Because of evolving new digital processes and rapid changes in business, the way people work is changing. Work has become much more knowledge-intensive, collaborative and immediate. Synergies and fast access to other people are critical, but now work is enabled by resources such as equipment, space, technology and protocols so it’s not so place-dependent. The workplace is about the smart combinations of space, protocols, technology and tools that support the nature of work and keep employees productive, satisfied and loyal.
Which are the elements involved in a high-performance workplace?
- Collaboration: supporting the need for people to plan, solve problems, innovate and communicate with each other in a variety of settings that can accommodate spontaneous as well as scheduled interactions.
- Privacy: enabling employees to concentrate and focus, as well as meeting confidentiality and security requirements.
- Mobility: providing tools and policies to work anywhere, anytime, based on the individual’s needs and job functions.
- Tools: examples include labs, people, laptops, cell phones and files.
Integration Is Key
In any kind of performance/productivity-enhancing initiative, the goal is not to get people to work harder or longer, but to work smarter, more effectively and more efficiently. This requires an integrated approach to workplace-making, which includes:
A multidisciplinary team including, but not limited to, corporate real estate, facilities, finance, information technology, human resources, quality assurance, key business units and senior leadership representatives to link strategic business objectives to workplace strategies and performance metrics that can ultimately be used to measure the impact of workplace on productivity.
Organizational policies supporting new ways of working, managing, measuring and communicating performance — at the individual, team, department, business unit and leadership levels.
A technology plan for hardware, software and policies that support business strategies and the nature of work.
Performance Measures
- Direct/Quantitative Measures
- Number of widgets produced
- Lines of error-free code
- Volume of calls answered
- On budget
- On time
- Square foot per person
- Costs per person
- Costs as a percent of revenue
- Time to market
- Number of workplace-related employee complaints
- Employee turnover
Indirect/Qualitative Measures
- Overall employee satisfaction
- Customer satisfaction
- Employee productivity
- Satisfaction with workplace
- Degree to which the environment facilitates the ability to work
Creating workplaces that Perform
Creating a high-performance workplace takes more than just making changes to physical space. To make the right changes — those that will affect profitability and productivity and maximize resources — requires understanding the nature of employees’ work and what those employees need to accomplish their tasks.
Here are the essential elements to address in order to achieve high-performance workplaces:
- Jobs, Teams and Technology
- Organisational Structures, Management and Processes
- Employee Driven Improvement and Innovation
- Co-Created Leadership and Employee Voice
If you are a Start-up, micro-firm or SME interested in improving the performance and working lives of your employees, as well as encourage their creativity through positive organisational changes, make sure you don´t miss the Start at Best Open Calls for Proposals!
With a total budget of €225,000, the project is aiming to support 30 individual companies or consortia of firms and providers by allocating direct funding through grants of€7,500.
Apply to the Open Calls!