Experiences Get People to the Office in 2023

It’s been just about a year since many physical offices reopened and now we have enough data to better understand what gets people to want to come to the office. For companies with a hybrid work environment, going to the office will have to become a joy that makes up for the inconvenience of the commute. Experiences are at the forefront of this shift because they drive how we feel.

In 2023, companies will have to design an optimal workplace experience where space, technology and events promote a collaborative culture. 麦肯锡 says that companies “should design and activate offices that foster human connection and create tailored, authentic experiences with a hospitality mindset.”?

First let’s be clear on what I mean by “workplace experience.” I define it as a series of interactions with physical space, objects, technology and people which appeal to the senses, elicit emotions, foster learning and ultimately impact a person’s ability to do their best work. As with any experience, it occurs along a timeline. You might consider the experience beginning the moment they leave their house or when they step into your building’s lobby. Across the course of a day, numerous interactions occur that could provoke a number of emotions: joy, wonder, awe, confusion, discouragement, boredom, anxiety, stress or even dread.?

Let’s hope dread doesn’t happen! Essentially, a good workplace experience will maximize the good moments and minimize the bad ones. Links in this article go to supportive data, starting with Gensler建筑设计事务所 , a global design and architecture firm. They recently released a white paper titled, “Future of Work: Navigating and Supporting the New Hybrid Workplace Reality.” Gensler surveyed companies of various geographic locations and industries on their strategies for enticing employees to the office. The results of their research were primarily experiential:

1. Create experiences that foster social connections. i.e. On-site food and catered meals, in-person events and intentional meetings.?
2. Minimize the pain points for employees in being at the office. i.e. Identify challenges in using technology and space so that people have a seamless workday.?

BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER WITH PURPOSE

Resoundingly, social connection is a major force. This factor was confirmed last summer when Edelman Data & Analytics conducted a survey of 20,000+ workers in 11 countries for the Microsoft Work Trend Index Report. The report found people want to connect with their colleagues in person. 84% of employees were in fact “motivated by the promise of socializing with co-workers.”

Across time, companies have tried many ways to get employees to meet new people and connect with those they already know. A popular approach last year was offering free food. No surprises here! People like free food and the camaraderie that goes along with it. Beyond free lunch, companies have varied levels with which they put intention into bringing people together. People come together in-person for work in a few ways, usually:?

• Informational meetings?
• Collaboration
• Trainings?
• In-office social events?
• Out-of-office social events
• Spontaneous interactions?

A lot of talk has been going around about “gathering with intention.” Essentially, this means that you have a defined purpose and all participants know it. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker is all about defining the purpose of getting people together.? When we have to talk about doing something “with intention,” the hidden meaning is that people often schedule events without intention. The level at which a company clarifies its purpose for events and meetings reflects their corporate culture, which has powerful resonance throughout an organization.?

Let’s look at contrasting approaches of intention at two consulting firms. The first example will go unnamed since I am using them as an example of a less intentional strategy. A sample job posting from this “top consulting company” advertises for a Workplace Experience Coordinator. Under work responsibilities, it states that the person will manage a set list of prescribed activities that include Cake Day and Thanksgiving Potluck.?

For this company, an entry-level employee plans gatherings centered around food and treats. Creativity, problem-solving, learning or the integration of company vision or goals are not considered as part of these social events. (Now just to be fair - this information does come just from a job posting.) It seems the gathering intends to build camaraderie and perhaps check an item off a task list as opposed to using the experience for a more intentional purpose.??

One episode from the IDEO podcast, “Creative Confidence,” explores the intentionality of bringing people together in hybrid work environments. Sacha Connor , founder and CEO of consultancy Virtual Work Insider, says that bringing people together has to go beyond easy camaraderie-building activities like giving out free snacks. She adds, “Now that we’re behind the virtual curtain, we realize how we need to be so intentional about reinforcing values and behaviors.”

Speaking of IDEO, a consulting firm that is a global leader in design thinking - they are my second example. IDEO is very intentional with their social activities. Years before remote work became the norm and the recent boom of community building within the office, they hired Workplace Experience Specialists for their offices. (Don’t pay attention to the specifics of the job title as they don’t go by hierarchy.) These Specialists?manage experiences that express IDEO values, which include learning from failure as well as collaboration.?

For these experiences, employees may come together virtually or in-person to engage in creative activities, such as a crafting session or playing with a new tool at the office like a 3-D printer. On another level, their experiences pair team bonding with upskilling. For example, IDEO does a Moth-like live storytelling event that creates space for team members to be vulnerable and show different dimensions to their personalities. The event exercises the storytelling skills that help designers tell better stories to clients while promoting a vulnerability that grows trust among teams. Vulnerability also welcomes people to experiment and make mistakes in order to design, build, and iterate. Failure is, of course, a foundation for innovation. Their storytelling event satisfies Learning and Development, builds community, and most importantly, deeply instills IDEO values.

So in the first example, the events just happen and bring people together, usually around food. IDEO’s activities build community through reinforcing the values and behaviors that drive their innovative culture. It takes strong intention to execute what IDEO does. Bringing people together with purpose, strategy and company values requires not just an entry-level coordinator, but someone versed in management, innovation, strategy, events, community building and more.?

BUT WHAT IF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU BELONG??

You can create the right environment for your gathering, but there are many “what ifs” that should be considered when dealing with the complexity of human dynamics. What if you have a toxic co-worker? What if you are a woman working in a heavily male-dominated office? What if you are an extreme introvert? Difficult moments with co-workers can be pain points in the workplace experience. Social connections don’t mean a whole lot if you feel you have to show up to work hiding behind a mask.?

Initiatives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion therefore need to align with a workplace experience strategy. Furthermore, DEI learning can be integrated into social activities. At the Chicago office for Edelman, for example, their affinity groups organize programming around heritage months or community causes. For one event, they hosted a conversation with four interfaith leaders. Trisch Smith , Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, said, “It was one of the most powerful conversations we've had in terms of opening eyes—about how we can be curious and still not necessarily agree about everything but agree with one another.” Fostering this kind of curiosity and communication filters into the workday, deeply instilling how to be respectful when co-workers have differing ideas.??

The degree to which people’s identities are affirmed and validated will influence the success of any gathering - whether that gathering be a one-on-one meeting or an out-of-office corporate retreat. Consider a time when you were at a social function and felt that you didn’t fit in. Maybe everything you said just fell flat. You wanted to put your foot in your mouth and didn’t have the confidence to speak up. These are moments when people feel like they don’t belong.??

Our old friend McKinsey and Co.says, “It’s not about the office, it’s about belonging.” For social moments to have impact, other elements of organizational culture need to be in place. Whether your organization has an adhocracy or hierarchy culture, leadership must establish norms that welcome engagement among all team members - including the newbies, introverts, or entry-level employees.??

MINIMIZE PAIN POINTS?

The pain points in a day can be social, as mentioned above, or they can be the physical elements of the space. Interior design elements, such as minimizing the acoustic issues of zoom calls in open layout offices, need to be redesigned for the current work environment. Technology in the office can provide more ease for daily needs - if it’s executed well. Utilizing software that further assists with booking space is one example surfacing in workplace experience discussions.?

Culture Strategist Lorne Rubis ICD.D brought up a big pain point when I recently took his Harvard University course called “Building Organizational Cultures.” Get rid of bureaucratic, clunky processes. As an “idea person” myself, this one particularly resonates. Inefficiencies like pointless paperwork can be an absolute bane. They get in the way of people doing their best work.?

For a future post, I’ll explore more on how service design methods can optimize your workplace experience strategy. In service design, a user journey map that considers all stakeholders. Part of the process is identifying people’s pain points and needs. For a quick overview of service design, here’s an eight-minute read.?

BUILD COLLABORATIVE CULTURES?

In an academic paper titled “Another Day, Another Chance: Daily Workplace Experiences and Their Impact on Creativity,” researchers categorized the daily feelings of workers. The researchers had workers classify their work day as a Toxic Day, Disengaged Day, Typical Day, Ideal Day, or Crisis Day. Consider how a social connection with a co-worker could contribute to any of these “days.” Perhaps the office arranges a spontaneous break for treats and you and a co-worker end up discovering you live in the same neighborhood. Or instead, you may have a “Toxic Day” when a crabby boss expresses frustration at the work you submitted.?

Similarly, a bureaucratic process could turn your day into “crisis day.” You have a hard deadline but the outdated software necessary to submit it happens to be down. You have frantic moments of asking co-workers for help, but you imagine sighs of disapproval behind their Slack message responses. Productivity and creativity are low on crisis days.?

What the academic paper expresses isn’t exactly rocket science, but it helps to have the data: creativity happens on good days. You want to enfranchise your employees to be creative, whether or not their job position is particularly creative. Creativity happens in problem solving, such as optimizing operational flows. David Kelley of IDEO says that creativity “is not the domain of a chosen few.” When everyone comes up with more ideas, it leads to better decisions and makes people more resilient when failures happen. (His book Creative Confidence would be a great read for a book club if your company has one). You want your employees to be creative, and they have a better chance of it when going to work is a good experience.?

MAKE EXPERIENCES A STRATEGY??

And while we are at it - make sure your workplace experience strategy fits within the vision of your organizational culture, assuming that you have defined your vision. Many companies are looking to foster social connections and boost productivity - not just to make an awesome workplace experience - but because it feeds the bottom line. These elements contribute to making a collaborative culture, and collaborative cultures are what the C-Suite and Harvard professors agree is crucial for company growth.?

The ultimate take-away - make work at the office enjoyable and they’ll want to come.

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