How workplace experiences focused on people inspire culture, hospitality, and employee retention. In this episode, Simon Elliot from 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions joins Tony Johnson, Ignite Your Service and talks about: Consistency and quality are key CX drivers. The workplace of the future will be far more dispersed than ever before. Workplaces transform from a place people have to go to a place people want to be. The focus will move from real estate to people and building relationships. Check out the Podcast HERE. Thanks to Tony Johnson at Ignite Your Service and Chief Experience Officer at 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions. Inspiring the future of work, together. 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

As we come up to the holiday season, wrapping our gifts, preparing our family meals, listening to our favorite music of the season, the perennial movies, maybe even a glass of bubbly (or two), we think about all the loved ones that we cannot be with this year - our family, our friends, and our colleagues, and networks around the world. On behalf of the entire team at 4xi, we would like to send you our seasons greetings wherever you may be and thank you all for your support over the past few months. Thank you to our amazing team, the encouragement from our friends around the world, and of course to all our partners and our clients that have shown faith in us to help them inspire the future, together. 2020 has been a very difficult year for everyone around the world, and we pray for those who have lost loved ones, for those who have been sick and ill, for those who have found themselves out of work, for those struggling how to cope. We pray for our front line responders, the nurses, the doctors, the medical staff fighting to keep us safe and well. We pray for those soldiers on duty around the world putting their lives at risk, for us. We pray for the homeless, the refugees, those suffering from the impact of catastrophe, poverty, starvation, or war. But it is with hope in our hearts that we wish the best for humanity during this time, we wish for peace and harmony in the world. We reject division and embrace inclusion for all people around the world regardless of their color, their creed, religion, or beliefs. "Just like for 4xi, we believe that for the world, our strength is in the power of our collective, and together we can all make a difference to the benefit of all." We pray for love, peace, and happiness and hope for a better world for everyone. Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All Humankind. 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Tony Johnson Customer Experience Officer (CXO) 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions We are in the middle of a New Normal. These are Unprecedented Times. The only constant is change. Which one of these are you most tired of hearing as a part of our new business vernacular? I say we vote them all off the island and move on. The fact is that business and customers have always been a moving target, but we have accelerated the momentum of certain strategies to be sure. The good news is that Customer Experience (CX) remains the fastest path to sales growth and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. "Now is the time to double down on the fundamentals that drive experience – and ensure that you have taken the time to understand how they translate into the current marketplace. These fundamental elements remain relevant, but not fixed. They rhyme more than they repeat." That is what brought me to the 4xi team – there is so much opportunity out there as boundless change impacts businesses, employees, and customers. As I founded my company Ignite Your Service, I also wanted to ensure that I was able to help unite collaboration and complementary services to benefit organizations in powerful ways. That is why joining 4xi as a consulting customer experience strategist and CXO seemed like a logical extension of my purpose. These fundamentals have fueled my CX strategy creation and deployment for many years – and they have been proven to bring results. Journey is the Key Customer journey is the linchpin of delivering value for customers. When you take the time to understand your customers’ needs and create solutions, you are positioned well for long term partnership. This requires that you listen, observe, and collaborate from the point of view of your clients, customers, and consumers to plot their journey in real time. From there moving to eliminate hassles, snags, and obstacles will make it easy to do business with you, building trust and loyalty. Empathy is the Catalyst Empathy has always been important to great customer experiences, but Covid-19 has made it imperative. Customers, guests, clients, and consumers have come to need understanding and patience more than ever before. Empathy is about understanding the point of view of the person across from you. However, it does not mean that you have to agree with it. The understanding that comes from empathy will help you drive anticipatory service and the occasional pieces of surprise and delight. Organizations can exemplify this most readily when serving customers. That said, you can deliver organizational empathy by looking at the marketplace and business model of a company or client and then delivering the solutions they need to be successful. This will mean a hiring and selection strategy that prioritizes skills such as listening, emotional intelligence, and positivity. Leadership is the Fuel Operationalizing customer experience is often where businesses find themselves flat-footed. There is no lack of leaders who can create strategies and vision statements that embody the perceived values of an organization. But without training, leadership, and follow up, these will remain laminated pages on a breakroom wall with little relation to the true company culture. What has become clear during the Coronavirus pandemic is that training has not been a priority. Often the training budget is slashed early on when the balance sheet is off kilter, and this has been the reality of our current economic downturn. Friction is the Obstacle The natural output of a journey mapping strategy is the identification of friction points in the customer experience. Often these take the form of ridiculous fees, silly policies, and rules that simplify life for the company at the expense of the customer. In today’s climate, customers have become more accustomed to individualized attention fueled by personalization and flexibility. These are not new customer demands, but much like remote work and video conferencing, the expectations have been accelerated by the pandemic. Just watch the hotel and airline industries for examples here – they have all but done away with cancellation penalties and change fees. This trend will continue, and this is a chance for all of us to evaluate our policies for reasonability. Growth is the Output Now the natural question from all of this is “so what?” Customer experience is a business strategy that unites safety, quality, hospitality, and simplicity in ways that drive trust and loyalty with a business or brand. The output of quality customer experience is ultimately business growth and market share. According to American Express - "90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company." That is a staggering, but not surprising number when you think about the value add that customer experience brings to the lives of customers. The simple truth is that many organizations have been cutting their way to profitability and stock price during this economic downturn. The tradeoff in this mindset is value versus commodity. Businesses that do not bring more than just a product or service will be 100% dependent on price to build their customer base. This is less sustainable in the long term than bringing experience and value, as this lowers price sensitivity and also creates relationships that are more durable over time and likely to survive the occasional hiccup in service. "There has never been a more important time to invest in your Customer Experience. Now, more than ever, customers and consumers have the ability to make alternative choices and to find those products and services that not only meet their needs of today but more importantly satisfy their needs for tomorrow." Tony Johnson, Founder of Ignite Your Service Training and 4xi Customer Experience Consultant and strategist, lives in Central Florida, the hospitality capital of North America. He can help your organization create customer experience strategies and training with a future looking mindset. Tony has extensive experience in higher education, healthcare, business and industry, restaurants, sports and entertainment, and leisure, helping organizations: Map their customer journey and identify improvements Create, implement, and sustain their customer experience strategies and programs Create leadership development and workplace culture initiatives Implement Voice of the Customer (VOC) programs Create front line employee and leadership training programs Connect their brand vision into operational behaviors and tactics Come join the conversation! Investing in Your Customers for Your Future Success. Tony Johnson has a background in hospitality and retail management – leading large and diverse teams to grow sales and delight customers over 2 decades. He served as Customer Experience Officer for 4 years with Aramark Corporation, leading their global CX strategy and deployment for their food and facilities businesses. Tony is now the owner of Ignite Your Service Training and Strategy, where he is proud to partner with 4xi Global Consulting as CXO and CX strategist. The power of the 4xi collective allows Tony’s customer centric approach to seamlessly integrate and complement the host of other experts available to help your business thrive and inspire the future of work, together. To learn more about how Tony and 4xi can help you build your Customer Experience Journey for the future, contact Tony at TonyJohnson@4xiConsulting.com 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Working from home - what's really going on? Is the ubiquitous question on most business leaders minds - productivity, engagement, well being? Is this the new chapter of work? Is it sustainable? To what extent do we still need our real estate? Thanks to a recent work from home report by ART Health Solutions, now you can know the answers to employee performance working from home. The working environment has been hugely impacted by the worldwide pandemic. Many employees have been forced to change their working practices and operate out of a home office. This report provides an in-depth look into how home working may have impacted performance, wellbeing and employee experience, helping organization's make better informed decisions relating to their future workplace strategy. From the Office to Home Working was a six month evaluation utilizing data collection technology to gather information - 12 different organizations, 9 different sectors, measuring over 10,000 days of physical activity, 13,000 survey data points, and over 4,000 cognitive performance tasks, taking the guess work out of the question and replacing it with scientific measurements and data sets. What did they measure? Using the same techniques and technology they utilize in the office, ART Health use devices like Fitbits, their own smartphone App, and a series of pulse surveys, the report gathered data to measure key indicators to understand the effect of people working from home. Employee Wellbeing Employee Performance Employee Experience "For the most critical business decisions we rely on empirical data and qualified insights, however, when dealing with workplace decisions, we tend to rely more upon intuition. ART Health has changed that - providing data from which to make probably the most important decisions about probably the most important resource we have - our people." said Jackie Cupper, former head of Global IFM at GSK. What did they find? With structured exercise and sleep, overall there was no change, however the report did find that cognitive performance was up and the stand out was Memory (+7%), Happiness (+9%), Stress (-8%) even Resting Heart Rates on average were lower (-2 bpm). That said, Daily Steps were down (-1,678), sedentary time up an average of 47 minutes more a day, and 28 minutes less daily activity. No surprise, the #1 Benefit was the removal of the daily commute, yet the #1 Challenge a growing feeling of isolation. As we have commented on before, existing issues just accentuated and accelerated by COVID-19. Watch the video from ART Solutions HERE: ART Health Solutions will be taking part in a panel discussion with Rungway led by Jackie Cupper of 4xi Global Consulting during the WORKTECH20 Global Virtual Conference on 2/3 December. Come join the conversation! How we'll work tomorrow. Download the full Working From Home report HERE 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

4xi's global reach debuts in a year where the work experience of the future needs assessment, navigation and a true compass like never before. By Judd Spicer, California Business Journal. Simon Elliot, Managing Partner of 4xi, is reframing the story of the future of work. Wielding a diverse toolbox filled with a consulting purview and a storyteller's pen, Elliot's 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is helping form the narrative of the future of work. Founded earlier in 2020 with a team of talented and experienced executives around the world -- New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Porto, and Santiago, Chile -- 4xi's global reach is augmented via its partnership with the WORKTECH Academy, a global network made up of industry leaders and academics exploring the future of how we’ll work tomorrow. Providing services and solutions for Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators and Accelerators, 4xi's reach debuts in a year where the definition of work experience has risen to the top of the agenda. "We're focused on helping and supporting corporations who want a better work experience for their employees, and these are even more accentuated and accelerated with regard to what the new world of work will look like moving ahead," Elliot, 4xi's Managing Partner and Co-Founder, says from his Bay Area, California base. "And at no other time has the acceleration of the future of work been more evident than it's been during COVID-19 -- and in its wake into the future." Navigating the future of workplaces wasn't a wick lit by COVID. Rather, Eliot says, the need for expanding horizons was already a ship set sail prior to the global pandemic. A host of examples examine not only the traditional workplace cultures and experiences but also the tangible construct of such environments. "Even prior to COVID, corporate real estate was less than 50% occupied anyway; it was already an issue," Elliot says of latent workspaces. “The commute was always a huge issue for employees, some travelling more than two hours each day. Health, wellness, well-being, and mental health were increasing challenges. So is safety in the workplace. The list goes on.” “The coronavirus hasn't been a catalyst for change as much as it's been an accelerator for change in regard to challenges that already existed,” says 4xi Co-Founder and joint Managing Partner Barbara Boden, who is based in New York. “Organizations don't know with any certainty to what extent people will go back to the workplace, but I can tell you that it won't be what it was previously." Boden was formerly global head of amenities at JP Morgan Chase & Co and is equally passionate about how 4xi Global Consulting will drive forward and make a difference. Consulting to the future, 4xi places an onus on the people and not just the bricks-and-mortar of where the dispersed workforce of the future may be – in an office, local hub, co-working space, or at home. From an employee perspective, the workplace of the future involves a new navigation of employees working from home and grasping the potential of ripple effects, such as "Corporate Loneliness," which can result from being cut-off from colleagues. From the customer vantage, Elliot, Boden and 4xi work with financial services firms, life sciences, technology, and a range of corporations including oil, gas, and mining, specifically through the lens of user hospitality experiences. "The common element is people, and if you think about customer experiences, even prior to COVID-19, you can look at it as taking a vacation," Boden says. "The on-site experience starts from the moment you arrive at the resort, to entering the property, to observing the maintenance of the grounds, to the reception area and the welcome you receive, to the accommodation you're shown, the food, and amenities. It's all an experience of hospitality -- and that's the methodology we're working within." Helping corporations and businesses create feelings and memories for customers and their employees is part of the strategic purview. Building work experiences that form a culture of community, if not a workplace sacrosanct, is a key theme in 4xi's narrative for the future. "There is a term, 'Hotelification,' of work spaces," Elliot says, "and we believe that the hospitality-enabled workplace – encompassing an entire experience, from home to commute to work and back again – has to be heightened. People will need to be magnetized back to the workplace, organizations will need to create experiences where people choose to come to, and no longer have to." Exampling how a half-used, 50-story building in downtown Manhattan could be reimagined, Elliot's employs a style Socratic: "How about part of this space being converted into either apartments, or long-term stay accommodations, even hotels?" he queries. “How about part converted into retail space, restaurants, convenience, and a leisure club venue for employees, residents, and the local community? Or how about local non-profits having offices in the space? Local universities or colleges providing professional and vocational qualifications in this same building? The workplace can become its own self-contained ecosystem." A look at additional 4xi clientele under its constituency of Innovators includes an understanding of the future impact of technology in the world of work. "It's examining how robotics can remove and reduce the menial tasks out of the work experience," says Elliot of consulting for SoftBank Robotics. "That enables people more time to focus on the more value-added work, including the customer experience." Palo Alto-based Mashgin, specializing in Computer Vision often associated with autonomous vehicle’s, A.I. point of sale solutions, is another 4xi client. "The Mashgin technology allows for touch-less transactions in hospitality, food and beverage, allowing spaces to be open 24/7 as a result, and without the need for labor to constantly be there to ring-up transactions,” Boden says. Other solutions designed to deliver impact to the world of work include ART Health Solutions, a UK-based firm, provide scientific data to assess employee’s health, well-being, and cognitive performance on the job. Rungway, also from the UK, provides a platform to allow employees to share what they really think and feel. “The only constant of the future with any level of certainty is the workforce, and as is now and into the future, as employees are more dispersed than ever before, helping organizations understand what makes their employees tick is ever so more crucial,” Elliot says. It’s not just about corporations and innovators either: 4xi sets out a full support eco-system for all stakeholders in the world of work, including Service Providers, who as a result of COVID-19, may have shed much of the value layer that helps them differentiate. “We have grown a team of experts globally, but also functionally and provide a comfort around such critical issues as sustainability, diversity and inclusion, around mindfulness and conscious leadership. We recently added a Chief Customer Experience Officer resource, all of which is able to support our constituents, project by project, or on an expertise-on-demand basis,” Boden says. In addition to 4xi and work experience leadership, Elliot's talents for creative solutions find compliment in working with his pen name "Willy Mitchell," having penned five books under the nom de plume, with a sixth work in progress. The skill of crossing-over fictional tools to corporate consulting is a talent both unique and effective. In his third book, Cold Courage, a fictionalized account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's famed Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 upon his ship, "Endurance," proves useful metaphor and analogy in approaching solutions for modern-day challenges – a theme reinforced in 4xi’s approach to business. "It's a theme of discovery and seeking new horizons," Elliot says. "And that is an interesting way to approach the business world in that same context of exploration. There are a lot of things that come out of the Shackleton story. Courage, trust, and endurance are fundamental platforms for leadership; without these tenets, it's difficult to get through challenges and adverse times that we face." An ability to relate his author's skill set to 4xi's mission creates a potent pathos that can't be found in spreadsheets or a Power Point. "Storytelling can do a lot,” he says. “People remember stories more than they remember statistics, just like people will remember feelings more than they'll remember just the product itself. And it’s when those positive experiences are created, stimulating feelings that can potentially last a lifetime, then the true magic can begin. “Storytelling is an essential ingredient of success today and should be incorporated in everything that we do with all our stakeholders, employees, partners, clients, and with our consumers -- not just for a sales pitch, but for communicating an all-encompassing set of experiences that drive lasting loyalty and ultimately success." 4xi’s journey has just begun. As Elliot puts it, “we have built a mighty fine ship, we have assembled a world class crew, with passengers and cargo on board. We’re ready to set sail and venture to new horizons and the discovery of new lands.” If business is the economic engine that drives economic advancement and prosperity, then the workforce is fundamental to that success. In this modern age with advancements in technology, it matters less and less the location of these employees, less emphasis on the bricks and mortar but all about the work experience, wherever that may be into the future. “Smooth seas never made a good sailor,” Elliot says. “4xi is re-writing the approach to supporting and advancing the world of work, working with our clients and partners, with our team of world-class consultants to help them navigate and shape the future of work.” Copyright © 2020 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved. DOWNLOAD ARTICLE PDF HERE: 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Jackie Cupper Consultant, Global IFM Strategy 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions The only constant in the world is change has never been so true as it is today mid-global pandemic and as we peer for the light of the tunnel at the other side. Business leaders across the world are trying to make sense of what the future may hold for their businesses, their services, products, and for their workplace of the future. According to KPMG, 7 out of 10 CEO’s of Fortune 100 Companies believe that corporate real estate footprints will shrink. Only one 1 out of 5 CFO’s believe that business will return to normal post-pandemic according to PwC, and research by Philippa Lally of the University College London revealed it takes 66 days for us to form new habits and behaviors. Each of these three, of many reference points goes to clearly indicating that COVID-19 might be the biggest catalyst and accelerator of change in our lifetimes. “But what does that mean for the world of work and future of work experience?” Businesses have discovered that a dispersed workforce model can work. Employees have learned how to adapt to a new working routine, some with positives but negatives too. Here are just a sample of the many observations for Employers and Employees: The Positives? + Employers + Operating costs have come down + Reduction in travel and expenses + Future reduction in real estate needs + Employees + Win back time from the mindless commute + More time at home, with family + Get more done, optimizing time The Negatives? - Employers - Reduced connectivity and collaboration - Lesser sense of community - Less oversight and control - Employees - Health, wellness, and wellbeing - Loss of work social interaction - Working more hours The cost of hosting employees in space has come down, travel and expense budgets become virtually unused, and the prediction that real estate costs will come down. The prospect for some employees reducing a career long investment in time and money to the dreaded commute, more time at home, with family, and optimizing their work/lifetime allocation are appealing factors. But then around a significantly diminished opportunity to connect and collaborate, lesser sense of community, less oversight and control can have soft but deep consequences. Then for employees how corporate loneliness is on the rise, mental health and wellness issues creeping up, the loss of social interaction, and for many, reporting that they are working longer hours. During the recent WORKTECH 20 North America virtual conference, UBER, LinkedIn, and Facebook were on a panel and talked about their methodology of designing the work experience of the future: “Don’t try and retool the past, but really understand how people work, work better, more efficiently, how, with what, where and when.” It is with these learnings that they are redesigning their work experiences from a blank canvass, ripping up the rule book of the past and rewriting the script for the future. What Employees Really Think That said, they do say that “the key to the future is what lies in the past” and to that end here are just 10 questions to ask of your business and your employees: What services/amenities/benefits were most valued by the employees, and why? (and the least valued?) What service/amenities/benefits were most important to the employees, and why? (and the least important?) What service/amenities/benefits drove the most benefit to the business, and why? (and the least benefit?) What were the top 5 reasons why employees wanted to work for your business? (and the top 5 reasons for losing employees?) What did you like the most about working from home? (and what did you like the least?) What did you miss the most from your place of work? (what did you miss the least? How many days a week would you like to work at home vs. office into the future? (what technologies do you need to optimize your working performance?) What services/amenities would attract you to the workplace in the future? What are the things that make you feel most excited about your work experience? Understanding what employees really think is a critical part of the process, and when in real time, a constant pulse check on what’s working, what’s not, and how the workforce evolves over time. “At one time offering childcare to start-up tech companies was pointless but over time as the workforce needs change, evolve, and have families, then amenities like childcare raises its level of importance and value.” Similar to what employees really think, then how employees feel, perform, their health and wellbeing is also critical and how through continuous monitoring can help adjust the working environment, resources, and tools to maintain employee efficiency, productivity but also an important factor, employee happiness. Designing a Space vs. Building an Experience? A beautifully designed space where people come and evolve into over time is often how we have designed and built structures in the past but to what extent can you design an experience around the people and not necessarily the physical brinks and mortar? What is clear is that the future has changed for certain, and that where we call workplaces is now way beyond the built environment and with more employee choice like never before and to more than every before. Home, the local coffee shop, hotel, co-working space, local/regional hub or back to the office? What are the tools that will make the workforce more effective, from anywhere? What are the things that will really impact health, wellness, and wellbeing? What about engagement, loyalty, contentment, and happiness? “How can we take the essence of all that our people desire, need, and help them thrive, curating a set of experiences as opposed to simply building a physical structure?” We have this opportunity among us to build beyond the normal parameters and venture into exploring what’s possible, and it in this way that we can build a work experience framework that with the right measurements of success, flexibility for evolution, that will outlive the physical structures of today and to the virtual spaces of the future. Data is King Although what people want is important, the danger is that the loudest opinions can sway the data, and that gathering a representative sample can in some organizations be a huge task. Then, beware that data sets such as surveys are only a moment in time. An ongoing strategy to data and monitoring will provide you with the directional signs for you to way find through the evolution of your employee experience. True North As with any imperative organizational, transformational project, buy in and commitment from key stakeholders and leadership is critical to ensure the best outcomes for your organization. Carefully mapping out the desired outcomes, the resources required, the long-term commitment the road map and measures of success is the foundation to effect change. An upfront investment in establishing your True North is the basis in which you can align all these stakeholders. Think about this as an expedition. What is the mission, desired outcomes, resources, talent needed to complete your goal? What is the purpose and destination of the journey or expedition? Who from the C-suite is sponsoring, supporting the expedition? Do you have sufficient funding to complete the mission? What expertise do you need on the crew to achieve your aims? What internal, external talent do you need for the journey? What are the key milestones along the way? How do you organize the expedition, the crew? How do you ensure there are open and free channels of visible communication? What are the measures of success along the way and beyond the finish line? Setting out the Expedition Charter is the first step on your journey to transforming the work experience. As they old saying goes, its all in the planning and preparation. Good luck on your journey, have fun, but most importantly focus on the outcomes: Transforming the Work Experience for GOOD, and for the BETTER! For further information or perspectives, please feel free to reach out: JackieCupper@4xiConsulting.com 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Simon Elliot Managing Partner 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions I woke up this morning to a lively chat on LinkedIn about the design of things, buildings and spaces vs. the design of people focused experiences. I went to reply to the group but ran out of space, so, I decided to share my meanderings over a mug (or two) of Sunday morning coffee. The first post of the exchange read: I learned this morning that a number of workplace folk were to start trying to clarify a number of terms for the physical workplace that are often used interchangeably - such as agile, flexible, activity-based and hybrid. Or any of the many other names for the same thing that have been invented since lockdown. Yet this works on two levels. First, what those who design the space determine it should be. Sometimes an industry term is used, occasionally a bespoke name. It usually heralds a whole series of panel-beating ‘change’ activity to try to turn people into the ideal occupant. But people being people they tend to find their own purpose for space. Sometimes it’s what they’re told it’s for, but mostly it’s what it’s needed for. Second, therefore, the manner in which it’s used. Because the workplace is nothing at all until it’s used. Paraphrasing Albert Camus, ‘emptiness makes all space equal’. The definition of a workplace is therefore far more likely determined by the work undertaken. For example, it’s a ‘flexible’ space if people keep to differing patterns of attendance and groupings. And the work – and the need – will change over time. We can build it and call it what we want. But what it is and becomes is not up to us. Then one of the responses: A workplace’s impact is driven by the physical design of the space, the services provided to support people within it (note the people NOT the work!) and the leadership evident within it. Not necessarily in that order and a truly holistic outcome needs all three as appropriate and that’s why it’s complex. This back and forth really got me thinking. One seemed more focused on the design in relation to the work, and how people would adapt to the space and evolve over time. The other more focused on the upfront research and data of what people really want, and then to use that data and learning to complete the design. "Two different perspectives in surely a complex problem - predicting the future has always been a tricky thing no matter how you go about it, the only judge of who's ultimately right will be time itself." The thing is that both approaches may have an acceptable outcome, maybe even very similar outcomes but this intrigued me as I thought about some of my own experiences. In the Good Old Days before the pandemic, I was at a work experience meeting in London. The meeting was being led by architect/design folks and they kept making reference to "our industry", and eventually I had to ask them which industry they were referring to. They looked at me as if I had just come from another planet and the response from around the room was unanimously "the design industry" and how they design things like buildings and spaces and such for purposes identified, by what I could work out, them. I kept my thoughts to myself as I didn't want to offend, and I admit a bit of jet lag probably stopped me from piping up, "We're in the business of Experience aren't we?" At least that's what I thought we were in. Back in Silicon Valley I had worked with 1st generation technology companies (including Company A below) desperate to reinvent themselves, their work experience proposition. Then 2nd, 3rd and new entries to the market designing and providing the best possible work experience - why? To attract (and retain) the best talent to their businesses, the brightest minds to continue the development of their products or to invent the next Big Thing. I was talking to one CEO of a Start-up (Company B) a few years ago who was relocating his $125M+ business just a few miles from Palo Alto to San Jose, I asked him why, he looked me in the eye and responded, "It's simple. We're moving nearer to where the talent is so that they don't have to change, move home, increase their (already miserable) commute, remove the barriers so that we can steal the best and brightest talent from Company A." I sat there as his words sunk in. It was at that point that I realized that there really was a War for Talent and that it was so specific he knew exactly which company he wanted to steal that talent from. A few months later I was on a flight sat next to another CEO of a Start-up Company C who at some point during the journey he made a full admission that he was relocating his $75M business close to Company B so he could steal their talent. I had no idea that this level of competition for talent existed. Moving entire enterprises to be closer to the talent pool. At the time I was blown away by that concept. On my travels I came across a business located in a disused warehouse space in San Francisco. This wasn't a designer warehouse, this was the real thing. Although polished at least, there were cracks in the concrete floor, an eclectic mix of furniture evidently salvaged, begged and borrowed, the dress code was also eclectic, in fact non-existent - I stood out like a sore thumb in my jeans, suede boots, dress shirt and casual sports jacket. There was evidence of takeaway food deliveries strewn around in the aftermath of lunch, makeshift partitions to form meeting rooms, kegs of beer, music playing, even a couple of old Space Invader machines in the corner. "Was this a place of work? I thought to myself as I recalled the sea of cubicles, the company branded polo shirts and chinos at Company A." The place was full of buzz and energy, the people, although casually dressed in some cases to the extreme were all super friendly, clearly very smart, and ultra focused on their mission. Their workspace had no design, it was just a space that they had filled with their own culture, not curated in any way, but it certainly seemed to be working (pardon the pun). It reminded me of the initial article on LinkedIn and maybe the author was right - that people fit into the building and space and not the other way round. Then, a large social media company who built a new headquarters building complete with a social area filled with bleachers, bean bags and funky looking chairs. I observed how the occupants gravitated to the more traditional (and comfortable) spaces, and in fact the modern design features appeared to be nothing more than Architects Folly. During the WORKTECH20 North America Conference I was honored and privileged to introduce a panel discussion including work experience leaders from Facebook, Uber and LinkedIn and I was really struck by the essence of their overarching approach to design the future work experience. "Basically, to forget the past, pre-pandemic, look at what the people want, need, how to help them become more efficient with work and life and design the future from a blank canvass, not try to retool the past." I really liked this thought. Rather than design a space to accommodate people, what about designing an experience for people to make them more successful across every aspect of their lives, including work. I thought this was genius and really fit into my own aspirations around the future of work, and how to meet the needs of all of the diversity that exists in the workforce. On our travels we came across ART Health Solutions who talk about bringing science to the workplace and how they collect robust data that produces deep insights to how workspaces impact employee performance. Data collection on what people think, how they work, how they perform, their health, their wellbeing and what are the elements of workplace design that they react positively and negatively to. As I think about the conundrum posed on this mornings LinkedIn chat, I think about the "Build it and they'll come" approach, the evolution of people fitting into the building, and the approach of using actual human behavioral data and insights to design the future state of work experience. What do you think? Which approach will you choose? 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Georgina Miranda Explorer in Residence 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions Time for conscious leadership and change from the inside out in business. “After helping people and companies transform for over a decade across the globe and starting 3 businesses - I see the world and work with new eyes. 2020 has been the ultimate time of awakening for many, but it’s not enough to wake up. The question then is how will you live and act with your new level of awareness and knowledge?” Last month, I partnered with 4xi Global Consulting, and joined the business as Explorer in Residence Exploring and inspiring the future of work, together. The future of work means employers prioritize mental wellbeing, they develop conscious leaders, they invest in transformation from the inside out, and diversity and inclusion is a way of working, rather than an initiative. I’m thrilled to innovate for better work environments globally. “Too often I saw really unhappy and unhealthy people in the corporate environments I was in. I knew our wellbeing and joy should never be compromised for a “good job.” For the world to change, the change starts in us. The world no longer needs leaders, it needs conscious leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers committed to doing work that benefits the greater collective of ALL people and planet. There is no going back, there is only going forward to create a new world. Let’s shape one of love, compassion, unity, and one in harmony with the earth. Here to partner with you and your teams on your journey to new awareness and action in a new world. With this in mind, we have put together different options for businesses and business leaders who are seeking to address these issues and build a level of mindfulness and conscious leadership in how we tackle and surpass the current and future challenges. How together, as a team, the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts, and we can improvise, adapt and overcome the challenges before us. Ways to work together and create a new future of work: Mindfulness @ Work Bring transformation to your work and life with mindfulness. Mindfulness has been proven to transform stress, build resilience, while also training your brain to have better focus and happiness. Mindful leaders and teams are able to be responsive versus reactive. Space is given to grow in awareness and mental wellbeing. With awareness comes more informed and sound decision making. There is an openness to vulnerability and to developing practices to help people navigate through uncertain times with less stress, fear, and anxiety. Conscious Leadership Development Conscious leaders are committed to their own growth in awareness to better serve. They practice personal leadership. Personal leadership requires us to care after our physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental wellbeing. To change the world, we must first change within. We work together to develop the conscious leader in you and to grow a business that thrives in profit, impact, and wellbeing. There is equal focus given to personal growth and the growth of the business/career. Change and Transformation Transformation from the inside out. We partner with you for your intended transformation (people, process, technology, mission/vision), while also guiding your people through the adoption process to make the desired change a success. Initiatives that do not have a strategy for overall adoption and engagement are the ones that struggle the most. Our world is in a state of change, and keeping our people feeling secure, valued, and well during these times is critical. Guest/Keynote Speaker As the year comes to a close there is a desire to grow inspiration at organizations or to kick off 2021 with a new perspective for the future. I am a sought-after international speaker and thought leader in the areas of Mind Power and Energy, Transformational Travel, Adventure, Exploration, Conscious Business, Entrepreneurship, Impact-Women + Planet. “Bringing calm and transformation to your work and life in uncertain times.” Every business, every team is different and on a different stage of your journey and discovery, 4xi offers Consulting, Expertise-on-Demand, and Programs that are tailored to those needs, and whatever your immediate or longer term focus, we can help you explore new horizons. Beyond one off engagements, here are just some of the ways on which we could work together: Mindfulness at Work Course Consisting of 4, 60-minute virtual training sessions, email coaching support, including course materials to support the learning journey. This is ideal for a team who want to explore the foundations of mindfulness and how to apply them in the context of the world of work for both themselves and for their teams. Conscious Leadership & Mindfulness Initial 60-minute introduction to the team, followed by 15-minute, bi-weekly drop-in slots during regular team meetings, then voluntary monthly sessions of 60 minutes for team members, and then end of quarter wrap up meeting, 60 minutes including summary. This is ideal for a team that is committed to driving a culture of Conscious Leadership & Mindfulness. One-to-One Coaching Supplementary one-to-one coaching sessions to address individuals’ opportunities around Conscious Leadership and/or Mindfulness. Ideal for leaders who want to progress their own soft skills, or for individuals seeking to overcome personal challenges. “I am fascinated by the infinite human potential available to us all and to helping others break through to discovering theirs in business, life and beyond. I often say to not let your starting point determine your end point. There are no limits. If we can learn to tame and train our minds, infinite possibilities become available on every level.” While it is an extremely challenging time to be running a business with the massive amount of change being thrown at leaders and entrepreneurs daily, it’s also an incredibly exciting time to be on this earth and drive positive change and innovation that prioritizes people and planet. We are shaping the new future of work. It’s an adventure! I am curious, what would you like to see shift where you work or have worked before? Please message me or leave a comment. e: georginamiranda@4xiconsulting.com Georgina Miranda Adventurer, entrepreneur, advisor, transformation expert, global citizen and keynote speaker, dedicated to the transformation of people, companies, and societies for their highest and best good. Georgina brings almost two decades of experience as a social entrepreneur, adventure athlete, international speaker, writer, transformation coach, consultant, mindfulness and energy practitioner, and founder and CEO of She Ventures - a social enterprise focused on the global advancement and well-being of womankind. She is known for producing transformative experiences and events and for developing proficient, conscious leaders, entrepreneurs, and companies alike. Her client roster spans Fortune 500 companies globally as a management consultant and executive coach. An adventure athlete, Georgina is in the process of completing the Explorer Grand Slam, a grueling challenge of climbing the highest peak on each continent and skiing to the North and South Pole. A feat that less than 15 women have completed globally. This journey has taken her to climb Mt. Everest twice, and began in 2008, when she could barely run a mile. Her mission is to share the stories of women and places at risk highlighting gender-based violence and climate change. She also shares how mindfulness and a shift in mindset was the key to her own personal transformation. Georgina holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a graduate and has been an advisor for the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco. She serves on the Board of Directors as the Vice Chair for SheJumps and serves as an advisor for many other startups and leadership organizations. She is formally trained in mindfulness/meditation, yoga, and energetic healing practices. She is a contributor for Thrive Global, and has been featured and quoted in Forbes, Vox, Glamour, NBC News, Mindful Magazine, Mindful Leader, Intel, Women’s Health, Huff Post, Latina, and many more media outlets and films. 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Simon Elliot Managing Partner & Co-Founder 4xi Global Work Experience Consulting & Solutions 18th October, 2020: Last week WORKTECH20 North America held its first virtual conference with 500 attendees joining from organizations across the Americas and around the world, and what a super line up of interesting speakers, topics, and attendees. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, PwC, Avuity, Genentech, Intel, Locatee, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Netflix, VECOS, Liquidspace, Smarten Spaces, Global Workplace Analytics, Ford Motor Company, SoftBank Robotics, LifeWorks Restaurant Group, WeWork, Condeco, WellnessCoach, Nasdaq , Saltmine, Woodall, Irisys, Allwork, Gensler, M Moser Associates and EPOS to name but a few were either speaking or in attendance - thank you to all the sponsors, speakers, contributors, and attendees. Here's what one first time attendee said of the event: “I enjoyed the level of thinking that it provided, more at the strategic level and less of the tactical. I also liked the ability to choose which topics might fit with what I was interested in and the ability to move between the east and west stage.” Key Takeaways and Themes COVID-19: An Accelerator of Change Many of the issues we have seen over the past 8 months or so existed before the global pandemic. Real estate was under utilized, some say less than 50%. The commute was a major bug bear and a reason to take a job or leave. Video technology already existed but has been catapulted into everyone’s personal and professional lives. The need to expand the work experience to an evermore dispersed workforce, now an absolute reality for organizations. The global pandemic has also exposed and accelerated pre-existing conditions in sectors such as hospitality, leisure, retail, and restaurants around the world. Employee Safety has Changed its Focus No longer just about risk factors and accident mitigation, employee safety is now much more about providing safe environments where occupants of buildings, employees, wherever they are, can be safe and stay healthy from less obvious and visible risks to their health. Dave Santo from Siemens talked about air ionization and how that linked with other innovations and visible measurements can be a reassurance to occupants re-entering buildings wherever they may be. Health, Wellness & Well-being Always a factor, but the pandemic has not only accentuated the focus but also the risk. As people work from home, deal with the crisis, trying to keep in employment in the shadow of global layoffs, as they try and balance their home working environment, deal with a new way of working, the intensity of video conferencing, and in many cases working longer than ever before. Sara Escobar of Netflix, Kate Lister of Global Workplace Analytics talked about coming to work as yourself, about mental health and wellbeing, about managing issues like depression that may also have been accentuated during these unprecedented times. Those with the luxury of a dedicated home office, or even a spare bedroom are in a much better position than those that don’t have this, working at the kitchen table, with children, pets, interruptions making the experience even more stressful. Corporate Loneliness This phenomenon existed even pre-COVID-19. Implants in new metro cities reliant upon their work for the foundation of their social network. Cut off, alone, in their expensive apartment that they may struggle to afford with isolation and the fear of layoffs looming. For many, this has brought mental health and wellbeing issues to the forefront and for millions now a reality. “I find the WORKTECH events head and shoulders above anything else. The community, network, the insights, quality of the content and the attendees. This is not a ‘trade event’ but a serious gathering of workplace professionals dedicated and committed to transforming the work experience for GOOD! ” Dr. Douglas Terrier, Chief Technologist at NASA talked about the ultimate innovation machine and how many of the technologies that have been developed for space exploration are now ubiquitous today, and with many more to come. How designing the ultimate workplace in space has lessons for us all as we try to do the same on terra firma. Then, Ebbie Wisecarver from WeWork sharing her own insights on reinventing the workspace of the future. Phil Kirchner, Future of Work Consultant led a panel of Terry Raby, Global Workplace Design at Facebook, Brett Hautop, VP Workplace Experience at LinkedIn, and Tracie Kelly, Head of Workplace & Real Estate, Uber and discussed their approach to what the new future might be. Invent the Future, not Re-tool the Past What do employees really want, need, where they work, how they work, how they can be their very best? These key questions are top of mind as these leading workplace experience organizations consider and design the future of work. Magnetizing the Work Experience No doubt the world has changed, and post COVID-19, it is unthinkable that companies or governments will introduce any mandate to return to the office. They say it takes 66 days on average to change behaviors and habits forever. We are now way past that milestone, and the future physical work experience has to be much more compelling than ever before. A place where people choose to come, not have to. Food & Hospitality Experiences as a Draw A seamless commute, arrival, meet and greet, room booking, meet with colleagues, friends, project partners. The experience is going to be the draw of the future and not the space itself. The overall experiential proposition will need to be elevated, and likely with different economic models, more subsidies, lower volumes, maybe even more free amenities in a smaller footprint to attract the now inevitably, and permanently dispersed workforce of the future. Bruce Daisley, Author of The Joy of Work & Eat Sleep Work Repeat and former VP for EMEA at Twitter had an energetic and inspiring session that touched on a couple of very interesting topics: Redundant Real Estate As inevitably corporate demand for real estate subsides, and at the same time a potential glut of retail real estate, what becomes of all that square footage of space to avoid mothballed Class A buildings and shopping malls turn into ghettos. It is true that some of this space could be converted to warehousing for local deliveries, even ghost kitchens, but there is a lot of foot print to repurpose. "Hotelification" of the Work Experience Is the future work experience equivalent to that of a hotel experience? If so, what start level of workplace do you want to be, or need to be? But then, what do you do with the potentially redundant space that you may or may not be able to offload? What about literally a hotel, a conference and events center, office space for nominated non-profits, vocation, higher education, even housing? “Networking was fantastic! I actually met more people in the virtual setting than I have in the live conferences.” All in all, WORKTECH20 North America was another great event, albeit in a different format but the overall feedback, evidenced by the attendance and participation was very positive indeed and we look forward to welcoming you to the next event. For further details of the benefits of joining the WORKTECH Academy, then please feel free to reach out. If you attend any WORKTECH event then you are already signed up as an Individual Member but there are also other membership opportunities including Community Member, Corporate, and Global Partner. “Come lead the conversation and shape the future of how we'll work tomorrow.” For further information about the different membership levels of WORKTECH Academy, request a Membership Pack HERE. 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

Jenna Rowe 4xi Advisor, Sustainability The combination of Global perspectives and Local execution is a powerful concept that when together can drive a whole host of benefits to people, economies, and positively impact the planet too! A significant number of Environmental and Social Shareholder Resolutions with majority shareholder support have been passed in 2020, demonstrating the increase in investor focus on environmental, social, governance (ESG) as a priority. ESG factors into debt & equity, with more than 90 country exchanges joining the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE) and creating ESG indexes to promote greater coherence, consistency and comparability in corporate reporting. Shareholders and other stakeholders are paying close attention to the details. Investors and talent alike, are carefully evaluating companies by their position, reporting and performance, and overall approach to demonstrating corporate responsibility. Few stakeholders state expectations as clearly as BlackRock’s CEO: “A company cannot achieve long-term profits without embracing purpose and considering the needs of a broad range of stakeholders.” While a company’s industry, geography, complexity, and leadership influence the organization’s commitment to environmental sustainability and their approach, more companies are defining clear ESG priorities as part of their overarching corporate business strategy. Key to this effort is disclosing sustainability information in their financial filings such as annual reports, Forms 10-K, and proxy statements. This is a clear indication of the growing acceptance that sustainability information is material to investors. This shows companies are paying attention and adapting to increasing expectations from stakeholders. Purpose Driven Position The most successful companies are those taking a “GLOCAL” position, meaning they “Think Globally and act Locally.” Through this Glocal perspective, individuals and companies can drive greater positive impact, especially in the areas of environmental and social responsibility. The overwhelming number of sustainability organizations, reporting standards and frameworks that have emerged in the last decade have created confusion for firms beginning their sustainability or ESG journey and articulate their purpose. Though daunting, a glocal perspective simplifies the decision process by narrowing the options from the top down using three pivotal criteria to define potential pathways to defining their corporate responsibility position: - Adopt a Globally Applicable set of principles, and commit. - Define Regionally Relevant, quantifiable, time-bound goals which align with your commitment, address stakeholder expectations, such as reporting, and are compliant with the industry and regulatory requirements where you operate. - Develop a strategy that is Locally Actionable and provides measurable benefit to key stakeholders, such as employees, tenants, and the communities in which you operate. When defining a purpose driven position, follow the money. One recommendation is following it to Davos, Switzerland, the site of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting. The WEF hosts political and economic leaders, climate activists, royals and reporters, all focused on sustainability. Totaling 3,000, WEF participants include business leaders, the CEOs of global companies, NGOs, Labor organizations, Business Associations, and Academics. This year’s meeting launched the Davos Manifesto 2020, a bold statement defining the “Purpose” of a company: “Engage all its stakeholders in shared and sustained value creation. In creating such value, a company serves not only its shareholders, but all its stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, local communities and society at large.” This particular pathway to purpose also aids in identifying sustainability principles, as the WEF runs alongside the United Nations General Assembly, and many WEF members are also participants in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The UNGC’s aims to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders, supporting companies to: Do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and; Take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation. Globally Applicable Regardless of size, industry, complexity, and geographic coverage, all companies can contribute to the Sustainable Develop Goals. Global issues – ranging from climate change and natural disasters to water scarcity and food waste, from social conflict and inequality to pollution and loss of biodiversity – need solutions that the private sector can deliver. This broad array of challenges represents a large and growing market for business innovation and collaboration. Since January 3rd of this year, more than 2,000 new participants have committed to the U.N. Global Compact Sustainable Develop Goals (SDGs). This has brought the total to more than 15,500 organizations, despite the pandemic, and the number grows almost daily. No other organization or universal set of principles, has gained this magnitude of support and this level of participation and support. Regionally Relevant While the SDGs are universal, individual countries establish and enact national plans for achieving the global goals. The Global Compact has launched Local Networks in over 85 countries, providing the platform for businesses to engage with stakeholders from Government, the UN, civil society and communities to design a shared approach. This type of collaboration provides another benefit, which is ensuring that participating organizations have a voice in developing national policies and the regulatory requirements to which they are held accountable. On the regulatory front, a strong push for corporate sustainability has come from Europe. The European Union Directive on non-financial and diversity reporting, passed in 2014, requires large public companies to include a sustainability statement in their annual reports. Other countries including South Africa, the United Kingdom, Japan and India have also taken steps to require different forms of sustainability disclosure for public companies. Regulatory reporting requirements, alongside the developments in the investment community, are driving the need to address, and improve disclosure of, sustainability issues deemed material to companies’ long-term health. Over 90% of GRESB participants now have multiple ESG objectives that are fully integrated into their business strategy. Meanwhile, the non-profit CDP, which encourages transparency around corporate ESG performance, launched a 2020 Non-Disclosure Campaign. This initiative is driven by global investors, holding more than $10 trillion in assets, who are urging corporations to improve their environmental disclosure on the themes of climate change, deforestation, and water security. The 1,051 companies from 49 countries being urged to share environmental data are estimated to emit more than 4,800 metric megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, according to CDP. Locally Actionable Just as stakeholders are one of the drivers behind a company’s need for an ESG program, stakeholders require purposeful communication and engagement. In fact, stakeholder engagement is both a requirement for most principles and disclosure frameworks, as well as a key element to a program’s success. More recently termed “experience” and focused on employees, effective engagement efforts can help a company gain a competitive edge, improve brand and reputation, increase their market share, and boost shareholder value. The importance of stakeholder engagement is such that the SDG library includes an entire section on the topic. Emphasizing the “Social” in environmental, social, governance, best practices align human resources, public relations, philanthropy, community, and sustainability efforts through employee participation to maximize an ESG program’s return on investment and the value delivered through the program. In addition to benefits such as compliance with local regulatory requirements, community engagement also provides opportunities for collaboration across multiple corporations, non-profits, industry organizations and utilities. This collaboration is where opportunities for driving community benefit through corporate actions can begin to gain the most traction – integrated into each organization’s efforts in partnership. Trash pick-up days, e-waste recycling, local education and green events, all deliver measurable results to enhance reporting and are built on stakeholder participation, which delivers other valuable metrics – all in support of achieving ESG program goals and meeting corporate responsibility commitments. Conclusion Integration is the keyword when it comes to sustainability or environmental, social, governance efforts. These initiatives must be reinforced by the implementation of company policies, standards and guidelines which are integrated into the culture of the company and embedded in their business operations. No matter your organization’s current progress or lack of progress in this area, the time to act is now. Proactively assessing the situation, defining your purpose, and developing a strategy is efficient and effective. Reactively responding to pressure from government and stakeholders is expensive - and exhausting. What Next? Sustainability is a complicated and complex puzzle, but if your shareholders, stakeholders, and your own principles, are committed to making a difference, let 4xi Global Consulting help you navigate the unknown, and discover new horizons. Jenna Rowe, Advisor, Sustainability & Resilience at 4xi Global Consulting offers insights, guidance, and programmatic support for organizations who are seeking to drive their sustainability efforts, make a change, and create impact in how they operate and achieve their sustainability goals for the future. To learn more about how 4xi can help, contact us today: w: www.4xiconsulting.com e: jennarowe@4xiconsulting.com "Inspiring the future, together." 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo

4xi is delighted to welcome hospitality and growth strategist, and coach Ann McNally after a stellar career spanning over 25 years. Working on the client-side of the business as Vice President of Amenities at Morgan Stanley and as Director for Contract Services at Bristol-Myers Squibb, she managed soft services such as food, conference centers, reception services, janitorial, fitness centers, and more. Ann worked on the operations side of the business for 16 plus years in the airport, education, and corporate services sectors in varying roles from business operations to Vice President of Sales. Prior experience also includes working as the Chief Operating Officer for Emcon Associates where Ann had the opportunity to remarket and re-structure the organization in preparation for the firm to be sold. Ann was responsible for launching several projects and initiatives in all of her roles. As an experienced leader and industry connector, Ann is well versed in the workplace experience and knows how to connect productivity, sustainability, and wellness to the overall value of the hospitality program for organizations. In 2010, Ann served as President for the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM) and sat on the SHFM board of directors for six years. In 2011, Ann received an honorary doctorate in food service from the North American Associations of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAAFM). Ann proudly served as a founding board member for Dress for Success, Mercer County NJ (serving underprivileged woman), and helped start this 501 c 3 with a group of passionate women at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Ann has a deep understanding of business operations, excellent strategic planning skills, and genuinely enjoys coaching others to learn about our industry. At 4xi, we believe that our strength is in the power of our collective. We're excited to have Ann join our growing global team of experts. UP CLOSE & PERSONAL Q1: Where do you live? AM: I am right in the process of moving to Southport, North Carolina outside Wilmington. Q2: What was your journey to 4xi? AM: After working in the onsite soft services world for 28 years when Barbara Boden called with this cool concept, she and Simon Elliot were developing the timing was perfect for me to do something different. I love helping clients with various pieces of their business needs and look forward to working with many of them. Q3: What’s your favorite holiday destination? AM: My little ski house outside Ludlow Vermont (Okemo Mountain). Q4: Desert Island Discs: What’s your top 3 music artists? AM: Crosby Stills and Nash, Van Morrison, and Jackson Brown. Would throw me back to my younger days and get me through the time on the island. Q5: Desert Island Food: What’s your top 3 cuisines or foods? AM: I love to eat healthy food so any seafood grilled to perfection, any mixture of healthy salad, and when I venture off the daily rules Thai food does it. Q6: If you were invited to a dinner party of 10, who would you invite, alive or dead? AM: My son, Michelle and Barack Obama, Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Brene Brown, Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert, my mom, dad, and sister who have passed away. Q7: What are the top 3 most important things to think about in the future of work right now? AM: How to help get your employees through COVID. Then Post COVID looking at the entire work experience from the moment they enter the workplace until they leave to go home. How are they impacted during the day, how can we help them be productive, how can we attract and retain them and keep them in our workplace? Let's not forget supporting them at home. The new normal may never return to a full building of people so let's make sure we invest in our employees at home as well whether through wellness offers, zoom cooking classes, packages of surprise. Let's make sure they feel valued now more than ever. Q8: Who is the most influential person, leader, icon, colleague in your career to date? AM: Annette Erario, my boss at BMS. She taught me so much about business, encouraged me to return to school while working full time, and taught her entire team the importance of continual improvement. Q9: If you could change one thing, anything, what would it be? AM: A cure for cancer. Q10: Describe your best consumer experience ever, and why it stands out? AM: I love a good sense of humor so on a flight one time the steward made his little speech about keeping everyone safe the funniest story I have ever heard. And his delivery was spectacular. The entire plane was in stitches. Q11. Tell us something about you that most people don't know about you? AM: I ran four New York City marathons. My personal best was a 3:40 marathon and I'm still here! Q12. If you support a charity, what is it and why? AM: I support a few. One close to my heart is Dress for Success which helps suit women for job interviews. When I worked at BMS a group of great women worked together to start the Mercer County Dress for Success. Q13. If you could live in any book, what would it be? AM: Becoming by Michelle Obama just so I could hang with her. Q14. If you could have superpowers, what would they be? AM: Change the way politics work in this country. Especially the electoral college. Q15. What are your passions and why? AM: I love to help women in their careers. As a single mom I was fortunate to have a number of family and friends and phenomenal bosses behind me nudging me along. Not everyone has been as fortunate as I to have this support. My favorite anonymous quote; "Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful woman who have her back." Q16. If you could offer one piece of advice about the future of work what would that be? AM: Look at the entire workplace experience from your employee's eyes and invest in them wisely as they hold the keys to your firm's success. Thanks Ann for a super interview, and welcome to the 4xi team! ------------ 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. w: www.4xiconsulting.com San Francisco | New York | North Carolina | Los Angeles | Santiago | London | Tokyo

What: 4xi Innovation Webinar: Mashgin: Revolutionizing the Check-Out Experience Where: Webinar: REGISTER FOR FREE HERE When: Wednesday 28th October 2020, 10.00 (Pacific Standard Time) Join 4XI Global Consulting and Mashgin for a discussion on the benefits of utilizing computer vision technology to create a touchless, safe, and speedy self-checkout experience for consumers. Touchless, socially-distant purchasing is the new norm across the world and companies everywhere are adopting new technologies to accommodate this customer need. Learn how other organizations have successfully used Mashgin to dramatically reduce lines and increase revenue while setting a new standard for consumer safety. Webinar Presenters: Toby Awalt Director of Product Marketing @Mashgin Product Evangelist and startup veteran, Toby has the honor of representing a world-class team at Mashgin. Barbara Boden Managing Partner @4xi Global Consulting & Solutions Global hospitality and employee amenity strategic thought leader focused on data-driven insights. "Inspiring the future of work, together. Innovating the every day." 4xi Global Workplace Consulting & Solutions provides a range of services to support Corporations, Service Providers, Innovators, and Accelerators to navigate the world of work. Inspiring the future of work, together. 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. San Francisco | New York | Los Angeles | North Carolina | Santiago | London | Porto | Tokyo