Gallup, Inc. research says that companies with highly engaged workers – employees who are enthusiastic and committed to their work – outperform their peers by 147% in earning per share. The research also states that in the U.S. only 32% of employees are truly “engaged” in their work. That leaves 68% of workers in the “unengaged” category.
So, where does your company line up in those statistics? How do we go about increasing employee engagement? It’s important to realize how your physical space can increase your ability to achieve this goal.
Employee engagement is created by developing strategies to enhance the employee experience. People are looking for work that is meaningful, challenging, and important. As a leader, you need to know and understand what your employees care about and value. Ask them.
Good pay, quality health care coverage, and paid time off are all important factors that lead to positive, engaged workers. Your physical space also plays a role.
As you design new space or renovate existing space, it is important to include all levels of employees, not just C-suite inhabitants. Mid-level managers, employee focus groups, and employees themselves will also be your champions for change. Gathering input from all employees will increase engagement.
Here are a few ways to engage employees in designing or renovating your space:
1. Provide furniture mock-ups, samples of the new work station, chair, or technology hub. Allow employees to test it out and give feedback. Or provide multiple samples/mock-ups and allow employees to vote on their favorites.
2. Open and available seats such as a private desk, an open table, or a café/collaborative area. Ample meeting environments, including both formal and informal environments and spaces with both high and low technology options, are another key feature to empowering and engaging employees.
3. Gather employee input for themes or room names. For example, you can create a competition to name the formal conference rooms. Are they each named after one of the Great Lakes, or cars or continents, or something else that aligns with your business?
Make Move-In Day Part of the Process to support engaged workers
The experience on move-in day plays a significant role in your employee’s sense of belonging and a positive view of the process/company. Provide a welcome package for each employee. Include items such as a snack, instructions on using the new height adjustable desks, a map showing the location of the copy area, toilet rooms, and the café, and guidelines for how to use the new types of spaces (i.e. you can’t commandeer the “private phone call room” as your personal office for six hours every day.)
The chances are good that 68% or more of your employees are not engaged workers. Wouldn’t you rather be the company with high employee engagement, leaps and bounds ahead of your competition? Take a hard look at your employees, ask them why they work at your company and learn about their passions. When you find ways to make work more meaningful to them, engagement will increase and your profits will, too.
