It’s said that employees are the biggest asset to any company. It’s no surprise then, that companies work diligently at increasing retention, enhancing performance, and recognising employees for their great contributions. This builds trust and engagement. And with those two things, comes an increase in productivity.
But with the world changing so rapidly, from political climate to actual climate, from relationships to pandemics, how is workplace engagement and productivity being affected? And how can technology build the bridge even further during these shifting times? In short, how will we adapt to the new now?
Now more than ever, teams are dispersed, and traditional employee-manager, face-to-face engagement is for most people an outdated notion. However, this re-shaped world has in some ways given companies an opportunity. An opportunity to use technology, like that offered by Planon, to help support this continued engagement with practical applications for real workplace issues.
As employees return to work, they want to feel safe and trust their employers are doing all they can to keep them that way. Are the rooms clean? Did someone else use this desk? Where can I sit and do my work within company guidelines? When will this change, or dare I say it, go back to ‘normal?’ - whatever that might mean in the future. All this uncertainty and anxiety can have a real impact on employee engagement and productivity.
Compounding the problem, in the United States, every state can have a distinct and state-specific strategy for returning to work. As mentioned earlier, teams are dispersed and what is compliant for one, might not be for another. As we struggle to adapt to conflicting guidelines and measures to be taken, it is important to note how Planon’s flexibility in Space and Workplace Management can help make these decisions clear, concise and compliant.
Furthermore, Real Estate & Facilities departments in general have been forced to re-think property strategy. For a long time, people couldn’t comprehend a world where employees didn’t face long commutes and office banter. Suddenly, the world is faced with a whole host of choices to be made about how best to safely, strategically, and soundly get the jobs done. We have found many jobs don’t require presence in a high rent building. In fact, in some cases, employees are more productive at home. Companies are now having to make significant decisions about their owned and leased properties: ‘Should we consolidate, sell off, sub-let?’ Real estate and facility managers need to take back control of what is arguably one of an organisation’s most expensive assets.
Most companies are, to some degree, using technology to manage part of their business and business processes. HR, financial and payroll management solutions for instance, have helped many companies find ways to streamline the necessary processes and, if implemented correctly, offer cost savings as well.
At Planon we offer customers a fully integrated system, built on a powerful platform, that can help your company plan and manage your real estate portfolio and workplace management processes - helping to find efficiencies and cost savings, manage your assets, manage vendors and contracts to control costs, and so much more. When a company can use those kinds of efficiencies and cost savings to re-invest in their workforce, engagement and then productivity will increase.
It isn’t enough to know who you hired and when, or even how much you pay them and how often. There must be a strong reciprocal trust between employer and employee. Having a solid workplace management strategy plays a significant role in achieving this. If you know how to improve your workplace, indirectly investing in your biggest asset, your employees, it means greater employee engagement and productivity! Especially in this turbulent time.
Do you want to discover to what extent you offer your employees an engaging workplace, and learn how to close the gap between your current and desired workplace management maturity level? Take our Workplace Management Maturity Assessment!
