Attracting and Retaining Talent with the Smart Workplace

Understanding the needs of the employees is crucial, especially when moving into new working spaces or when introducing new working strategies, as there is no one solution that fits all. When employees move around the office more, this creates new logistical challenges.

For example, employees normally have fixed lockers, which makes working at a different location in the office a lot less obvious. The implementation of the right technologies in offices reinforces the workplace strategy and ensures that organizations are future-proof.

Opting for a smart workplace can help companies create better employee experiences, improve collaboration and innovation, and at the same time optimize space and operational costs.

Let’s take a closer look at the definition of an attractive workplace. What is needed these days to have an attractive workplace?

Many millennials value a healthy work environment very highly. Yet, according to statistics from the British Council for Offices, 39% of employees say their workplace does not support wellbeing.
This perception is definitely influencing the employees’ experience of the workplace and employees may therefore rank the company as less attractive.

The employee wellbeing is influenced by many different aspects in the office, think of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting, acoustics and biophilic design. Workplaces that embrace the highest level of employee wellbeing can achieve the highest possible levels of WELL, Fitwel, RESET and other wellbeing-related certifications.

To attract the most talented employees, businesses have to raise their game to offer more technologically-advanced, attractive and healthy work environments that are likely to increase productivity.

As the line between private life and work is becoming increasingly blurred, employees are expecting more and more from their workplace. The expectations of the modern customer are incredibly high, fed by the impressive service that the leading online companies already deliver. Employees now expect that the workplace provides the same digital experience they are used to with services such as Airbnb, Uber and Amazon.

They are looking for a comfortable environment equipped with technology services that match or exceed the performance of those they have at home.

A workstyle that is gaining a lot of popularity is Activity Based Working, which implicates that the employee can choose the most suitable workplace for the tasks they are about to execute. This enables them to be as productive as possible.

Employees want to have the freedom to choose where and when they want to work. Digitalization of the workplace is an important aspect to make this happen. If we want people to be productive when they are working flexibly or remotely we need to provide them access to the right technology to do so.

Then we have the physical workplace. When workers decide to work in the office, we need to make sure that they have a workplace that matches their needs. While more people work outside the office it is key to rethink your office design: how can you optimize your spaces and reduce costs while offering the best workplace experience to your team?