In the modern workplace, employee experience has become increasingly important for various reasons. For starters, it directly impacts employee engagement and productivity within the company. Additionally, it helps boost employee retention, which can be essential for companies that need to maintain their best talents.
When it comes to enhancing employee experience, there are various strategies a company can use. One of the most effective strategies is through implementing comprehensive workplace hospitality solutions. In today’s article, we will delve deeper into the benefits and how company leadership can implement a successful workplace hospitality program. But before we get into that, it is essential to get the definitions out of the way.
What is Workplace Hospitality?
Workplace hospitality refers to any step or practice taken to create a welcoming, hospitable and comfortable environment for employees and guests within the workplace. The steps range from simple stuff like greeting colleagues warmly and celebrating personal milestones (like birthdays) to more elaborate ones such as offering additional office space and setting up an office gym. Essentially, workplace hospitality is anything that works to boost the feel-good factors around the workplace.
Why is Workplace Hospitality Essential?
Enhances Employee Wellbeing
The main reason why workplace hospitality is essential is its ability to enhance employee well-being. Every office needs its employees in the right space of mind to realise their goals. Workplace hospitality can help workplaces achieve this because it can reduce stress (both personal and work-related) while also boosting morale.
For instance, greeting employees warmly and calling individuals by their names can create a sense of recognition. Additionally, complementing work done well and compassionately correcting mistakes reduces stress and boosts their morale to do even better.
Improves Productivity
Most of the improvements undertaken in the workplace are designed to boost profitability. So, workplace hospitality fits right in these efforts to take the business to the next level of productivity. But how does being more hospitable enhance employee productivity?
For starters, workplace hospitality increases engagement between the employers and the employees. With everyone contributing effectively, there are more opportunities for collaboration in projects which can increase productivity immensely. The sharing of ideas also encourages creativity and innovation.
Secondly, workplace hospitality can reduce absenteeism in the workplace. If someone works in a comfortable and supportive environment, they are less likely to miss work unless they really have to.
Improves Employee Retention
Talent poaching is a huge problem for many companies and it makes it difficult for some of them to remain competitive in the market. Luckily, efforts like workplace hospitality offer a chance for these companies to reduce such cases and retain their best employees.
A good example of workplace hospitality in this case is offering free meals and snacks during breaks. Such a move creates a sense of being valued among the employees because it saves them money and the effort it would take to source these refreshments outside the workplace. As a result, it will take a lot of effort for a rival company to convince such employees to abandon your company and go work for them.
Key Elements of a Successful Workplace Hospitality Program
There are plenty of elements that go into creating a successful workplace hospitality program. However, the top ones on the list include the following:
Design a Welcoming Physical Environment
The first step towards fostering workplace hospitality is creating a welcoming physical environment for everyone who sets foot in the office. This can involve a variety of things, such as investing in ergonomic furniture, setting up comfortable spaces for breaks and promoting friendly interactions regardless of rank. It is all about creating a warm and inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Provide Personalised Amenities and Services
Another thing that can improve workplace hospitality is providing personalised amenities and services for members of the company. The goal of this approach is to enhance employee satisfaction and engagement. It can involve a variety of steps, including allowing employees to customise their workspaces (with décor and other personal stuff), tailoring food/beverages to suit varying dietary needs and flexible work arrangements. Companies like Circles specialise in providing tailored workplace support solutions that help businesses create a seamless and hospitable work environment.
Foster a Hospitality-Driven Culture
Workplace hospitality starts at the top. However, it can be very challenging for the leadership to promote the shift on their own – it requires the effort of everyone in the company, making a workplace-culture of hospitality neccessary.
In order to build a hospitality-driven culture, leaders should lead by example, showing employees that they prioritise kindness, support and empathy. This approach also ensures that everyone who joins the company is indoctrinated into the culture from the very start.
In addition, the leadership should also encourage an open communication model across the company. Everyone wants to feel heard and valued, and a transparent culture is exactly what is required to achieve that. However, it isn’t enough to only encourage open communication, leaders should also implement feedback mechanisms that ensure ideas and suggestions are gathered and put into consideration during decision-making.
Conclusion
Workplace hospitality is essential because it improves employee experience, which in return boosts productivity and retention. For that reason, every leader needs to critically assess their current employee experience and find ways to start implementing comprehensive hospitality solutions geared towards taking it to the next level. If you need any help with improving employee experience, check out Circles for personalised workplace support solutions
