August 2021
72.9
74.5
Workplace has been a consistent priority for Ericsson’s corporate agenda, as evidenced by the implementation of a company-wide transformation strategy since 2016. Its focus over the past five years has been to ensure that the organisation is as efficient as it can possibly be, and real estate has played a key part contributing to this through active management of the portfolio and global footprint.
But what happens when the whole world takes an unexpected turn?
With the pandemic making it impossible to visit physical workplaces, the Leadership team knew that in order to begin the workplace transformation process they had to gain a deeper understanding of employee sentiment.
The business wanted to move away from building offices based on headcount, to instead using a human-centric approach to employee experience. Ericsson recognised the evident value of gathering office experience data while many of its workforce were working from home.
Ericsson collated its employee experience data in June 2020. Due to the sudden shift in how employees were working, leadership chose to collect information on both the office and home environments. From this the company undertook the Leesman Office survey, with three additional modules attached: Leesman Wellbeing, Leesman IT and Leesman Home Working, as well as a small set of bespoke questions. Data was gathered across 102 buildings globally, from over an immense 36,000 employees.
The data gathered was significantly robust not just due to the large sample size but also due to the commendable engagement rate. Vice President, Chief Real Estate Officer & Head of Group Real Estate, Mikkel Lyngbo Nielsen stated that this was achieved because of the excitement surrounding the transformation strategy originated from their Chief Executive Officer and Executive Leadership team
Ericsson’s goal was to obtain as much employee experience data as it could to inform their future strategy. The results revealed that Ericsson’s global Office Lmi score stood at 72.9, surpassing the Leesman benchmark. Interestingly, home working experiences scored even higher (H-Lmi 74.5). Certain activities, like informal interactions, translated less effectively to virtual settings, emphasising the importance of retaining in-office interactions.
The findings indicated that certain activities did not translate well virtually. While 85.5% stated informal interactions were supported within offices, only 51.2% felt that their home working environment supported this crucial activity. However, 71.3% felt connected to the organisation while working from home.
It also confirmed that there was a demand to retain home working for a portion of the week, particularly because certain activities were better supported there, such as ‘Business confidential discussions’, ‘Individual focused work’ and ‘Reading and creative thinking’.
The diversity of home working settings impacted the overall H-Lmi score. Those working from non-specific locations, like dining tables, had an H-Lmi of 65.7, contrasting with 79.4 for those using dedicated workplaces.
Ericsson leveraged the data gained on how employees interacted with their workplace and their work activities to develop five employee ‘personas’, that would offer insights into future office requirements.
‘The Tethered’ persona thrived in the office, conducting most work activities there daily, whereas ‘The Adapter’ persona found the office suited specific tasks, excelling in creative collaboration and spontaneous meetings, but not others.
Each persona is represented by its own ‘helix’, a visual comparison of how 21 work activities were supported at the office or at home. The ‘helix’; is created by joining the black “office” dots and the blue “home” dots.
Through this analysis, Ericsson identified differences within the regional workforce, balanced diverse employee personas within individual sites, and pinpointed work activities best suited for specific locations.
These distinct personas served as the foundation for workspace planning, influencing everything from the design of meeting rooms to the allocation of desks.
With new space concepts being tested across five pilot offices, Ericsson prioritises designing spaces aligned with employee preferences and needs. As stated by Nielsen:
“These new spaces are literally a mirror of what our employees would like their future workplace to be.”
Initially, one office allocated 60.0% of space to individual desk work, but after analysing the persona split, Ericsson reduced it to 15.0%, prioritising collaborative spaces.
This example of thorough analysis has been widely praised and the value of gathering office experience data has been clear. Now, the focus has been on ensuring that as and when offices open, they are equipped with the right technology and spaces, tailored to the people who will be using them.
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