The modern workplace experience is built around an ecosystem of diverse, digitally native professionals who value flexibility, collaboration, and a strong sense of community. As owners, operators, and property management teams, you need workplace technology that serves as the central nervous system of your building and portfolio to power an exceptional workplace experience.
Our Definition of Workplace Experience
We define workplace experience as the collection of feelings a person has throughout their day about their workplace environment. The way members of the workplace community interact, share office space, resources, amenities, and services creates an office ecosystem that directly shapes the overall employee experience.
The journey of commuting, arriving at the office, working within the building, using workplace amenities, and leaving at the end of the day all contribute to the workplace experience.
Every element offered within a workplace, excluding the work itself, is what we call the workplace experience.
A positive workplace experience is a significant factor in how happy, productive, and fulfilled employees feel in their workplace. It also plays an important role in strengthening organizational culture, employee engagement, and the overall workplace community.
Why Workplace Experience Is Important
While every successful employer values employee well-being, investing in workplace experience can also improve business performance and long-term organizational success.
The following benefits can result from improving workplace experience:
Better employee retention
Replacing employees is both costly and time-consuming. A strong workplace experience encourages employees to stay longer, reducing turnover while improving workforce stability.
Increased ability to attract new talent
Employees who enjoy their workplace naturally become advocates for the organization. A positive workplace experience helps attract highly skilled professionals looking for companies that prioritize employee satisfaction.
Higher productivity
When workplace processes are efficient and frictionless, employees can accomplish more in less time while feeling empowered to collaborate, innovate, and solve larger business challenges.
More efficient use of resources
Modern workplace experience strategies often incorporate hybrid work, flexible office environments, and shared workspaces, allowing organizations to optimize real estate costs while maintaining productivity.
Better customer experience
Employees who enjoy a positive workplace experience are more likely to create positive interactions with customers and clients, strengthening customer satisfaction and long-term business relationships.
Healthier employees
Workplaces that support physical health and mental well-being often experience fewer sick days, reduced absenteeism, and improved employee wellness.
Better brand reputation
Organizations such as Apple and Google have demonstrated how exceptional workplace experience strengthens employer branding, attracts top talent, and builds stronger customer trust.
The Elements of Workplace Experience
As outlined by the CRE Tenant & Occupant Hierarchy of Needs, office buildings first provide professionals with a safe, comfortable, clean, and well-maintained environment.
Today's workplace experience goes much further by delivering optimized amenities, workplace services, meaningful communication, and a stronger sense of belonging through an integrated workplace culture.
Like any ecosystem, every role, resource, and technology contributes to the overall workplace experience. The interaction between these elements ultimately shapes how employees feel throughout their workday.
The three core elements of workplace experience include:
Space
One of the most influential aspects of workplace experience is the physical workplace environment.
As organizations continue encouraging employees to return to the office, workplace design has become increasingly important. Office layout, lighting, comfort systems, collaboration spaces, and workplace amenities should work together to create an environment that supports productivity, well-being, and teamwork.
Facilities management plays a critical role in ensuring every aspect of the workspace positively impacts employee experience.
Important workplace considerations include:
- Natural lighting throughout the workday
- Employee privacy for focused work
- Temperature and lighting controls
- Flexible seating arrangements
- Access to workplace amenities such as parking, kitchens, and bike storage
Technology
Hybrid work has encouraged employers and IT teams to place greater focus on the digital workplace experience, as well as the connection between digital and physical work environments.
Technology can automate, integrate, and improve the tools employees use every day. Streamlined workplace technology such as video conferencing, scheduling tools, meeting room reservations, and digital collaboration platforms enables today's professionals to focus on meaningful work, stronger collaboration, and better workplace relationships.
Technology also provides valuable insights that help organizations continuously improve the workplace experience. With the right workplace technology, employees become more aware of their building community, available amenities, workplace services, and day-to-day offerings without spending unnecessary time managing routine administrative tasks.
People
People play a pivotal role in creating a positive workplace experience—but how? Simply put, happy people help create happy workplaces. Just as customer service teams are trained to improve customer satisfaction, HR teams should create an employee experience that makes individuals feel valued, respected, supported, and empowered throughout their careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The human element of workplace experience includes flexible work policies such as job sharing, compressed workweeks, hybrid work, and remote work, giving employees greater autonomy over where and when they work.
A people-focused workplace culture also promotes employee engagement through social events, professional development opportunities, effective feedback loops, and health and wellness initiatives that prioritize employee happiness and overall well-being.
5 Steps to Get Started on Improving Workplace Experience
To better understand what makes organizations great places to work, a helpful starting point is reviewing the Methodology for Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, which highlights what employees value most in a positive workplace experience.
Then, follow these five steps to ensure your workplace experience aligns with your company culture and employee needs.
1. Determine Your Starting Point
Before improving workplace experience, you need to understand your current position.
One of the simplest ways to measure employee satisfaction is through the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). Ask employees how likely they are to recommend your organization as a great place to work on a scale from one to ten, where one represents extreme dissatisfaction and ten represents complete satisfaction.
Once your baseline is established, follow up with employee surveys and focus groups to gather deeper insights.
2. Assemble a Team
Because space, technology, and people all contribute to workplace experience, it's important to involve leaders from facilities management, information technology, and human resources.
Each department can help assess employee needs, collect feedback, recommend improvements, implement workplace initiatives, and measure ongoing results.
3. Consider a Dedicated Workplace Experience (WX) Role
For larger organizations with multiple departments, hiring a Workplace Experience (WX) Manager can help ensure workplace experience remains a strategic priority.
A workplace experience manager coordinates workplace initiatives across departments, facilitates communication, tracks employee feedback, and oversees continuous improvements throughout the employee lifecycle—from onboarding through exit interviews.
This role helps maintain consistency while ensuring workplace improvements remain aligned with organizational goals.
4. Set Measurable Goals
What are you trying to accomplish?
One of the simplest measurable goals is improving your , but you can also establish goals based on other workplace metrics that indicate how changes are impacting the overall workplace experience.
Metrics such as absenteeism, participation in workplace events, employee productivity, and turnover rates can all help measure the effectiveness of your workplace experience strategy and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
5. Gather Feedback and Reassess
Employee engagement remains one of the most important components of workplace experience.
Surveys, focus groups, and employee listening sessions provide valuable insights that help organizations continuously improve the workplace experience.
Be transparent about how and when feedback is collected, and always close the feedback loop by informing employees how their feedback is being used. Follow up by communicating policy updates, workplace improvements, and other initiatives designed to enhance the employee experience.
A Case Study in Workplace Experience: Atlassian
Named one of Fortune's Top 10 Best Companies to Work For in 2023, Atlassian's success in creating an exceptional workplace experience has been credited to what Forbes described as "a maniacal attention to culture."
The company's five core values emphasize transparency, balancing passion with thoughtful decision-making, teamwork, and maintaining an open-door approach to employee feedback.
Atlassian was also among the first organizations to embrace remote work in 2020 and continues to offer workplace flexibility without requiring employees to spend a minimum number of days in the office. The company refers to this approach as Team Anywhere:
"You can work in any country where we have a legal business entity and there's a sufficient timezone overlap with your team."
As a software company, Atlassian ensures its workplace technology fully supports this flexible work model.
For employees who prefer working in the office, Atlassian provides comfortable, modern collaboration spaces, floor-to-ceiling whiteboards for brainstorming sessions, dedicated focus areas, and informal spaces designed for social interaction and relaxation.
Employee engagement initiatives include weekly global team calls, professional development sessions, and 24-hour hackathons where employees can pursue passion projects. Atlassian also rewards long-term employees with additional paid time off and sponsored trips for significant work anniversaries.
Its healthcare benefits take a holistic approach by offering reimbursement for mental health services, childcare, fitness classes, and specialized support services for families with dependents who have special needs.
The Continuum of Experience
When organizations invest in workplace experience, property teams can focus their efforts on workflows and technologies that improve productivity and operational efficiency.
Technology provides actionable insights that support better decision-making around workplace utilization, space planning, capital expenditure (CapEx) improvements, and building operations. Instead of relying on reactive assumptions, organizations can make proactive, data-driven decisions that improve building quality and employee satisfaction.
A workplace that intentionally creates an environment where relationships can thrive ultimately benefits every stakeholder within the building.
By using innovation to transform office environments, organizations can reshape the future of work, strengthen employee well-being, and foster the sense of community that is often missing from today's fast-paced workplace.
