5 Ways Workplace Analytics Can Improve the Employee Experience

In today’s ever-evolving workplace, there are so many unknowns. 

But what if you were able to rely on data? Information that would allow you to continuously provide the type of office your teams need. 

Companies continue to devise strategies to pinpoint areas for improvement as it relates to office space and employee engagement.Identifying these areas involves finding the best way to collect and utilize data analytics for the workplace. 

The role of workplace analytics 

Your workplace analytics include all relevant data from cloud-based platforms. These data points help to identify collaboration patterns that impact productivity and workforce effectiveness. 

This type of information is useful as it encompasses the entirety of activity in the workplace. For example, data can help your team better understand the utilization of your office space. 

5 advantages of workplace analytics

Now more than ever, workplace analytics play a leading role in making decisions about office spaces. 

Let’s explore 5 ways your analytics can improve  employee experience.

1. Employee health and wellness

Pre-covid, company perks like an in office barista or gym memberships were enough to attract and retain employees. 

Since 2020, however, various factors have contributed to most feeling the stress and pressure more than ever before. Current employees across the board have expressed a genuine interest in more wellness programs/initiatives that go beyond the physical. 
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When done well, these programs can lead to an 80% improvement in organizational performance. Additionally, sixty-one percent of employees revealed that companies that encouraged fitness programs helped them make better lifestyle choices.

Employers create a substantial benefit by offering employees an approach to manage issues like burnout through holistic wellness programs. Think along the lines of:

• mental and emotional health initiatives, 
• financial planning, 
• career growth/development 
• personal development 
• relationship building.
  

Can your workplace analytics help you in this area? Absolutely. 

You can quantify certain factors. For example, maybe the number of sick days among employees has increased or you’ve noticed the office has been emptier than usual - these could be indications that your team is burning out.

Ultimately, wellness support through the workplace will contribute to improved employee productivity and retention and your data can help you achieve that.

2. Decrease in churn

Your business starts with your people. It’s the employees who organizations should continue to keep in mind as business grows and teams scale upward. 

Providing a positive office experience, especially as companies strategize their return to office plans, will align with employee satisfaction and in turn, retention. How important is this? 

A record 4.3 million workers in America quit their jobs in August 2021, according to a study provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Anthony Klotz, a psychologist at Texas A&M University, has coined this ongoing phenomenon as "The Great Resignation." By being able to utilize workplace analytics, teams can identify churn trends, get to the root causes and work proactively to ensure they’re providing a work environment employees want.

3. Real estate optimization

The reality is employees are leveraging a remote work model now more than ever. In fact, 74% of professionals expect remote work to become standard. Office utilization as a whole has changed. As a result, real estate costs are being reviewed by teams to determine the most effective and efficient allocation of funds. 

How do you help to improve the employee experience as it relates to real estate optimization? Your workplace analytics will help you determine the amount of meeting spaces, desks and  office space you’ll need to accommodate all of your employees comfortably. 

How about giving your employees a real-time view of how the office is used, allowing them to decide when and how often they are in-office and then analyzing your data? Gaining a deeper understanding of your analytics on this level would be a window into your team's current and future return to office strategy. 

4. Employee engagement 

An engaged employee will be an advocate for your business. According to a study conducted by Future Workplace, 50% of HR leader respondents agree that their focus for 2020 and beyond needs to include a better gauge of the employee experience and how to improve this going forward.

So, why not find ways to leverage your data and analytics to identify actionable insights around employee engagement strategies? Doing so will allow you to track which strategies are working, which have worked in the past, and which ones you may want to revise or remove altogether. 

5. Employee productivity

The surge of changes brought on by Covid-19 has forced organizations to reconsider how they measure employee productivity. Prior to Covid, companies relied on measuring productivity by an employees’ physical presence in the office space. 

Now the increasingly common flexible work model, has launched companies in a direction where they need to thoroughly understand and measure employee productivity in a more effective way. 

According to a study by Growmotely, only 3% of entrepreneurs and professionals want to work full time at a physical office moving forward. With an increased number of employees in a remote work setting, an in depth view into data and analytics provides a clearer picture on ways your organization can measure and improve employee productivity. 

For example, how much time are your employees spending in the office? How often meeting spaces are being used?How much time is reserved in their day for focus work or training? 

What’s important to keep in mind is that productivity is best measured with a focus on capabilities and how those capabilities are being utilized. 

The future of workplace analytics 

The data is clear. Workplace analytics are crucial for your bottom line. 

Your employees are the backbone of your business, so why not dig into data that will offer them a better work environment? Somewhere they can truly feel empowered and productive? 

Whether you're planning your return to office strategy or readjusting what the future of work looks like for your organization, your workplace data and analytics will be key to taking the guesswork out of the equation.

Considering options to make this happen? At Robin, we’ve got you covered! 

Explore ways you can gather meaningful insights for your team.