Research based article by Steelcase on Attract and Retain.

1. August 09 e-zine
Attracting
& Engaging
Today’s
Workers
S h i f tS i n at t i tude S and behavior S
m a k e t h e w o rkplace more important
than ever.

2. “we have a lot of meetings around
gen y wor k er:
here. there are certainly elements of my job
i could do from home, but the collaboration is
what we do at work.”

3. As Gen Y drives biG chAnGes in All
worker Attitudes And behAviors,
the right workplace becomes more important than
ever in attracting, engaging, and retaining talent.
Add one more wrinkle to the current work during the day, for them to be an
economic crisis: filling knowledge attractive employer.”
work jobs. While unemployment is at
“It’s the workplace, people!” is the core
a 25-year peak and thousands of highly
takeaway of global architecture and
educated people are out of work, finding
design firm Gensler’s 2008 Workplace
the right talent is still a challenge for
Survey. It says high-performing compa-
many organizations. For that, thank new,
nies (with higher profits, stronger market
highly specialized skill requirements and
and brand position, better employee
a global market for talent.
engagement, etc.) have similarly high-
And then there’s the complication of performing workspaces. Knowledge
decreased loyalty. Keeping knowledge workers couldn’t agree more. The vast
workers already on staff engaged majority say having an office that helps
and motivated is a growing challenge. attract and retain knowledge workers
Among the survivors of layoffs, 75% is important to them, according to
say their productivity has dipped. Cuts the Steelcase Workplace Satisfaction
in compensation haven’t helped either, Survey, an ongoing global survey of
which may explain why one study says knowledge worker attitudes on work
as many as 76% of workers are looking issues that to date has engaged nearly
for a new job. 23,000 respondents at 133 companies.
In fact, it’s the single biggest issue not
To deal with these talent challenges,
being met – and it’s been that way every
smart workplace planners and
year since the survey began in 2004.
managers are refining the workplace
to better attract, engage, and retain Now comes the tricky part: the key
knowledge workers. elements of a high-performance
workplace are changing faster than a
“You can only do so much with salary,”
19-year-old’s Facebook page. That’s
says David Stoutamire, managing
because work, and worker attitudes
director of Sempai Services, Inc., an
and behaviors are transforming before
360
Atlanta-based consultancy for commer-
our eyes, thanks to the influence of the
cial office development. “An employer
youngest generation in the workplace:
has to be able to offer those intangibles,
the earbud-wearing, texting, Twittering,
both in the workspace and in what the
Facebook-loving, newest iteration of
person does, and in how they do their
the knowledge worker.
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4. The 70 million-strong Generation Y, that shaped earlier generations. Four dramatically in some cases, subtly
32 million of whom are already in the Gen Y work habits stand out: but no less assuredly in others,” says
workforce, is exerting its influence in Lahade. “Workplace design and planning
high-intensity work — Easily uses
ways that demand attention. Like their must likewise shift if the company wants
two monitors and keyboards. Checks
Baby Boomer parents before them, Gen to attract, engage, and retain talent in a
frequently with peers for feedback and
Y is changing the world. New primary knowledge economy.”
collaboration. Shifts easily between
research by Steelcase involving in-depth
focused work, socializing, collaboration. As one Gen Y worker interviewed by
interviews and observation of more than
Multi-tasks big-time. Grew up with an Lahade’s team explained, “I think it has
160 workers at nine U.S. companies has
intense lifestyle and brings it to the a lot to do with the high expectations
uncovered eight dramatic shifts that Gen
office. we were brought up with. ‘You can do
Y is driving in knowledge work and the
it. You can have what you want.’ We’re
workplace. Just as important as where extreme focus — Comfortable working
criticized for wanting it all: high pay,
these shifts in attitudes and behaviors with and among others. Can focus
purposeful work, flexible hours. It’s
are coming from is that they’re being attention and activity with laser-like
hard for people in our generation to
embraced rapidly by all workers of precision on a specific task, such as
just do work.”
all ages. working on a laptop or smart phone in
the middle of a chaotic office. Can settle “The workplace has to show them
“Gen Y is transforming the rules of
quickly in a lounge chair or a corner of a who we are as a company, our values,
engagement between employers and
project room, deploy earbuds, iPod, and the business we’re in,” says Bethany
employees,” says Sudhakar Lahade,
a Zen-like focus to get the jo b done. Davis, director of workplace concepts
senior design researcher with Steelcase’s
and strategy for telecommunications
WorkSpace Futures group, which led the Megamulti-tasking —Grew up with a
giant Nokia. “More than anything else,
nine-month study. “Younger knowledge packed schedule (school, sports, clubs,
our workplace needs to show we value
workers’ attitudes and behaviors are yadda yadda), so multitasking is no big
our employees, and give them every
being adopted by their older Gen X and deal. Juggles multiple tasks simultane-
opportunity to be productive.”
Boomer colleagues, creating a whole ously – project work, email, IM, web
new set of requirements for any com- browsing, listening to music. Becomes Jumpstarted by Gen Y and taking hold
pany that wants to compete for talent. restless and bored quickly, constantly fast across generations, the following
From mentoring spaces to integrating looking for the next challenge. Speed, eight major shifts identified by Steelcase
work and life styles and leveraging social change, and uncertainty are typical. researchers represent big changes in the
networks, a high-performance workplace rules of engagement between employers
will look much different from most Peer-to-peer networking — Social
and employees. Any employer today
workplaces today.” networking is part of life. Checks in
that’s intent on attracting, engaging
with peers constantly (been doing it
and retaining workers can benefit from
since high school). The chat line is
how gen y is changing work rethinking their workplace through the
always open.
Gen Y brings to the office new ways of lens of these shifts:
working that stem from an upbringing in “Thanks to the influence of Gen Y, work
a world radically different from the one attitudes and behaviors are shifting –
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5. Shift #1 our thoughts before we can finish typing
them, while Twitter, RSS feeds, and text
schedule job training; workers now
are taking charge of their career skills
messages continually tug at our sleeves, with a long-term view of their own
From: Personal achievement
offering more information and ideas. personal growth and development.
through a career
Instead of learning skills in formal
Shift #4 training, they’re more likely to learn
in peer-to-peer knowledge trading,
to:personal identification
From: Trust is developed blogs and forums, and websites.
beyond work
in person
Shift #7
The old path was a single career,
clear roles and responsibilities, regular to: trust is developed From: Work and life
advancement up the ladder along with both offline and online are separate
changes in title, pay, and office size
to match achievements. Today, the
Trust was formed one way in the past:
corporate ladder has been replaced
face-to-face. But shared online experi- t o: work and life are one
by a web or lattice of job changes and
ences offer faster ways to communicate
career shifts. As a result, knowledge
and engage with others, and let us
workers are as loyal to the company
initiate and deepen relationships. The The clear separation between work
as the company is to them. They want
advantages of this virtual trust build- (office, meetings, transactions) and
to know – now – the organization’s
ing – unprecedented speed, limitless life (family, play, social activities)
mission and plan, and they seek
contacts, and no real boundaries – are has shifted to a blurring of work and
purposeful work that has meaning
demonstrated continually on Facebook, personal lives, if not a fully realized
to their life.
MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. They aren’t 24/7 work/life. Since work often
Shift #2 called social networks for nothing. intertwines with personal life (nighttime
email, off-hours phone calls, online
From:The workplace
Shift #5 meetings, etc.), workers increasingly
look for support for personal needs
is my office
through the workplace, such as
From: Conformity
flexible scheduling, telecommuting,
and onsite amenities.
the workplace is
to:
wherever i am Shift #8
to: identity
The office used to be based on the
From: Serial collaboration
organization chart and maximizing
Job security is an antiquated notion.
real estate. Most work happened in
Boomers who remember it know job
a personal workspace or meeting
security is as passé as a three-piece
and conference rooms in the same
suit; younger workers have no experi- t o: continuous connection
building. Knowledge work is now an
ence with either. Career expectations
anywhere, anytime affair. Accumulat-
and personal identity have shifted
ing face time has been replaced with
from a company and position to career The structure of scheduled
achieving results.
autonomy and gratifying projects. Work- meetings, formal agendas, and
Shift #3 ers want to make an impact through
personal and collective success. They
leader-led discussions has shifted to
a continuous series of connections
admire companies for commitment to and collaborations with colleagues,
From: Technology is a tool identifiable ideals such as sustainability, suppliers, clients, and other workers
diversity, and other best practices. who are either co-located or distrib-
uted. Social capital that was once built
to:technology is a part
Shift #6 through infrequent collaboration is
now built through personal and digital
of me networking.
From: Training
360
Under the old paradigm, technology
was a helpful tool workers used
as needed. Now, innovative
technology offers provocative ways to: growth
to communicate, collaborate, and
manipulate the coin of the realm,
For today’s knowledge worker, a career
knowledge. Technology tools even
is like a Swiss Army knife: multi-faceted
anticipate our needs: software fills in
and quick-changing. Bosses used to

6. “In our experience, there’s no substitute
for as much true face time as you can
possibly get,” notes David Fannon, vice
“The workplace has to show them who we are as a company,
president of Office Depot who recently our values, the business we’re in— more than anything else
worked on the company’s new corporate to show we value our employees and give them every oppor-
headquarters workplace. “All companies, tunity to be productive.”
all of corporate America, all of American
business is having to accomplish the – b etha ny dav i S, di r e ct or of w or k pl ace conce pt S and St r at e g y, nok i a
same things with fewer resources. That
makes it even more critical that the folks
you have gathered in a facility... be able what workers want will be onsite at the business, others
to collaborate openly.” How do you create an uber-effective may be in satellite workplaces, client
workplace to address the fast-shifting spaces, home offices, third places, etc.
Clearly, the importance placed on a com- needs and behaviors of today’s knowl-
pany’s size, brand image, and history is Based on their findings, Steelcase
edge workers? researchers have developed a suite
shifting to how well the company can
support a worker’s preferred workstyle, It all begins with the concept of a of strategies for designing high-
how much a person can learn with a range of settings. Since workers are performance workplaces to support
company, and how well it supports work/ networked across geography and time today’s new breed of workers.
life integration. Workers expect the office zones, they need a range of shared “We believe the extent to which a
to ooze technology, morph quickly to the settings to connect with other workers workplace reflects these new design
needs of the moment, and foster easy, who are nearby and frequent collabora- strategies in turn indicates how well it
personal connections. It’s a tall order, tors, as well as sometime visitors or will help attract, engage, and retain the
but vital to any company that wants to those who are based elsewhere and company’s most desirable workers,”
attract, engage, and retain good people. present only virtually. In other words, a says Lahade.
distributed workforce requires a “palette
of place” — a range of settings where For example, the shift from serial
all four knowledge work modes are collaboration to continuous connection
supported. Some of these workspaces means the workplace needs to be
Gen Y: Natural Knowledge Workers
Gen Y seems to have a natural proclivity for the four basic modes of knowledge work: focusing, collaborating, learning,
and socializing. These were first described in the seminal 1995 book, The Knowledge-Creating Company by Ikujiro Nonaka
and Hirotaka Takeuchi. Every knowledge worker — whether an interior designer, IT consultant, financial analyst, or finance
teacher — uses these four basic elements of building knowledge, which in turn drive creativity and innovation:
Focusing - Concentrating on a specific task; thinking, close study, contemplation, reflection, analysis, and other
“head down” work.
collaborating - Working with one or more people to achieve a goal, such as collectively creating content; listening,
discussing, presenting information and ideas, brainstorming, etc.
learning - Building knowledge through education or experience, either in a classroom or a conversation with peers.
socializing - Interacting, networking, mentoring, sharing along interpersonal connections that lead to common bonds
and values.
Rapidly switching from focusing to socializing to collaborating is how Gen Y typically functions. Learning is a comfort
zone for them, too; they’ve been raised as active, lifelong learners and consider it a path to personal and professional
growth, as well as a means to further their skills.
Most knowledge work – three of the four modes – involves communication and collaboration with others. As Gensler
points out in their 2008 Workplace Survey report, employees at top companies spend significantly more time
collaborating, socializing, and learning than those at average companies. A workplace that supports all four modes
helps drive organizational success.
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7. b oome r w or k e r : “how do you reinvent the
corner office for today? gen y attitudes are
being adopted by older workers. if they’re
open to change, they’re open to anything to
help them engage better with the team.”
360

8. “i prefer to design web pages
g e n y w or k e r :
and logos while i’m on the treadmill. i have no
idea why; it’s just what works for me.”

9. saturated with support for social
networks. People work in offices
because of the power of place and their “The workspace should be mobile so people
need to interact with colleagues. Yet how
collegial networks develop is changing.
aren’t stuck in one place. Free to come and
go as long as I get my work done.”
There’s unprecedented opportunity to
support forming bonds and networking – g e n y w or k e r
quickly by providing both virtual and
physical environments that support
interactions with peers, such as kitchen-
kind of collaboration spaces with a
knowledge bar to plug in computers and
have meetings — places where workers
can “chill-lax.” A good approach is to
locate these spaces strategically near
the entrance or elevator core so people
go through them as they enter or leave
the workplace.
Providing ample tools for projecting
content from a laptop or PC to a
larger display is another way to design
workplaces strategically to support
continuous connection. Equally impor-
tant is fully supporting videoconferencing
and remote collaboration, quickly
and easily.
building the business case
Office Depot is just one company that
recently completed a new corporate
headquarters building to address today’s
knowledge work requirements, and the
results are telling.
“There are two things that we’ve learned
and are reminded of every time that we
make a move — the two things that
are really important to associates. One
is pay and the other is their space. If
you can create an environment where
their space is really working for them…,
then it does a lot in terms of building
morale…, making them more productive
and making them proud of the place
where they work,” says Daisy Vander-
linde, vice president of human resources
for the company.
“We’re running the business smarter
now,” adds Fannon. “It’s an impressive
and exciting environment when you
first walk in. It encourages people to
360
remain with the company. We think it’s
a great advantage in recruiting talent.”
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10. Addressing the shifting attitudes and how worker attitudes and behaviors are It’s what the physical space says about
behaviors of knowledge workers should shifting, and how knowledge workers the company, those subtle messages
be integral to every workspace design, of all ages can best be supported to you get – access, openness, com-
says Lahade. “A workplace that helps do what they do best: learn, create, munication – that say a lot about what
attract, engage and retain knowledge and innovate. A high-performance you are. If the workplace creates hurdles
workers is not an option for any com- workplace, like the right technology tools to being productive or barriers, it can be
pany that wants not only to survive or a competitive compensation program, a detriment…. We’re doing the things the
this economy, but to flourish in the is another expression of the company’s business needs to do.”
years ahead.” investment in the talent that drives the
organization. Workplaces aren’t the only
The traditional “attract & retain” model is
outdated, he adds. “Businesses should “As a workplace professional, I believe
way to attract, engage, and
consider their workplace, their HR and we have some impact,” says Davis of grow knowledge workers,
IT policies, and other means to find and Nokia. “It’s not more important than but they’re certainly key to
keep the best talent in an overall strategy the quality of the work you do, or
to ‘attract and grow’ the people in the the colleagues you work with, or the
surmounting the challenge.
organization.” challenge of your work. Those things are
always going to be more important. But
This larger view incorporates how
the workplace reinforces those things.
knowledge work has changed,
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12. 360: Designed to inspire and inform architects and designers, 360 explores
the latest in workplace research, insights, and trends.
© 2009 Steelcase Inc. All rights reserved.