We have previously addressed the importance of having a Workplace Experience (WPx) Plan for the success of your company, your employees, and the significant influence it has on your customers' perception and experience with your company.
Having clear and well-defined goals is essential for a successful WPx strategy. Clarity regarding your strategy goals is crucial for achieving success.
There are numerous resources, published documents, online materials, and training sessions available on creating an effective goal statement (including 4xis TRUE NORTH© and Partnership Optimization Program), so I will refrain from turning this into a blog about goal setting. Instead, I aim to share my insights on goal setting and prompt you to consider setting goals within a WPx strategy.
The goals you establish for your WPx strategy should be centered around an outcome you are working towards achieving over time. They should be ambitious, charting the course and destination you are aiming for. Furthermore, they should align with your company's Purpose, Vision, Mission, and Values (P+V+M+V) and your culture, and what you stand for.
When defining your goals, it is crucial to not only concentrate on objectives and activities. Be cautious of getting caught up in detailing precise actions to reach your goals right at the beginning of establishing a direction.
It is crucial to clarify the level and scope of your goals. Food is often a central point of discussion in any conversation about the workplace experience.
Setting a goal to improve your food program will lead to different outcomes than setting a goal to enhance the overall workplace experience, with improving food services being just one aspect of the broader objective.
Real-time experiences
Several years ago, I took charge of a hospitality program and was assigned the task of enhancing the food program. This initiative emphasized health, safety, scalability, consistency, and quality, all of which the team successfully achieved. However, despite this success, we did not see a significant improvement in customer satisfaction, engagement, and overall experience.
Years later, I led a team responsible for reintegrating everyone back into the office, with the goal of creating an environment that would excite people about returning to work.
This approach not only facilitated the return to work but also fostered a stronger sense of community, engagement, and productivity. While food played a role in this endeavor, the objectives were more dynamic and innovative, with increased stakeholder engagement and interdepartmental collaboration.
The same vendor was chosen for both projects, and they exceeded expectations by adapting well to the new objective. The vendor/partner performed excellently in meeting the performance standards for the updated goal(s).
The team eagerly accepted the challenge of creating a more dynamic food program, leading to a considerable increase in customer satisfaction scores, surpassing attendance targets, and effectively integrating the hospitality program into a more holistic workplace experience.
By going through this process, we changed our relationship from being a vendor/client to becoming strategic partners with aligned goals.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind when establishing the goals for your WPx strategy:
Set goals that are clear to everyone.
Be sure the entire organization can connect to the goal.
Create understanding what achieving the goal will look like.
Explain the goals and ensure all levels of your organization understand them.
When formulating a WPX strategy, it is crucial to consider both internal and external perspectives. Conducting SWOT analyses and benchmarking are essential tools for this purpose.
As vital as having a clear direction is, it is equally important to accurately assess your current position, your competitors' positions, and the market landscape. Many companies tend to overlook this aspect.
This groundwork lays the foundation for your future endeavors and is an opportune area to seek external assistance.
Engaging with external parties for triangulation will provide a more comprehensive understanding:
Where your firm stands in the competitive and local landscape.
How your firm is performing in comparison.
What learnings can you glean from these insights.
Identify trends, initiatives, innovation, and impact.
6 Steps to Success
When developing your WPx strategy, six factors should be considered:
1. Set Goals: Establish a set of goals that are clear and easy to understand, indicating the direction you are heading in and what the outcome will be like.
2. Benchmark: It is important to compare, fully comprehend, and align your current performance with the desired goal.
3. Timeline: Setting a timeline is crucial for achieving goals effectively. It creates urgency, accountability, and helps break down goals into smaller tasks for better tracking and progress. Prioritizing activities and allocating resources wisely ensures steady progress.
4. Set Priorities: Establish and prioritize goals based on scale, intricacy, significance, and time commitment for efficiency. Avoid taking on too many tasks at once for better results.
5. Measurements of Success: Ensure that you have considered the method by which you will gauge success. Reflect on the desired results you aim to achieve and establish a system for capturing and evaluating your progress in relation to those outcomes.
6. Execute: Keep in mind that the person is more crucial than the task, which I will discuss further in my upcoming blog post. Consider who will establish this objective, who will take responsibility, and who will be part of the team responsible for its development and execution.
Each company follows a procedure to set goals, so make sure to incorporate these six points at least to kickstart your journey successfully.
One important thing to keep in mind about goals is that "the journey is the destination." As you work towards your goal, you will refine it and gain valuable insights while pursuing objectives. For many, striving to develop a better WPx strategy is essential in order to increase engagement, foster development, differentiate the brand, and promote personal growth.
As you progress towards different goals, you will notice these changes taking place and starting to unfold. The advantages will become apparent and tangible well before you reach your ultimate goal.
John Schmidt
Corporate Strategy & Workplace Experience
4xi Global Consulting
Global amenity services and operations, transforming the work experience, and leveraging the 4xi strategic and tactical network.
You can contact John directly at john@4xiconsulting.com or learn more about John by reading his bio.
4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure.
We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success.
We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators:
Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx)
Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand
Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX)
Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design
Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations
TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth
Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation
Market Research Reports & Benchmarking
Project Management Office
Food Craft Culinary Consulting
CREATE. : Graphic Design and Creative Services
DATAxi: Data Ingestion and Visualization
Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation
4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy.
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