Office focus: Leesman Conference
Jo Sutherland reports from the 6th annual data debrief by global think-tank Leesman
Words by Cathy Hayward
Leesman, which has surveyed 1,200 workspaces since forming at the turn of the decade, aims to empower business leaders with the data required to make every workplace better. To date, just four per cent of buildings surveyed have achieved the prestigious Leesman+ accreditation. This award, based on exemplary functionality and effectiveness scores, recognises and praises high-performing workplaces. Armed with this insight, the event focused on the overarching question: how can organisations improve workplace effectiveness in a climate of poor productivity and economic uncertainty?
In 2010, Leesman set out with a singular objective – to examine at a depth and consistency never before attempted, exactly how corporate workplaces support employee and organisational performance. Presenting unbiased data, amassed from a pool of more than 155,000 employees worldwide*, delegates were offered an insight into the core findings, including an overview of the Leesman+ elite group of top-scoring workplaces across the globe. Across 108 UK workplaces and 11,812 employees measured in the past 12 months, one in three cannot report that their workplace allows them to work productively.
This, argued CEO Tim Oldman, is having a continued negative impact on employees and creating ‘toxic workplaces’ where efforts are being met with business environments that are simply not supporting people in the role they are employed to do. In a bid to save costs on the corporate workplace environment, Oldman suggested that employers are squeezing employees into smaller spaces; apparently unaware of the harmful impact this can have on organisational performance.
‘Having collected data on thousands of workplaces spanning 50 countries, [we find that] employers are failing to recognise the role of the office and how it supports the way people work,’ commented Oldman. ‘It’s important to remember that people are productivity drivers because effort always underpins output. And people simply can’t work productively if they’re elbow-to-elbow with their colleagues. As the costs of delivery continues to increase, and as finance directors continue to sacrifice property and infrastructure to save money, it appears workplaces pass a tipping point where their workspaces are failing to support the productivity of those they accommodate.’
Before handing the reins to resident academic, Dr Peggie Rothe, Leesman’s MD Chris Moriarty argued that it’s important employers thoroughly analyse the data available in order to inform the decisions concerning workplace. ‘Employers are looking at the data in the wrong way,’ argued Moriarty. ‘CFOs are looking at the costs and they’re looking at the utilisation. Those are the two key areas that influence whether they cut costs when it comes to the work environment, either by squeezing more people into a space or by reducing the square footage altogether.
More than 100 delegates attended the event, hosted at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in Clerkenwell
‘But they don’t seem to understand that taking away from the workplace also takes away their employees’ ability to be productive and effective in their roles. Utilisation and budgets are important, of course – but it’s not a complete picture without analysis of the effectiveness of that work environment. That’s the only way to look at the net efficiency.’
Aiming to help organisations understand the link between people and place, Dr Rothe presented further evidence that revealed how the workplace can impact employee experience. The research has found that nearly half of employees actively partake in 10 or more activities as part of their day-to-day role. However, only 27 per cent of workers are satisfied with the variety in their work environment. In short, most people need more than just a desk to support them working productively in the roles they are employed for.
‘Let’s not be seduced into thinking everyone needs sexy spaces,’ followed Oldman. ‘Employers need to understand what their employees need. They don’t necessarily need slides, foosball tables and beanbags. These aren’t drivers of productivity. They do need a variety of spaces with a range of environments, as well as the freedom and choice to select a suitable work setting for the task at hand.’
In a bid to further understand the role of the physical environment on organisational performance, Leesman has recently launched a two-year research project with the potential to be highly disruptive to the corporate real-estate market and decisions that influence workplace effectiveness. This world-first, crowd-sourced initiative, The Henley Hypothesis, will marry corporate real-estate performance data with user-experience statistics, and the study will test whether occupant density impacts on employee productivity, and if desk-sharing ratios have a tipping point.
The research will shed light on specific attributes, such as whether the vertical distribution of employees across floors affects the wider sense of community or impacts learning from others. As the global standard for measuring workplace effectiveness, Leesman is encouraging the industry to recognise that the corporate workplace is a tool that can improve productivity and employee satisfaction.
Aiming to help organisations understand the link between people and place, Dr Peggie Rothe presented further evidence that revealed how the workplace can impact employee experience
