatable employee experience, ensuring workers want to stay with your company long-term.
  • Increase productivity. When employees can skip their long, stressful commutes, they have more energy to put into their work. 43% of workers report that flexible work hours enabled them to be more productive. 
  • Reduce sick days. Flexible policies give employees more opportunities to spend time with family or focus on their mental and physical well-being. This healthier work-life balance can help reduce the number of days an employee can’t work due to illness.
  • Repurpose real estate or downsize. Flex policies often come with office design or real estate changes. Dedicated desks can be repurposed into collaborative or social spaces. You may even find that you can reduce your real estate footprint and net huge savings on office space.

To help your company move in the right direction, we’ll break down the differences between flexible and hybrid policies and explore three companies getting flex right.

95% of employees say they want flexibility at work.

Future Forum

Flex and hybrid work aren’t the same

There’s some confusion around the terms “flexible” and “hybrid” work. It’s important to understand the distinctions because one is more highly sought after than the other. Future Forum has the numbers — 78% of workers want location flexibility (aka hybrid), and 95% want schedule flexibility.

Hybrid work:

  • Focused on location flexibility only
  • Employees split their work between the office and another location, typically a home office or coworking space
  • Employers dictate location flexibility rather than the employees 

Example of a hybrid policy: A company decides to allow employees to work from home on Mondays and Fridays. 

Why it falls short: While this is more flexible than not having a work-from-home option, it still doesn’t fall into the realm of the true flexibility employees want. With this policy, workers have to customize their schedules to fit the rule rather than have the leeway to choose what works best for them.

Flexible work:

  • Empowers employees to customize their schedules to suit their individual needs
  • Often includes flexibility for location as well
  • Takes an employee-first approach wherever possible

Example of a flexible policy: A company adopts a results-only work environment (ROWE), meaning an employee’s performance is based on their results rather than how many hours they worked.

Why it works: ROWE provides the ultimate flexibility for employees. They can choose when, where, and how to do their best work. Each individual’s schedule and preferences can be met, meaning everyone is satisfied. 

4 great flex policy examples from companies doing it right

1. Treat employees as individuals

Sodexo prioritizes the work-life balance, and their flex philosophy is to go with the FLOW. FLOW, which stands for Flexibility Optimizes Work, is Sodexo’s version of ROWE. The policy allows employees to choose their work hours and locations based on individual needs. The company encourages managers to keep open lines of communication, so employees always feel comfortable asking for what they need or sharing feedback. 

For Sodexo, flexible work policies have clear company benefits. Their website states that “when employers demonstrate respect in this way, employees gain a greater sense of well-being, which enables higher levels of engagement, loyalty, and productivity.” 

2. Have comprehensive and easy-to-understand guidelines

Moving from a traditional work model to a flexible one is a big change, and it can lead to confusion and stress if it’s not done right. MIT avoids misunderstandings about its flex policies by having clear, documented guidelines for employees. The document identifies who approves flex work arrangements, expectations for productivity, and special considerations such as what employees should do if they’re working alone on site.

3. Create reasonable limits based on your business needs

Every business is different, and it’s okay if yours can’t adopt a policy as flexible as Sodexo’s FLOW. There is room for some flexibility in almost every company. San Mateo County is a great example of finding ways to cater to employees’ flexibility needs without disrupting business services.

San Mateo County was way ahead of the hybrid and flex work curve, with memos about alternate work policies dating back to 1985. While it’s clear they’re fully on board with the flex work revolution, the organization has limits in place to ensure their business needs are met such as maintaining office hours for customers. They encourage departments to create “core” hours where employees must be in the office. Outside of these hours, workers can customize their schedules to suit their needs.

4. Think beyond basic schedule flexibility

San Mateo County is also notable for its voluntary time off (VTO) option. This program lets employees reduce their work hours between 1% and 20% and adjusts their pay accordingly. Employees can request VTO for any reason, whether it’s to care for a sick family member or take a personal enrichment class. This flex option allows employees to reduce their workloads when needed without losing their jobs.

Employees want control 

Many companies have embraced hybrid work models as a way to offer employees more flexibility. While that’s a great start, it falls short of reaching the level of flexibility workers really want. Employees want to have at least some control over their work hours so that they can create healthier work-life balances and work when they’re at their best. Organizations that cater to this can expect to see just as many benefits as their workers do.

Hybrid work is making proximity bias worse. Here’s what to do about that.

Companies are facing a dilemma in the aftermath of the pandemic.

After trying out remote work unexpectedly, many are choosing to either revert back to normal, or try a combination of both styles.

In-office: Companies like Tesla, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan are pushing for their staff to return to the office 9 – 5 as usual. Workers hate it, it drives up costs (real estate), it’s arguably worse for the environment, and it leads to higher staff turnover. In fact, an estimated 40% of American employees may quit their jobs if they are required to stop working remotely.

Remote: Others, like Twitter, Brex, and Gitlab have switched to working remotely full-time while companies like Buffer and Automattic have actually worked remotely since pre-pandemic days.

There’s no doubt that employees love working remotely, and according to this survey by Mercer, 94% of companies report that their productivity either increased (27%) or at least didn’t drop (67%) when they tried a fully remote, or remote-first setup.

While working remotely might be the future of work, it can tamper with employees’ work-life balance, and get them rushing out of bed at odd hours for Zoom meetings with peers in other time zones, as well as create emotional and psychological stress.

Hybrid: The hybrid work model is the middle way, and there are many ways to slice it. We have brands like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Twitter that have switched to this working model where employees split their time between a physical office and working remotely.

Hybrid work balances the gains of going remote and working face-to-face but may contribute to the already-problematic workplace issue of proximity bias.

What is proximity bias?

Proximity bias is the idea that office workers will be perceived as more productive, creative, committed, and loyal to a company’s vision, their team, and the leadership, and will consequently have more opportunities to advance in their career.

Proximity bias also manifests itself in more privileges offered to onsite employees, such as catered lunches, more 1:1 feedback sessions, more favorable performance reviews, raises, bonuses, etc.

Human psychology is wired to build kinship with those closest to us — it’s the halo effect, a cognitive bias where one or more of an individual’s positive qualities skews our perception of them as a whole.

In this case, workers who check into an office (or more often) create an appearance of being more committed to the company, mindful, and willing to sacrifice: proximity highlights the strengths of workers in the immediate vicinity so that they get preferential treatment over their remote counterparts.

Proximity bias also tends to get leadership to diminish the weaknesses of their office workers while doing the reverse for remote workers.

How does proximity bias manifest itself in the hybrid workplace?

There are many ways proximity bias promotes favoritism and preferential treatment towards office workers, at the expense of remote employees, such as:

Exclusive benefits and perks

This includes catered lunches, child care assistance, fitness and wellness memberships, etc., which may be made available to office workers while little thought is given to remote employees.

Performance evaluations & promotions

Remote employees may get fewer check-ins & follow-ups than their office-based counterparts.

That asymmetry creates conditions where in-office employees have more opportunities to impress leadership and advance up the career ladder faster.

A 2015 Stanford Graduate School of Business study reveals that remote workers are less likely to be promoted, even though they’re on average 15% more productive than office workers.

On the other hand, 37.8% of employees who quit their jobs do so to pursue better career prospects.

If you put those two situations together like it often happens in hybrid workplaces, the conditions are ripe for a perfect storm: leadership in hybrid companies are more reluctant to recognize remote workers, who in turn are willing to quit if they’re not compensated fairly.

Raises & bonuses

Promotions are the easiest way to get a bump in pay. The second way up is to handle high-stakes projects that have more visibility & impact more departments.

Both determiners tend to be biased against remote workers.

Office workers are closer to the action and can volunteer (or even be assigned) more readily to tackle high-impact projects (with the required resources provided, few questions asked) that will get them more raises and bonuses. Remote workers, not so much.

Compensation

Lately, we’ve also seen companies of all sizes threaten to cut remote worker salaries, reasoning that not commuting offers them advantages that should be curtailed with a cut in pay.

A few months into the pandemic, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook will reduce the salaries of workers who intend to move to cheaper locations. Google & Twitter have also stated that remote workers who leave San Francisco will have their paychecks reduced — up to 25% in Google’s case.

44% of remote workers may be willing to take a 10% cut in pay (according to this poll) to work from home permanently, but a 25% cut or higher might just be pushing it.

Faster information flow and easier access to resources

There’s only so much you can discuss via Slack or video conferencing.

In-office employees often encounter less friction with engaging their peers and superiors, getting their perspective on projects and assignments, requisitioning company resources, and cutting through bureaucratic red tape.

Overwork & burnout

It’s no longer news that remote work promotes burnout.

Remote workers don’t want to be seen to be letting the team down so they put in extra hours, especially since they have to try and measure up to their office-based coworkers who leadership believes are working harder anyway.

69% of remote workers surveyed during the pandemic said they were burnt out.

To get a better idea of how remote work affected that figure, we looked back to figures from 2019 and saw that it was significantly lower, or 23% — according to Forbes.

So, in just a year, burnout and stress jumped 200%, thanks to the need for remote workers to go the extra mile to prove their worth.

Office-based employees are perceived as more hardworking and productive; to catch up and get a level playing field, remote workers are working more hours on bigger and harder projects and it’s burning them out.

How to tackle proximity bias in a hybrid workplace

Proximity bias may develop subconsciously or without any prior thought. It just happens. But you need to work out a strategy for tackling it and giving your remote workers a level playing field with those based onsite.

Make your hybrid strategy remote-first

Research shows that coming into the office just one or two days per week is the sweet spot. So then, make it the default so that employees, managers, and even C Suite staff can’t use their office presence as an unfair advantage.

In extreme cases, you might consider capping the number of days employees can check into the office.

Have leadership set an example

For instance, while announcing Quora’s switch to a remote-first model, CEO Adam D’Angelo stated he wouldn’t spend more than a day in the office every month, and that leadership teams wouldn’t be located onsite.

As a result, Quora would only maintain its Mountain View office as a coworking space for employees who choose to work onsite.

Company leaders making such a bold statement can remove the pressure to check in and give remote workers subtle cues that they can work out-of-office without hurting their career prospects.

Engage your workforce in the decision-making process

This includes 1:1 conversations, surveys, and workshops where you can engage your hybrid teams to figure out any subtle ways they’ve experienced unconscious bias, such as in their workloads, compensation, etc., as well as brainstorming to figure out ways around it.

Proximity bias is a people ops problem — you can only solve it by working hand in hand with those affected.

Keep an eye out for inequity – maybe, even proactively measure it

There are several ways proximity bias can crop up. Measuring for it will help you see patterns that those affected (i.e. remote workers) may not be willing to open up about.

For instance, you can:

  • Measure your team’s workload
  • Look at how often your remote workers are getting promoted compared to their peers
  • Regularly survey your workforce to gauge satisfaction between remote workers and their office-based peers, etc.

Equip hybrid workers and teams to succeed out of the office

Your hybrid workforce will still feel the need to check into the office if they don’t have equal access to the same tools, apps, and opportunities as their peers, or if your company culture still gravitates towards the office.

Favoritism can take many forms and even subtle moves such as making team-building activities to be primarily face-to-face can make employees feel underprivileged.

Companies stand to gain by facing up to the issue of proximity bias

Among others, an equitable hybrid work environment will help you hire the best talent from across the world.

In addition, your employees will be more engaged, motivated, and energized in a dynamic workplace where they can work from wherever they want without having to defend their lifestyle choices from passive aggression, hurting their career choices, or getting sidelined for promotions.

4 key technologies for better facilities management in the workplace

Technology has revolutionized space management in recent years. The manual techniques used in the past to understand occupancy rates and O&M costs, manage day-to-day operations, and design floor plans are vastly outperformed by today’s software, especially when managing large offices or portfolios. However, this doesn’t mean that technology is making facilities managers and workplace teams obsolete. Far from it. 

The role of technology in facilities management

Facilities management has become increasingly important for the post-pandemic workplace. Companies face rising costs, increased competition for talent, and new employee demands, so it’s vital to have FMs armed with the tools they need to optimize the office effectively. 

Computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) encompasses the different types of software that support space management. These systems automate and improve the accuracy of data collection, allowing space managers to spend more time problem solving, monitoring important metrics, A/B testing, and creating future projections to help companies advance operational infrastructure while reducing costs.

Key technologies for space management in the workplace

The hardware and software listed below all play important roles in supporting FMs. Though they are all different, they can be grouped into at least one of three categories: visual data, real-time information, and task automation. 

  • Visual data allows space planning teams to understand data at a glance, so no time is wasted trying to mentally consolidate information into a meaningful conclusion. 
  • Real-time information means space managers can spot and fix problems as soon as they occur. Real-time data also feeds software such as desk reservation systems by showing what’s available right now. 
  • Task automation reduces human errors and saves time. The less time FMs spend on tedious tasks, the more time they have for higher-level management.

1. Occupancy sensors

Occupancy sensors tell you when people are using different spaces such as a conference room or phone booth, what time they were there, and how long they stayed. This information is in real-time and can work with other technology such as digital wayfinding signs or reservation software.

With the information you collect from occupancy sensors, you can identify underutilized areas and reclaim that space for a better purpose. Rather than automatically expanding square footage to accommodate new hires, you can review sensor data to see if the current space is ever at capacity. If it isn’t, the company doesn’t have to spend money on more office space.

Sensors also allow you to A/B test how changes to the workplace perform. This is the true test of whether new policies or layouts are effective. Did the tech upgrade in the conference room make people use it more? If so, you can deploy this change across your portfolio to increase the utilization of conference rooms in every location.

2. Reservations

As more organizations move to hybrid models and hot desking, it’s becoming essential to have a system to manage when and where people go when they come into the office. Reservation technology helps move your office into the modern era of work by creating a system for this. And when employees can book a desk or a conference room without assistance, that’s one less thing workplace teams have to worry about. 

Reservation software can inform policy changes by collecting data about missed bookings, inappropriately sized rooms, and unused desks. For example, if employees are booking desks for solo work and then never showing up, you can implement a time limit for check-ins. If the employee doesn’t check in within 10 minutes of the reservation, it’s immediately made available to others.

3. Virtual floor plans

Using software to create digital floor plans allows you to visualize changes before implementing them. You can spot potential problems such as bottlenecks or wasted space before you’ve moved a single chair, and you can test numerous designs to see which one will work best. It’s more cost-efficient (and less frustrating for both FMs and employees) to work out floor plan kinks in the planning stage rather than the implementation stage. 

4. Asset management 

Managing assets is a significant part of facilities management. It’s essential to have up-to-date information about your resources, from total square footage to the number of chairs in a specific office location. In addition to a general inventory, FMs also have to monitor the maintenance cycles of assets such as HVAC systems and the building itself. Staying on top of preventative maintenance and repairs ensures you don’t have a cascading series of breakdowns that affect building operations.

A key goal of space management is to reduce expenses, and asset management software can help ensure you never make unnecessary purchases. When asset details are paired with utilization data from sensors, you get even more valuable insights. If one location needs 50 new desks and you see another site has extremely low desk utilization, you can simply reallocate those resources to the location in need. This is one small example of the type of problem-solving that the right software can help you achieve.

Choose the right CAFM tools

  • Look for software that’s easy to use. The less training it requires, the faster you can start benefiting from its features.
  • Select technology that comes with support from the provider. When it comes time to update software or troubleshoot hardware issues, you want the reassurance that someone will be available to answer your questions.
  • Choose software that’s compatible with your existing technologies. The more technology you can integrate, the more comprehensive and easier to manage your data becomes. 
  • Keep your budget in mind, but don’t forget the value technology brings to space management. Budgetary constraints are unfortunate, and it can be expensive to invest in new technologies. However, be sure to factor in the ROI that comes with making data-backed decisions rather than educated guesses and the additional time that automation provides.

Why you shouldn’t talk about “returning to work”

Asking employees to return to the office is a delicate situation.

Employees who want to continue working remotely have options now, meaning you have to be careful in how you approach asking them to come to the office.

That includes being intentional with the specific language you use.

Language matters 

“Return to work” implies that people haven’t been working for the past two years, which is not the case. 

People have been working. 

Talking about returning to the office as “returning to work” can be read as dismissive or unappreciative of this fact.

Instead, opt for “return to office.” It’s more accurate and more neutral, which means you’re less likely to raise eyebrows — or tempers.  

Why it matters

Not only have your employees been working, but they’ve been:

  • Working in the middle of a historic pandemic
  • While balancing family responsibilities
  • Making do in ad-hoc ‘offices’
  • All while fighting the emotional rollercoaster of social distancing, sickness, and more

You don’t want your employees to read you as cavalier or unappreciative, particularly in light of the Great Resignation and the rise of the antiwork movement. 

Feeling disrespected at work is one of the top three reasons for resignations in 2021 in a recent Pew survey. 

Feeling disrespected at work is one of the top three reasons for resignations in 2021.

Pew Research Center

The power of semantics

Not everyone understands the controversy of using “return to work” vs “return to office.” Below, we outline a few other phrases to clarify the issue. 

Problem vs. challenge/opportunity

This example is fairly common in the business world. The word “problem” (often viewed as negative, a roadblock) is often replaced by more positive words like “challenge” and “opportunity.”

Boss vs. leader 

In recent decades, the word “boss” has become unfashionable. Many people believe it emphasizes one’s power over an employee. Words like “leader” (overtly positive) or specific titles like “CEO” (neutral) imply greater organizational equality and are likely better for morale.

Empower vs. amplify 

At first glance, the word “empower” seems innocuous enough — positive, even. However, in some contexts, it can be read as suggesting that the person doing the “empowering” is more important than the person or group being assisted. 

On the other hand, talking about “amplifying” someone’s voice suggests that the person or group has agency and is quite capable of “empowering” themselves — the ally is simply giving them a loudspeaker so their voice can reach more people. 

How to talk about the return to office with empathy

Communicating with empathy really comes down to one core concept: Treat your employees the way you would want to be treated if you were in their position.

Here are some tips: 

  • Be thoughtful and deliberate about your language.  
  • Acknowledge the challenges of the past two years. 
  • Thank employees for their hard work in the face of these difficulties.
  • Acknowledge that some employees have become accustomed to working remotely and might prefer it.
  • Be transparent about your reasons for wanting to return to the office environment.
  • Avoid implying that a return to the office is about increasing productivity or policing employee time management.
  • Acknowledge that the danger of Covid has not entirely passed and mention precautions the company will be taking to continue to protect immunocompromised individuals.
  • Invite employees to reach out if they foresee difficulties transitioning back to the office environment so you can explore solutions together.
  • Focus on the actual benefits of the office environment: the ease of collaboration, exposure to different perspectives, the career benefits, the opportunity for social interaction, etc.

For ideas on how to align your workplace with employees’ priorities, read 5 ways to make returning to the office appealing.

3 reasons why the office is key to better employee onboarding

Key takeaways

  • Employees have more job options than ever before; an effective onboarding process is a critical step toward reducing turnover.
  • The physical office is the ideal place to deploy your onboarding strategy. It helps new hires get to know their teammates and establish relationships that will provide a positive work experience. 
  • If a complete in-person onboarding experience isn’t possible, consider a hybrid approach. Even a few days in the office with colleagues can help new hires feel more comfortable asking for help and integrating into the team dynamic.

In November 2021, the number of workers quitting reached an all-time high of 4.5 million per month. The Great Resignation and the rise of professional ghosting, where new hires quit before they even start working, have many companies looking for ways to get employees to stay. 

For organizations that have embraced hybrid and remote work, there’s an easy way to gain an edge over the competition: move your onboarding back to the office.

The remote onboarding experience leaves a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to relationship building and connecting with company culture. Rather than meeting colleagues in person and having a guided and personalized onboarding experience, remotely onboarded new hires often have isolated, self-guided experiences.

There’s no warm welcome from colleagues and no chance of discovering shared interests while chatting at the water cooler. It’s a sterile experience, and at the end of it (if they reach the end of it), employees may have no real investment in your company.

Remotely onboarded new hires often have isolated, self-guided experiences.

The move toward virtual work models is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean in-office onboarding has to become obsolete. Your company can still reap the benefits of in-person onboarding with hybrid workers or even fully remote employees who live locally.

Why good onboarding experiences matter

Good onboarding sets a positive tone for a new hire’s experience with your organization.

Gallup found that 70% of employees who rated their onboarding experience as exceptional said they have “the best possible job.” Conversely, workers who have a negative onboarding experience are twice as likely to start looking for greener pastures.

The benefits of great onboarding can be boiled down to two essentials: better employee experiences that lead to increased productivity and cost savings from reduced turnover and recruitment.

Below are 3 common ways that these benefits play out. 

  1. Employees have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. In a survey of new hires who quit their jobs within the first few days, 23% said they needed clearer guidelines about their responsibilities. Good onboarding lays out the details of an employee’s roles and responsibilities. This gives workers confidence, reduces stress, and enables them to reach their full potential faster.
  2. New hires are more likely to integrate into the team successfully. Social bonds between colleagues can lead to more seamless and productive collaborations. Feeling like part of the team also creates a positive work environment for new hires, making them less likely to quit.
  3. Company culture stays consistent. When new employees understand a company’s values and overall culture, they’re able to perpetuate it. This keeps employee experiences positive and consistent from person to person and helps reduce turnover. 

Three reasons in-office onboarding is more effective

There’s a clear discrepancy between the effectiveness of in-person and remote onboarding, especially when it comes to teamwork and company culture.

TINYpulse compared their in-office onboarding in 2019 with their remote onboarding in 2020. They found that remotely onboarded employees provided 34% less peer recognition for colleagues’ successes and saw a 20% drop in acknowledgment of company values.

Cameo saw similar contrasts between employees who were onboarded remotely and in person. “[Cameo] has actually done some really interesting surveying and case studies for their own office,” Mike Palladino, Strategic Partnerships at Density, says. “They were able to determine that it actually took them nine months during the pandemic to get new sales professionals up to the same level as they were able to do in 90 days when people were in the office.” 

It took Cameo nine months during the pandemic to get new sales professionals up to the same level as they were able to do in 90 days when people were in the office.

Of course, in-office onboarding doesn’t automatically equal great onboarding. Only 12% of U.S. employees say that their companies have good onboarding practices. Successful onboarding starts with a smart, comprehensive plan. Once that’s ready, the best place to execute the plan is in a physical office environment.

Three reasons why the office is essential to effective onboarding

1. Greater control over the onboarding experience

By necessity, virtual onboarding is usually a “one size fits all” approach, which leaves little to no room to accommodate individual needs and preferences. Guiding someone through the onboarding process in person gives you greater control over the experience. 

With in-office onboarding, you can gauge how the employee is handling every stage of the process:

  • Do they seem confused about the company policy you just covered? Invite them to ask questions so you can clarify.
  • Are they overwhelmed by the amount of information they’ve received? Slow down the deluge of information to make them more comfortable. 

These adjustments happen naturally with an in-person onboarding experience, but with remote onboarding, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see the signs that a new hire is struggling. 

2. A better social experience

Humans are social creatures, and in-person onboarding provides a superior social experience over virtual options. For millennia, we’ve evolved to interact with others in a physical environment, and recreating that social experience through remote onboarding is nearly impossible. 

If a new hire is being onboarded remotely and has a question, who do they reach out to? Even if they know who to contact, asking a stranger questions over email or Slack can be intimidating. It’s easy for new employees to feel like they’re being a nuisance, so they’re more likely to avoid asking for the help they need. 

It feels much more natural to ask for guidance from someone you’ve met in person. There are dozens of body language cues that can subtly reassure workers that the colleague they’re speaking to is happy to help them. This makes a world of difference when asking questions in person, and it even makes future virtual interactions feel more personable. 

3. Faster resolution of IT problems 

New hires will inevitably encounter IT issues, whether onboarding is done remotely or in person. When this happens during remote onboarding (which it will — 90% of employees report IT problems during virtual onboarding), workers often experience long wait times to get help. This derails the forward momentum of the onboarding process and introduces a new layer of anxiety to an already stressful process.

With in-office onboarding, these issues can be addressed more quickly, and they can also create opportunities to turn stressful situations into great bonding moments. Which would you rather: Anxiously awaiting IT help alone at home (and likely wondering if you’ve been forgotten about), or waiting it out with some good-natured commiseration from colleagues? 

If full in-person onboarding isn’t possible, go hybrid

Now that hybrid and remote work have become common, many organizations have distributed teams. It can be challenging to develop a 100% in-office onboarding process when employees don’t all live in the same area.

In those instances, some in-person onboarding is better than none. Density has firsthand experience with this hybrid onboarding approach with our new Strategic Partnerships team. Their onboarding experience was split between virtual and in-office. After some initial remote onboarding, the team got together in our San Francisco office for a week. 

“It was really important for us to have that collaboration week. That was a perfect example of how physical office space was the facilitator that enabled us to do the work that we needed to do.”

Mike Palladino, Strategic Partnerships, Density

The key to great onboarding is familiarizing new hires with their responsibilities and helping them feel like part of the team. With a hybrid onboarding approach, use the virtual time to present employees with company policies and the expectations that come with their positions. During the in-office time, encourage them to ask questions about the information they received and then focus on building positive relationships between colleagues. 

Using personalization to gain an advantage

The world of work is now an employee’s market, and developing an effective onboarding program is critical to employee retention. Companies can gain an advantage over competitors by utilizing their physical office spaces to orient new employees and help them feel welcomed. In a landscape that’s increasingly virtual, offering a more personable, in-office onboarding experience can make all the difference.

Of course, onboarding is just one part of the overall employee experience. Today’s workplace leaders also need to know how to create — and maintain — a hybrid workplace culture.

How to create meeting rooms — without the rooms

Why does a conference room need to be a room?

It doesn’t.

Something we’re experimenting with is common space conferencing. It increases comfort. People can use that space for casual collisions.

Nathan Manuel, Sr. Director of Workplace Experience at PagerDuty

The idea of common space conferencing came to life out of necessity. As offices reopened, many people were uncomfortable lingering in confined spaces like meeting rooms.

At the same time, people wanted to come to the office to collaborate with others.

Manuel wondered if it were possible to merge the amenities of a conference room with the expanse of open space.

And so evolved common space conferencing.

Under the hood

PagerDuty’s two common space conferencing areas are reservable tables (one 9-seat table and one 12-seat table) that are outfitted with complete Zoom Room kits, meaning:

  • Large monitors (48-inch monitor and 60-inch monitor, respectively)
  • Microphones and speakers
  • Touch-screen device pad on the tables to easily join and end calls

A full telepresence experience in an environment that seems like it wouldn’t be a space chosen for a conference.

Nathan Manuel
Workplace Insight: Manuel has insisted that every meeting space at PagerDuty be Zoom enabled to ensure a democratized experience for all employees.

People are growing more comfortable sharing enclosed spaces with others. Knock on wood that trend will continue.

Yet despite growing more comfortable sharing confined spaces, people are still using these common-space conferencing spaces regularly. Not just for Zoom calls either. Teams will often use this space for casual in-person gatherings.

The challenges (and how to overcome them)

Your IT team might object. There’s less control over sound quality and visual environment (like passersby interrupting meetings).

That said, Manuel says it’s pretty well understood you don’t book these spaces to have private or focus-heavy meetings. In fact, the potential of interruptions can be seen as a value add.

“Since we don’t have the opportunity for casual encounters these days, I love the idea that you might actually see someone from a different team and wave to them,” Manuel says.

And to date, sound pollution coming into (or out of) these spaces hasn’t been an issue. Manuel was intentional on where he set up these tables — closer to collaborative “we spaces” like soft seating rather than heads-down “me spaces” like desking — see below:

The common space conference room, adjacent to soft-seating collaborative spaces.

Anything new is met with some fear. People aren’t used to meeting in open spaces. Understanding that, Manuel makes a point to lead by example — his team often books these spaces to show their value and purpose.

The value of “what if”

There’s no guarantee something like common-space conferencing will work in your office. But there was no guarantee they’d work at PagerDuty.

Manuel’s “I wonder what if” mindset helped introduce a new workplace experience that employees can’t get at home.

In this era of uncertainty, workplace leaders need to be willing to try, fail, and learn.

Learn more about what Nathan Manuel, and PagerDuty, are doing to redefine the workplace in the hybrid era.

Why you need to know how your commercial real estate is used

Even before the pandemic emptied offices, commercial real estate (CRE) had vacant space.

Now, the dynamic needs of tech-driven hybrid environments bring with them a unique set of workplace necessities, which can make understanding space utilization particularly challenging, especially without good data.

Because employees are using the office on different days with a variety of work styles and project types, workplaces must be as varied and enterprising as the people in them. This creates a fluctuating workspace that cannot be fully appreciated by just looking around. 

Workplaces must be as varied and enterprising as the people in them.

What may seem like a lack of adequate space could actually be a matter of underutilization. 

Before you sign a new lease to expand your commercial real estate portfolio, be sure you understand exactly how your current space is being used, and whether the right choice is more space or better-utilized space. 

Bigger is not always better 

Managing and optimizing CRE is a matter of balancing how much space you have with how that space is being used. As a bottom line, outdated areas that do not deliver the tools, comfort, amenities, and overall experience that is expected of them will remain unused. 

When one area is underutilized, there is overcrowding somewhere else, which can seem like a lack of sufficient space. If more square footage is added but not optimized, there will be more misallocated areas, starting the pattern over again. 

To break the cycle, you need to understand what people value in their workplace so that you can design spaces that better suit their needs. 

Designing the hybrid office 

It’s not hard to see why hybrid work has changed the physical demands of a workplace: People have shifting schedules, they collaborate in new ways, work from multiple locations, and the office is one part of a bigger employee experience. 

In a very fundamental way, it all boils down to a type of flexibility that was not prioritized in old neighborhood and allocation designs. 

The office is one part of a bigger employee experience. 

Employees want the freedom to work how they want, and an office that is designed for hybrid work will offer space that facilitates whatever they need to accomplish. That could be formal collaboration in a conference room or spontaneous brainstorming in an area with soft seating. 

It could be dedicated soundproof booths for heads-down work or a relaxing outdoor space where people can gather their thoughts before an important presentation. The key to this kind of new flexibility is variety. 

But with that variety comes more complicated designs and utilization metrics. The office is being reimagined as a destination that supports culture and well-being, prompting a range of spaces and support systems. The very nature of which can mean spaces are being creatively used for multiple purposes in a single week or even day.

While this is pivotal for enhancing the employee experience, what is going on at any given time is not an accurate sample of big picture usage. At the same time, if you don’t design spaces that meet these fast-changing requirements, they will remain vacant. The question then becomes how can you understand your space in a way that allows you to maximize design efficiency against such a complicated backdrop? The answer is data. 

The details of utilization  

As is the case with most things, the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. This is certainly true for something like signing a new lease. Without obtaining detailed metrics like occupancy, traffic patterns, hot spots, and points of congestion, trying to manage space utilization is a matter of perception. In other words, you are guessing usage based on how “full” a space “feels.” 

But amid the shifting hybrid landscape, there are simply too many variables to accurately understand space this way. The future of workplace optimization is measurement

The more detailed the metrics, the more successful your optimization efforts can be. Traditionally, space was understood through vacancy. What is being used and what isn’t? And although in a very simple way that is still worthwhile information, data tells you the most important thing of all: Why is space underutilized?     

Data tells you the most important thing of all: Why is space underutilized?     

Without knowing the reasons behind occupancy patterns, you are back to making guesses about how your space is being used, unable to concretely know if more space is the right answer.

The actual utilization rate across industries averages at 60%, while surveys show that the majority of companies are aiming for something between 70% and 89%. That means that in most cases, there is an opportunity to make existing spaces perform better, and the room that is needed is not for expanding but for improving. 

Data and real estate management 

Gaining a deep understanding of why space is underused is much different than just measuring a percentage of vacancy.

For example, there may be two conference rooms on a floor with slightly different layouts and tools:

  • The first might have a bigger table with more seating and newer tech for video calls.
  • The other might be situated in a quieter part of the office and have blinds that can be closed.

As the nature of tech-driven collaboration has become vital in the hybrid age, the first room might be frequently at capacity while the other is only occasionally occupied by individuals. And it would be easy to misread the situation as a simple vacancy issue. 

But there is a fundamental problem with this kind of observational thinking. The story of a building is more complex than that. 

A more realistic view of your space

What seems like a matter of space may actually be a matter of design.

In the above example, the second room, although appearing vacant, may be a vital place for people who have a hard time finding a distraction-free space at home and who need an area for heads-down work in the office.

Yes, the second room is underutilized for conferences, but it’s an issue of function. And for a private workspace, it might be overutilized (as a room that is designed for multiple people is only being used by one individual at a time). 

What seems like a matter of space may actually be a matter of design. Without data that lets you analyze that, an important point about the spatial needs of employees would be missed.  

Optimization makes more space without expanding 

At the same time, this scenario may seem to require more space. Either for teams that want to use the first room and often find it full, or for individuals who are looking for closed areas to focus and find there aren’t enough for their needs.

As a result, both teams might petition for expanded space, and without data, knowing if those requests are warranted would again be reduced to best guesses. 

Read more about reducing the politics of your decision-making here.

You need metrics to make smart real estate decisions based on exactly how space is being used, not how it appears to be. In the end, you save space, create a better workplace experience by equipping people with the precise tools they need to work productively, and avoid expanding and acquiring new real estate that may very well still suffer from the same utilization issues as your current building. 

The importance of a dynamic workplace

Of course, the above example is overly simplified.

No commercial real estate consists of an office with only two rooms. In reality, data will reveal the dynamic needs of large teams working across big spaces, and how flexibility can be designed to suit a diversity of work styles.

You need to be able to A/B test designs and equipment to orchestrate the most effective layouts. 

Space utilization data will tell you that a conference room is crowded because it has the most current communication tech, or that visual privacy is important to people who want to focus. With that information comes smarter decisions that help you make better spaces.

On the other hand, data will also tell you when expanding and signing a new lease is the right choice, and the information you have from testing your current space will help you optimize your designs for the future. 

Watch how Okta is using data to redefine its workplace and real estate strategy here. 

Data makes the world a better workplace – Reduce. Reuse. Maybe don’t release

The global building floor will double by 2060. That is the equivalent of adding a New York City to the world every month for 40 years.

It’s not a coincidence that 40% of CO2 emissions are attributed to real estate

In the conversation about space optimization, thinking about the impact your business has on the world is part of the dialogue. But it’s not just a matter of being sustainable. Many leading organizations are taking a proactive stance on finding ways to be green. Staying relevant in the market may mean adopting those operational principles.

A recent article Forbes notes that “[a]stute investors are exploring the implications of climate change on their portfolios.”

In a way, reducing the carbon CRE footprint starts with space utilization data. If every building employed sophisticated utilization metrics to optimize its space (going from the 60% actual average to the 90% goal), a huge amount of space could be saved, preventing the need for an ever-expanding footprint and reducing the global emission rates. 

For companies concerned with the triple bottom line — people, planet, and profit — investing in detailed utilization data optimizes their spaces while reducing their carbon footprint in a responsible, sustainable way.

Your team. Your space.  

Knowing how much space you need isn’t always as binary as using metrics for space utilization. Every organization, team, and employee has a unique set of goals and needs, and the right amount and type of space will not be the same from organization to organization.

Employing metrics saves money and space, but it also improves the workplace experience. It’s a way to get to know more about your spaces and the teams that use them. 

There is no formula that dictates exactly how much space you should or shouldn’t have. But by thinking about space as more than just quantity, and recognizing how it is used and who is using it, you can design better sp

How to measure the value of your workplace 

Employees have new behaviors and working patterns. As more companies adopt a hybrid work model, the workplace now needs to serve as a destination to enhance employee experience.

But how do you measure that? 

What is important to employees returning to the workplace?

A survey by Microsoft shows that over half of employees consider the overall environment of their workplace a key factor in their employment. For workplace leaders, that means creating a positive and nurturing space is a critical part of a successful return to the office. This comes down to having a firm understanding of what employees need and designing spaces that complement those requirements. 

Hybrid work has blurred the line between home and office, personal and professional. With that combination comes the desire in employees to manage their own workload and be in control of how they complete their work. Offices need to be reimagined as pieces of a comprehensive work network; a destination that enhances the overall experience of employees.

According to Forbes, “The office environment should aim to connect employees’ personal and professional lives and support and improve their well-being.”

That means two things for the office.

Flexible workspaces

Employees have different working styles, and the kind of work they do will vary between projects and project stages. Matching that dynamic need with well-designed spaces that provide room for collaboration and concentration will make the office a destination employees want to be in. 

It’s all about giving employees flexibility and agency. Research done by McKinsey found that the most resilient companies during the first year of the pandemic deployed cross-siloed teams that were empowered to make impact-driven decisions. A fact that benefited the overall company while improving employee satisfaction. 

Focusing on well-being

With the proximity between personal and professional narrowing, HR leaders are recognizing the need to support employee well-being and mental health. The pandemic has been hard on employees, and it has tested their resilience. People have been through a lot and they want to feel supported personally and professionally as they return to the office with new concerns about what the future of work will look like. Workplaces that integrate both spaces and services that provide for holistic employee well-being will be adding much-needed value for their teams. 

How to add value to the workplace experience

Once you understand what employees need as they return to the office, providing value becomes a matter of creatively meeting those expectations. 

Tech that supports hybrid work

Working from home taught us just how important communication technology is, and that requirement extends to the office. Employees need to be able to collaborate and communicate with coworkers on staggered schedules and clients in widespread geographic areas. Offices that do not find ways to give employees seamless digital communication options are going to fall behind. One study from PwC reveals that over half of executives are planning to enhance their conference rooms for maximum virtual connectivity.  

There is incredible value in making things easy. When offices provide functioning and intuitive systems for their employees, the workplace becomes inviting. 

Beware though. Employees are willing to embrace tech — but not at the expense of their privacy.

Collaboration 

While it has been proven that high-level knowledge-based work can be done very effectively from home, the office provides a desirable place for people to collaborate in personal ways. The Wall Street Journal suggests that the office be thought of as “a place for connection and community—as a clubhouse rather than a workplace.”

The belief that collaborative space enhances experience and innovation can be seen in new office designs. For example, Salesforce has reduced their desks by 40% to make room for team-focused areas like booths with soft seating, community nooks, and cafes. 

Salesforce reduced desks by 40% to make room for team-focused areas

Heads down work

An increase in collaborative areas does not mean eliminating space for individual work. Privacy, quiet, concentration, and focus are integral components of how people function to complete projects and jobs. Home offices can be hectic, and the relaxed domestic atmosphere is full of distractions and responsibilities.

Providing dedicated quiet zones where people can work without interruption is essential for productivity. 

Source: Statista

To address this need, Spotify has created what they call a library in their office with bookshelves dividing personal desk space, explaining, “It’s a space you can go to when you need to nail down that presentation.” 

Learn how workplace leaders are creating the right mix of “we” and “me” spaces here.

Furniture 

The best support employees can have is options. Hybrid work schedules mean different teams on different days working on various projects. Having a balance of allocated space where employees can choose the kind of work they want to accomplish is the cornerstone of improving their workplace experience. 

While some offices may choose to have dedicated “me” and “we” spaces, others will use flexible furniture that adapts to the real-time needs of their employees. The shift is to think about spaces as adaptable neighborhoods furnished for both team and solitary work as employees need them. Twilio is one example. They’re redesigning spaces once fitted with workstations as “dynamic” spaces with configurable furniture.

It’s creating yet another way in which people can collaborate. So it’s no longer one-size-fits-all. It allows more variety to meet people where they are, to work how they work.

Devorah Rosner, Twilio

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, wrote in a shareholder letter, “We will quickly move to a more ‘open seating’ arrangement, in which digital tools will help manage seating arrangements, as well as needed amenities.” 

Flexibility can take many forms — the key is adaptability. That can mean investing in open floor plans, hot desking, movable dividers, or tech for desk booking that can turn a conference room into a collaborative meeting space in the morning and a closed-door individual space in the afternoon.   

What support looks like 

One of the most important additions that can be added to an office is a proactive approach to wellness. This is another aspect of the work-life blend that has evolved from hybrid work. Employees want workplaces that meet their practical needs and well-being programs that care for them mentally and emotionally. In a very fundamental way, this is the integrated and holistic pinnacle of the modern workplace experience.

The company Synchrony Financial has adopted well-being coaches who work with employees to personalize wellness strategies. And it’s not a coincidence that 92% of employees say Synchrony is a great place to work. 

Not every company can hire dedicated coaches, but they can start taking steps that tend to employee well-being. Things like providing ergonomic furniture, supplementing healthcare costs, adding healthy food options to break rooms, and offering childcare services are all forward gestures that herald the employee-first work age. 

How you measure the value of your workplace

The importance of a positive employee experience is too important to be left to chance. Intentional and data-driven ways of making better spaces are an integral part of future design plans for employers and workplace leaders.

While metrics like value and experience are not in and of themselves quantifiable, there are ways to understand the impact your space is having. 

The importance of a positive employee experience is too important to be left to chance.

Workplace utilization data

The best and most direct way to learn about your space is utilization data. Occupancy metrics show which spaces get used and when they are being utilized. This provides straightforward information on what employees value by revealing where they spend their time. 

A utilization heatmap from the Density platform

Engagement

When employees feel valued and in turn value their workplace, they will be more engaged. This can be seen in part as another facet of space utilization—higher occupancy in certain areas can read as daily engagement

But it also has to do with participation and going beyond minimum responsibilities. When people feel secure and nurtured, they naturally want to have a deeper involvement in their work. As a result, Harvard Business Review noticed that engaged employees are more likely to participate in ad-hoc meetings and initiatives. 

Employee feedback 

There is no substitute for getting employee feedback when it comes to gauging workplace experience. It’s an essential component for finding out how people are engaging on a daily basis. Feedback can teach workplace leaders about space and tech needs, plus what kinds of wellness resources would be most effective for unique teams.

It also shows compassion and interest on the part of the employer, and a study by Gallup reveals that listening to employee feedback actually increases productivity

Retention 

In a bigger and longer-term picture, measuring retention shows what is working. Amid an unprecedented shift in employment numbers following the pandemic, retention is a highly valuable way to recognize the overall experience of your employees. Simply put, people who feel encouraged, productively challenged, and valued will stay with a company. 

A new standard 

Hybrid work has made the employment landscape an intricate structured balance. People work from various places, schedules are staggered for flexibility and safety, advanced tech needs are mandatory, and providing for the complex work-life of employees in and out of the workplace is requisite. 

Most importantly, each of these threads does not exist parallel to the others, but instead, they are braided together to create an integrated employee experience. To make sure you are providing the necessary components that complete this united workplace approach, find out what your employees need and how to measure the value you are adding to these new standards