‘Business as usual’ is no longer acceptable in the current climate and a range of challenges beset organisations who are reluctant to grow with the evolving expectations of today’s top talent. Because running a successful business is not just about being profitable, it’s also about having the right people to help you achieve mission-critical outcomes for your organisation.
So to attract and retain employees that are both the right fit and highly skilled, business leaders need to create environments that nurture growth and positive corporate culture. Rethinking the modern workplace and creating intuitive, inspired spaces where teams can come together to work and collaborate, has sparked a paradigmatic shift where the office can become a destination workplace; a place where staff actually want to be, rather than where they have to be.
About 85% of employees feel disengaged from their jobs and this can significantly impact an organisation's financial gain and staff turnover and both of these factors can be incredibly cumbersome. As many business leaders brace themselves for the great resignation, those who are forward thinking have devised strategies to attract and retain their employees. Because staff can be advocates who, when fit with good reason to, can champion a company’s purpose and mission.
Placing a higher premium on company culture and the development, wellbeing and interests of your employees will contribute to a thriving, more motivated workforce. The key here is to be acutely aware of the importance of creating spaces that help cultivate a strong sense of culture and the benefit this has on engagement, productivity, and your company’s bottom line. It pays to evaluate your current culture, to see how well your company encourages positivity, incites openness and transparency, provides meaning and purpose, nurtures growth, fosters social connectedness, and how all of these fare against your organisation’s goals.
Business leaders who aren’t actively tuning into what their staff want and need to be most productive, especially during this period of great transformation, run the risk of losing their top talent. While many organisations continue to operate in a hybrid framework, it’s important that teams aren’t missing out on that fundamental human connection. Enter; the destination workplace.
Teams should feel empowered, to work from wherever they want but it’s also wise to engender a sense of cohesion and collaborative culture in the physical office where people can chat, brainstorm, laugh and bond in real life. By reallocating office areas to be more collaborative through design, creating an inspiring ambience that’s conducive to productivity, and taking advantage of emerging technologies that make the lives of staff easier, you’ll be able to hold on to top talent. With spaces that are inviting, inspiring and stimulating, destination workplaces can cultivate a genuine connection and spark ingenuity. In short, investing in the interests of your people will pay dividends.
Your employees should be given good reason to leave the comfort of their home offices and commute to the workplace. Destination workplaces that really hit well also tend to offer flexible scheduling to accommodate for commuting and traffic, and seamlessly integrate the organisation’s purpose with the daily activities of their employees so they feel like they get some time back in their day. Whether it be through in-house perks like gyms, spas, workshops, a stocked snack pantry, or a kitchen abound with all the coffee options to satisfy everyone. Or even the convenient location of the office, for example, being near public transport, childcare facilities, retail outlets, grocery stores, or simply a range of restaurants and cafes.
And then there’s tech. Future-proofing the office with smart, intuitive technology is another way business leaders can make the destination workplace worth the commute for their staff. And as everyone wants to work smarter, not harder, new process-improving technologies have become a requisite for attracting and retaining top talent. Companies that capitalise on enterprise tech stacks that make day-to-day tasks run more smoothly and efficiently, can also increase their competitive edge in today’s market and appeal to future recruits.
Your staff can help shape the future of your company and have a monumental influence on your corporate image. So, the success of your business hinges on your commitment to your employees. The destination workplace is a clear and tangible representation of your company’s community and culture and can be the difference between attracting and retaining employees, or losing them.
If you’d like to learn more about the new role of the office in the future of work, read The Future of Work: A Progressive Leader’s Guide.