Our research with Harris Interactive confirms this. Employees now rank work flexibility (52%) above other employee benefits (51%) such as insurance, childcare and subsidized meals4 – a trend that Tasan witnessed throughout the pandemic. “People would take extra hours and work long shifts and the weekend if required due to customer demands, knowing that on Monday morning, they didn’t have to be at their desk at eight o'clock – they could come in as they saw fit or even swap days altogether” she says.
To create this culture of trust, employers have to lead by example, says Findlay. “That's where our focus is right now,” she says. “Leaders are a temperature gauge in terms of setting expectations. The employee value proposition is, to a real extent, what we sell to our clients. So being able to really walk that talk internally and champion a workplace that promotes improved mental health and wellbeing [is important].”
Balance personalization and privacy
The borders between the professional and the personal life have collapsed during the pandemic, so it’s crucial to establish clear boundaries around employee data privacy and what is or isn’t acceptable.
Firms need to put new precautions and policies in place to safely bring employees back to the workplace, so they will have to navigate new forms of health-related data collection, such as screening and contact-tracing. Increasingly, they will rely on digital tools that track employee whereabouts to manage supply and demand of space and services as they seek to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
But firms will need to be transparent about the data-value exchange in order to persuade employees to part with more of their personal information, says Yannick Villar, CEO and Co-founder of Wx*, a Sodexo consultancy specializing in workplace experience design.
“We're entering a world where employees will need to be willing to share personal data to get something more personalized or customized in return – but there is a natural fear there,” he says. “The biggest fear is that their employer says: ‘You entered the building at 10:30. What have you done since?’ Employees are considering, ‘What do I give and what do I get?’”
For instance, by sharing details of where and when an employee intends to work – as well as the kind of work they will be doing – via an app, employers could be better placed to provide an optimized work experience. This kind of data could help people to understand the utilization of physical workspaces and whether it makes sense to work on site, for example. It could also enable an employer to tailor the food and beverage offering to better support their employees’ health and wellbeing if they know which employees will be in the workplace on any given day and what their dietary needs are.
Experience reigns supreme
As your employees adapt to their new working environments, you must stay one step ahead of their demands. That means aligning your data policies with their expectations, putting health at the core of your business strategy and, above all, building a culture of trust.
Your people are your best asset. By prioritizing their experience in the new world of work, you will be best placed to thrive and maintain your competitive advantage.
This article is part of Sodexo’s ‘Experience Next’ thought leadership series on the work-life transformation.
What do employees expect as they return to the workplace? Read our report, Power to the people: The employee experience gets flexible
1Sodexo/Harris Interactive, Worklife Continuum Report, Wave 5 Results
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3Sodexo/Harris Interactive, Worklife Continuum Report, Wave 5 Results
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*Transferred to Jooxter (May 2023). A commercial partnership between the 2 entities will enable Sodexo's clients to benefit from the services and innovations.
