How to Infuse Hospitality in your Workplace with Jenny West, Knoll

How does a company achieve the desired workplace hospitality experience that their workforce is expecting while optimizing space and resources?

This podcast clocks in at around 46 minutes. You can also listen to it on Apple Podcasts, stream on Google Podcasts or Spotify or grab the RSS feed in your player of choice. So head out for a walk and let Jenny and I keep you company.

Imagine: you’re walking into your workplace to start your workday. Take a moment to stop and look around. What are people doing?

Are they working? Or, are they chatting about what activities they did over the weekend? Are they drinking a cup of coffee?

Chances are, it’s all of the above. And chances are, you wouldn’t expect anything else. Socializing with fellow employees helps you feel like you are part of a community.

And progressive companies know that making their workplaces community-oriented improves not only their employee experience but also boosts their employer brand.

How to create spaces for connection and interaction, perhaps in front of a cup of coffee?

The new approach to hospitality in the workplace takes inspiration from hotels, coffee shops, coworking spaces, and yoga studios and has shifted from a single coffee machine in the reception to broad, fluid, and purposeful experiences for both residents and visitors.

At the same time, office spaces are becoming smaller and smaller, workstyles are changing, and Millennials and Generation Z want different things than older generations.

Today, the workplace is a complex ecosystem that requires flexibility and adaptation.

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As a Transformation Leader at Knoll, a design firm that produces office systems, furniture, and accessories for the office, Jenny West helps her clients, Fortune 500 companies, navigate change and shape their work environments by integrating strategy, vision, and the latest trends and research in workplace design, employment, and workstyles.

She is a licensed commercial interior designer, LEED professional, Fitwel Ambassador, and change management practitioner whose expertise is to inspire organizations to reimagine the norm.

Jenny West, Transformation Leader at Knoll

Jenny joined me on The Nourishing Workplace this week, where we discussed everything from how to design a human-centered workplace to how to bring cafeterias and ‘third places’ at the forefront of your company culture.

Key Take-aways

Short on time? Here are four quick takeaways:

With a human-centered workplace strategy, projects are delivered so that they’re both beautiful and focused on people’s experiences. People are brought along in the journey and constantly involved in the conversation on how, for example, the new amenities or workplace plans would be perceived or what might be a challenge to their day-to-day productivity that needs to be integrated into the new design.

Millennials and Gen Z–people are placing much importance on community spaces. They are attracted to the ambiance of 'third places.' For them, it’s much less about the territory and more about community.

The cafeteria can play a relevant role as a community hub, both for employees and visitors alike because it can foster a powerful experience in connection even for those that are outside of your organization.

Programs that help bind people together are starting to become a norm in organizations. And an underutilized cafeteria would be a perfect place for onsight culture opportunities and to host such events.

Show Notes A shortlist of articles and resources mentioned in this episode plus further resources:

Noise at Work Report – Addressing Noise in the Open Plan (Knoll)

What's Mine is Yours is Ours Report – Planning for the New Experience-based Workspace (Knoll)

Immersive Planning Report: From Research to Realization: An Experience-based Workplace (Knoll)

How Airbnb Built a Unique Food Program with McKenzie Phelan (ep01 The Nourishing Workplace)

Learn more about Knoll:

Visit Knoll's website

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