When it comes to finding the solution to a problem, sometimes all it takes is changing your perspective.
Years ago, I moved to a new house in Dallas. I’d brought a house full of furniture with me, which I was certain would fit, especially after careful measurement. And I was bound and determined to make it fit because we loved this furniture. But as I went about the business of arranging the different pieces, nothing was working the way I had envisioned. Again and again I tried, but again and again, things were simply not fitting.
Frustrated and disappointed, I stepped away from the project for a bit and walked up the stairs to clear my head. I realized from that upstairs vantage point, I could see the room below. As I stared downwards at the furniture and room, all of a sudden, I was immediately able to see the problem differently, enabling a creative solution that allowed my furniture to fit just right.
I changed my perspective — literally.
Things work much the same way in business. The modern workplace is a far different world than we experienced even just five years ago; the solutions we’ve relied on for years simply don’t work anymore, and we need to look at new ways to deliver a better work experience for our employees and to find ways of keeping them engaged and productive.
Recently, Citrix sponsored an event, along with Quartz Interactive, called WorXshop. Held in a spectacular townhome on the lower east side of Manhattan, it was meant to bring together professionals and get them to think about perspective. We wanted to put them in a space that was different from the typical event space, feed them foods that were outside the norm, and talk about ways to improve the workplace experience — what we call WX — for everyone from employees to IT to executives.
But what is WX, exactly?
WX is the application of customer experience to today’s workforce. It’s digital and physical spaces, processes, and cultures.
WX is the technology we use, its simplicity (or complexity, as the case may be) and how it can help or hinder employees’ productivity. Technologies like Citrix Workspace can increase workers’ productivity and lower stress by helping guide, organize, and automate workflows and putting the apps and files employees need right where they need them. It’s technology that can work the way your team needs it to, when they need it to, where they need it to.
WX is the physical space. Our offices are no longer cube farms. They are interactive spaces where people can collaborate with teammates. They foster innovation. They enable worker mobility and agility. They are where your people can find private areas to focus but also open spaces for communal thought and team building. It’s all key to improving workplace experience.
WX is culture and mindset. It’s not just the physical environment we foster, but the emotional and mental one, too. At Citrix, we look carefully at the relationship between mindfulness and productivity, so we can ensure our teams are doing their best work and that they’re able to reduce stress and bounce back faster when hit with office distractions. When our teams can focus their energy on the tasks at hand rather than on multi-tasking or workplace drama, they can deliver their best work.
Thinking about WX this way requires you to change your perspective; we can’t keep doing things the same way they’ve always been done and expect different results. We must shift our way of thinking. Delivering a great workplace experience requires getting out of your comfort zone and re-examining everything, from technology to physical space to culture. The solutions are there, if you just look at things in a different way.
