Video: How to create a better workplace?

Creating a better workplace starts with creating a good employee experience. In this video, Paulo Lopes from Haltian, gives some insights and tips on what employers and HR professionals should consider when thinking about how to create a better workplace.

Focusing on employee experience is more important than ever

Work life has changed for good. While the way especially information workers are doing their jobs has been going through a gradual transformation for a long time, due to COVID-19, most companies have been pushed through a big chance whether they liked it or not. Remote work is the new normal, and now many companies are pondering over different styles of working: home, office or something in between?

Whether your workforce is working full time from home, or from the office, all employers and HR professionals are wondering:  How to create a better workplace? 

Building a better workplace has everything to do with building a good employee experience. The benefits of a good employee experience are: 

• Raises engagement 
• Increases performance 
• Helps you attract and keep the best talent 
• Increases innovation 
• And creates better customer experiences – because people who are happy with their jobs, are happier to serve your customers better in return! 

According to author and keynote speaker Jacob Morgan, employee experience is formulated from three categories of touch points: technology, physical space and culture. 

Employee experience and technology 

The technology used in the workplace has an enormous impact on how we communicate, co-operate and get things done. To create a good workplace, the technology needs to be available for everyone, and easy and intuitive to use.  Technology needs to be an enabler that makes everyday work tasks easier and doesn’t give you a headache every time you try to do your basic work tasks.   

Create better employee experiences with Empathic Building

Employee experience and physical space

Physical space is the space one people work at whether is at home or at the office, and it comprises 30% of the employee experience according to Morgan. 

Now, you may think that the time of talking about physical work spaces is redundant now, but you need think what kind of spaces  you’re offering to your employees, both at home and in the office. It’s important o ask these questions:  

• Do people have enough space and all the equipment they need? 
• Do people have enough privacy and the ability to focus on their work? 
• Are the environmental conditions optimal to perform in the best way, meaning the temperature, air quality, and lighting?  
• Are you offering the flexibility people want? 

Of course, you won’t be able to affect all these things, especially at people’s home offices. But in a modern workplace offering choice and flexibility based on individual needs is key. For some being with their laptop at their local coffee shop is the best, while some want all their equipment with an adjustable desk and an ergonomic chair at the office.

Employee experience and company culture

When it comes to company culture, it’s really something people experience by feeling more than anything else. Therefore it’s often hard to measure or put into words.  

Building a positive company culture starts from making some overall rules of conduct for the operation of the entire company. There the culture dribbles down to all the little details on how people interact with each other and take everyone into consideration on a daily basis. When thinking about company culture, consider the following:

• Good company culture means that everyone feels that they have a sense of purpose and that they are a valued part of a team 
• A positive work environment also sees employees as a whole and promotes good work and home life balance.  
• Everyone needs to be treated fairly, and diversity and inclusion are pillars of positive company culture

In the everyday work life, good company culture shows in many things, like open communication and giving feedback in a constructive and positive way.  Let’s face it, at the end of the day, the company can set out all kinds of rules and statements, but it’s the small things that matter. 

Conclusion

Here you have some tips on how to build a a better workplace, stating from focusing on employee experience first! Check out our further reading to discover how you can design a great employee experience: