#8 Same Same, But Different; Part 1

Interview with future of work author Sophie Wade & an introduction to Effectiveness

A couple of weeks ago, I got to talk with future of work expert and author Sophie Wade on her podcast, Transforming Work. And, almost as if we drew it up this way, our conversation flowed like a deep dive into last month’s issue of The Workplace Strategist.

Thanks to Sophie’s questions and conversation guidance, we drew an even stronger throughline between my work history and what aspects of my journey prove that time is, indeed, a flat circle. We discussed the unique positioning of the major players in the future of work conversation today and some of the reasons why we are still digging ourselves out of the future of work hole we’ve been in the past few years.

Most importantly, though, we dig into Effectiveness. Dating back to my AMEX days, I started to develop a theory about how employee experience was most successfully measured through the lens of effectiveness rather than happiness and satisfaction. After reading Thinking Fast and Slow and learning the basics of product development and human-centered design, I was convinced that a company’s workplace and employee experience could evolve by embracing a “debugging” approach.

By eliminating the bugs—what I call frictions—that interfere with employees’ ability to be productive, companies clear the way for ways of working that benefit the bottom line and boost morale simultaneously. Before this can happen, though, we need to rightsize a few keywords to meet the demands of modern work.

First up: Workplace

Say it with me: the workplace is not synonymous with the office (or any place you work from).

The workplace is the collection of physical environments, digital tools and spaces, and norms, behaviors, and values that shape how work gets done within a group. When we itemize all the different aspects of the workplace through this framing, we can identify a bevy of data points that tell a far more compelling story than daily office utilization rates.

Second: Employee Experience

Employee Experience is more than perks, swag, hospitality, and company events. At the risk of sounding cynical, the fun aspects of workplace and employee experience (or any experience) don’t matter if the boring stuff doesn’t deliver. Annual company parties and free breakfasts don’t compensate for the frustrations of being stuck in hours of meetings with no time or space to focus on the actual work, not knowing where to find important client documents, or not knowing what’s expected of us on a new team or with a new manager.

Defining workplace and employee experience from this broader vantage point is essential for measuring effectiveness. Drawing a direct correlation between workplace and employee experience and productivity allows companies to understand what supports or interferes with employees’ ability to create consistent, high-quality work and how that influences the overall business.

This is the potential that effectiveness offers to companies. When companies adopt these definitions, establish data flows, and commit to continuous improvement of workplace and employee experience, everything gets buoyed.

I’ll be back with Part 2 in August, where we’ll dive into more details behind Effectiveness and how it ties back to the Test Club launched at the beginning of the year. (Bonus points if you go back to read issues #3-5.) In the meantime, have a listen to my interview with Sophie. We could have talked for hours, but the interview is just under 60 minutes. Plus, you get to hear me fully show my hand as a millennial by referencing this specific part of the Legally Blonde court scene:

I hope everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is staying cool and making the most of these dog days of summer. Until next month.✌🏼