Looking At Your Workplace With A Diversity and Inclusion Mindset

There’s no one way to approach Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.  However, we’re very lucky as Workplace Experience professionals to be able to take an active and vital role in improving the setting for these initiatives.  If you work at a company that is embracing diversity and inclusion, the below is simply a group of thought starters based on previous experience, pain points, and ways you could easily push forward to make spaces that better accommodate all users.   The focus below is mainly on inclusion, but we will be following with more blogs on Diversity as well! 

Room Schedulers and Wayfinding

I started my career when we were still using paper schedulers at Google.  That feels like a long time ago.  Today most companies have a room scheduler on every room that looks something like the below.  

Conference Room Booking System by TEEM

Unfortunately the way these are typically mounted (too high for people in wheelchairs), the way the display is designed (no accommodation for color blind users), and the way the casings work (do not have Braille to accommodate blind users) - is sub par in terms of inclusion.  How could we change this and easily make it better?  A few suggestions are to simply move the scheduler down on the wall, create displays using already known best practices from UX design, and to simply add Braille to the physical sign.  Some quick sketches of how this might work are below  - but please forgive my terrible skills at drawing:).  Again these are just a place to start!

Move the scheduler down to a lower position for wheelchair accessibility.

Adding typical UX standards for color - blindness accommodation is easy!  Also adding Braille will help your meeting rooms feel more welcoming for blind users.  Yes, it’s a legal requirement, but often one people get wrong and don’t update often. 

Conference Room Seating  

As space planners we typically try to maximize the number of seats we can fit into a conference room.  This helps our ratios and helps us to make sure that the room feels full.  But if a room is already tightly designed, and it’s not easy to move chairs around already, what does that mean for a user in a wheelchair?  Could you imagine having to come into a meeting, or an interview, and attempt to move a chair out of your way?  It doesn’t seem very welcoming at all.   

But what if you thought about designing your conference rooms differently?  What if you left a spot at every table for users?  You could easily make sure that this is done by leaving one space open, and adding a simple symbol to the end of the table.  This will help people know that this is a dedicated spot, and also let your facilities team know not to place a chair there as well.  A simple example is below. 

Leaving space creates an invitation. 

Place a symbol at the end of the table to help note that this is a dedicated space.  Bonus if it’s the new more inclusive ISO symbol.

A Mindset for Inclusion

As I said a few times above, this is just a beginning. These are simply thought starters that are based off my own experience and pain points I’ve observed.  So how can you think about Inclusion and go further?  I’m a big believer in research and that you should do your own to figure out the best way forward for your company.  As a start I’d suggest the below: 

1. Research what the legal requirements are in your region - Are you ahead of them or not even meeting them?  Are they progressive, or are they falling behind the rest of the world?  What standard should you use as your base?
2. Consider each area of your space and think about ways in which they could be more inclusive. 
3. Put yourself in their shoes.  Use empathy to think about how users with difference physical abilities will utilize your space.  Empathy is a powerful tool. 
4. Try it out!  Why not create a prototype for your idea and quickly implement it.  You might find that it is well received and then have the buy in to keep pushing forward with further initiatives. 

There’s no perfect way to start, but starting is the hardest part.  Once you start thinking about your space with an inclusive mindset, the rest will follow.

What Is Workplace Experience, And How You Can Create A Great One For Your Team

So what do you do for a living? 

I’ve often had the funny experience of having to explain what I do for a living at social gatherings.  I love being a part of the Workplace world.  Due to this, I typically quickly overwhelm the person inquiring about my career with far more information than they probably wanted.    After their eyes glaze over they focus in on the one part of the explanation they are familiar with.  “Oh you work in facilities.”  “Oh you work in design?” "Oh you work in real estate." These are just a few of the common responses.  

However, I’ve also found that even as an industry we often have a difficult time defining what Workplace Experience IS, and how it fits into the grand scheme of the global business.  A side note here that companies call the Workplace team a variety of names as well, which adds to confusion. Workplace, Operations, Facilities, Office, Places team are just a few of the names the industry uses.

The rest of this blog is simply my attempt to help bring some clarity to the confusion based on my experiences, observations, and the way I see the future of Workplace Experience developing.  This might be hubris, but I beg forgiveness as I feel this is something that we as an industry really need to define.  So if nothing else, I hope this gets you thinking.

 In the beginning... 

In a land before computers and skyscrapers, there were people who managed businesses.  Often  these businesses physical space were managed by partners and clerks, the same people who managed the actual business.  The clerk to me has always represented the earliest verison of a Workplace persona.  As time went on and people started working in larger more complex companies, they moved into a time of secretaries managing offices.  Though these individuals worked hard and surely created incredible organization, there was a discernible lack of upward mobility for the individuals, and not much desire from comapnies to creatively improve upon the Workplace.  

As we moved into the modern era there was a move to office managers.  Those team members who help to run every factor of an office.  These captains of their ships could be responsible for anything from payroll, to minor HR items, to events, and even to managing the facilities.  While this is still the norm for many companies, there is a distinct shift towards a new type of professional and organization style for Workplace Teams.  This shift involves moving away from a specific subject matter expert leading the team, to a multi-disciplined individual leading the way for teams with varying responsibilities / skills.

Workplace Experience

Workplace Experience is, simply put, the totality of the experiences any person has in the space controlled by your company.  For employees the Experience starts when they are recruited, and it ends on their last day as they leave the building.  Throughout that time their Experiences should be consistent, enjoyable, and with limited encumbrances.  Consistency will help lead to greater productivity, and overall a better outcome for the company and employee mutually.

Why even call it Workplace Experience instead of just Workplace?  Experience also denotes a rising movement noted by many research firms and architectural firms as well - people don’t want things to just be good enough.  People want a great experience, especially in the place they spend more time than at home, the Workplace.  According to Gensler’s recent Experience Index study, “creating a good experience isn’t enough; the best places—ones that engage people’s emotions and keep them coming back—have to be great.”

Workplace Experience professionals, thus, need a variety of skills they need to draw from, and or people skilled in a variety of disciplines they need to utilize in order to manifest such Experiences.   These disciplines include space planning, project management, real estate, interior design, wellness, event management, procurement, food / beverage, and vendor management.  What’s more they need to have excellent communication skills to keep up with the constant communication / feedback loops that exist in today’s modern companies.

Workplace Experience is a very complex field.  However, if you break it down into it’s main disciplines, it becomes easier to understand.  Then it just becomes a matter of effort and care, not money.

How You Can Improve Your Workplace Experience

Over the next two months I’m going to be putting out a series of blogs that sum up my philosophy on Workplace Experience.  The first blog is going to touch on how the scale of your company relates to Workplace Experience (from here on referred to as WX).  From there we will touch on the varying disciplines that are a part of WX and how they can best be utilized to help create a unique, and consistent Experience for your team. 

I hope you’ll join me.

 

Designing A Workplace For The Five Senses

Museums are beautiful places.  I personally enjoy aimlessly walking around a museum and taking in the history that lies within it's walls.  What I cannot understand, is why anyone would design their space to feel like one?   Museums specifically put the focus on the objects they are displaying, and on nothing else. They are not spaces meant to house humans (not living ones at least).  Yet, many people insist on designing workplaces as museums.  When the majority of us spend more time in our workplaces than at home, we can ill afford to be in a place that is cold and inhuman.  What can we do to make our spaces feel more human?

One place to start is with Ilse Crawford’s concept of designing for the 5 senses—designing for the human experience.  It is just as relevant to Workplace as it is to the residential or hospitality fields.  As she states in her book A Frame For Life,“At best, an office can act as host to the people that work there—creating the best emotional and physical conditions for them to do their best and an atmosphere of trust that they will do this—and as a space that facilitates co creation among staff and clients.”

Now, how can we start creating a human centered Workplace Experience by designing with the 5 senses in mind?

Sight

Are you designing your Workplace with one type of fluorescent or LED light across the entire space, or are you actually considering the type of work your teams will do in each space?  Different types of work require different lighting.  Programming in the right kind of light can make a big difference in productivity and how a space feels.

Sound

Have you considered what kind of sounds you do (or don’t) want people to hear in each specific area?  Have you ever accidentally placed desks for quiet work right next to a kitchen with a loud blender?  Designing with intention by defining what the sound levels are for each space in your Workplace will cut down on complaints and foster happiness within your team.

Smell(S)

What’s the first thing a guest would smell when they walk into your office?  Is it the smell of freshly ground coffee?  Or is it the smell of the trash cans that weren’t emptied the night before?   Smell is typically the last thing Workplace team considers when designing a space, but it can have a major impact (good or bad).   Even just the absence of smell is not a bad thing necessarily, as smells can be polarizing.  Considering what smells are produced by your space, and where they flow to, is important either way.

Touch

Touch is such an incredible sense and it can be used for so many things in Workplace design!  Every day we touch hundreds of objects.  Each object we interact with can inform us, guide us, or even remind us of something.  The textures of objects in a room can even change the way we experience that space.  The textures of furniture  can make the room feel more warm and put us at ease. Would’nt you feel more comfortable having a difficult meeting in a room with a soft - inviting chair,  rather than a room with a hard plastic chair?  Little human-centered details can make all the difference.

Taste 

Taste is one of the senses that can immediately spark joy.  When we taste something delicious, it can change our whole mood.  Employee food programs are a great way to help brighten people’s day, while improving their health as well.  Psychologically, people will cultivate a positive association with the space in which they had that delicious food memory. 

Human Centered Experiences

These are a few examples of how to apply thinking about the 5 senses to your Workplace, creating a human-centered design.  In reality, it takes time and effort to consider these things.  Considering them, however, is something your company should begin doing immediately.  When you start to design your spaces with the human experience at the center, then you will be creating great Workplace Experiences.

The Workplace Experience Job Titles You Should Retire In 2018 And What You Might Replace Them With

What’s in a name?

While it might be a popular trend for companies to say that “titles don’t matter,” unless you’re staying at that company forever - your previous title might matter  to your next employer.  However, there are a lot of titles in Workplace that simply no longer apply.  If your title is Receptionist and you run a catering program, it might be time for a change. Read below for a rundown of titles to change out to progress your Workplace team into 2018. 

Take a moment and think about where your org is headed and what your team members do. 

Old title: Office Manager

New Title: Workplace Experience Manager  

 The Difference:  There are definitely office managers in the world, and they’re great.  They might run a medical office, dental office, or they may work at a larger corporation.  That said, the job specifications in forward thinking startups and other fast scaling companies does not translate to “office manager.”  Workplace Experience professionals run events, design spaces, establish norms, and help keep company culture strong. 

Old title: Facilities Manager

New Title:  Physical Ops Manager 

The Difference: Facilities management is a field unto itself, and deserves more respect.  That said, when talking about FM at younger companies, the FM teams typically get handed a whole plethora of jobs that don’t fit a typical FM role.  Just a few examples; educating users on why things went wrong and how they’re getting fixed, researching and integrating new forward thinking solutions  to better improve indoor environments, and creating nationally used standards and processes (and updating them every year as the company grows 2-10x).  There’s a lot more customer facing burden out on these teams at young companies.

Old title: Receptionist

New Title: Concierge Services

The Difference:  Every company I’ve worked at or had close colleagues head off to in the past 8 years have had roles called receptionists or front desk coordinators, but does this really cover the scope of what those team members do?  No!  Today these team members manage programs from the desk.  They do all the hard work behind the programs and wind up with a plethora of odd assignments from different parts of Workplace.  It can be a great learning experience for the right person.  All the while, they’re expected to greet guests, work with vendors, and give candidates a great experience.  They’re the first and last person people interact with, and their position should be seen as vital, not just someone who “receives” people.

Old title: Likely Does Not Currently Exist 

New Title:  Wellness Specialist

 The Difference:  Over the past decade there’s been an increase in awareness of health in the workplace.  This includes not just physical, but mental health as well.  Think beyond ergonomics and “health week.”  These future teammates will help build mindfulness programs, fitness programs, and even help develop healthy standards for internal food programs.  Remember, healthy employees are productive and happy. 

 Thanks, We’ll Keep Our Current Titles

I am of course just one person and have a particular point of view about where the future of workplace is headed. However, all these titles are is suggestions.  I would propose that if you want to create a workplace that is progressive and cares for employees (and cares for those who care for your employees) you will at least consider looking at your current org.  Think about customizing your teams titles to their actual roles and your company culture.  It might just make a difference.

Having trouble finding open restrooms at your company? You may have a gender diversity issue.

It is well known that many technology companies have struggled and continue to struggle with gender diversity issues.  One of the more peculiar trickle down effects, or indicators of a diversity issue is the complaints you often here in the hallways of many offices. “I had to check three bathrooms just to find one that was open.” “I had to wait for 20 minutes, what are people doing in there!?!” The voice of these complaints in my experience, has most often been men.  Why are there never enough stalls?  Is the company too cheap?  Are people working in there?  The problem is a bit more nuanced than one may think.

How Many Bathrooms Do We Need?

OSHA requires companies to maintain specific numbers of toilets to employees.  Those ratios are then broken down into male and female restrooms, "unless they can be occupied by no more than one person and can be locked from the inside."  At a workplace that is  50 percent female and 50 percent male, this would work.  However, how does this work in the technology world, where companies average between 55-84 percent men? 

This variance is where the law highlights the issue. If you start hearing men grumble about not finding a restroom but you never hear any complaints from women in your office, what does that indicate?  If you have counted the restrooms and you're meeting code requirements, you may need to dig deeper to solve your problem.   In the end, you may find the cause is a gender diversity issue.   Now what can you do about it?

Working Within the Current Law To Improve Experience And Inclusion

The easiest solution is very simple. Within the same OSHA guidelines you’re able to make all restrooms gender neutral and provide a common area sink. Provide full height stalls with individual air feeds / vents, are lockable, and why not some music to improve experience? Your employees will appreciate the privacy and better experience as well. Not only will you have gender neutral restrooms that help show you understand gender is non-binary, but you’ll also be able improve the lives of your teams.

This is a great first step, and it really is a great path forward for showing your employees you care about inclusion.  However, it's really just a bandaid for the larger problem.  If you're a workplace employee (or anyone at a company for that matter) and you see something like this start to occur, maybe you should sit down to talk with your diversity team instead?  You may find you can work together to bring the issue to light internally, and help make some change that lasts. Maybe you can even get the funding to build those nice gender neutral restrooms.  

Alternatively, you can take the advice of a friend of mine when I ran this issue by them:  "People should just stop hiring men until the problem fixes itself. Diversity problem solved.  Bathroom problem solved."  Simple.