WORKTECH22 San Francisco was yet another great event attended by many workplace and work experience professionals from some of the most progressive organizations in business today. I was very honored to co-moderate the event with Lisa Hsiao , Vice President of user strategy at Era-co. Here are my takeaways from the event. Almost 3 years since the pandemic disrupted the world. The great debate remains around return to work and the chasm that exists somewhere between mandated return to work policies, fully flexible, and everything in between. But what is right for your organization? The why versus the what It seems that many organizations are seeking the answer to what is the right strategy for them, but the really important question is why. Now, if you’re in the business of making stuff - cars, food, widgets, then clearly, you need people in a place making your stuff. However, if you’re in the knowledge working space, employees have proven that they can work anywhere, and heads-down work may even be more suited to places other than the traditional office. Rather than seeking a single magic solution, it’s dynamic. Its complex has lots of different factors to consider, and as every individual is unique, so is every organization. Sunaina Lobo , Chief People Officer at Fintech firm Marqeta, posed these three questions as a foundation for thinking through their “Flex-First” RTO strategy: Who we hire Where we work How we operate Creating an environment where everyone does their best work is the ultimate goal, right? And for many during the past 3 years, we’ve worked out how to adapt, improvise, and overcome – whether setting up a home office, working at the dining table, using local coffee shops and co-working spaces, or going back to the physical workspace, organizations and people have survived, and in some cases thrived as a result. But what does that mean to culture, community, creativity, and collaboration? Pre-pandemic, we knew that the commute and coffee were important factors of why people chose to stay or leave. Other factors like convenience and choice play a part in today's new normal. A study conducted by Phillippa Lally , a psychology researcher at the University College London, found that it takes just 66 days before a new behavior becomes automatic - the reality is that we’ve been in this pandemic world for almost 3 years, and things have changed - according to this research, likely forever. For those who had previously a daily commute to the office, a cubicle, their space for the 9-5, a cheap cup of coffee from the breakroom, and a curled-up cheese sandwich for lunch, then return home commute – what compels them to go back to how it was now that they have improvised and learned to survive? It’s actually counter to the evolution of our species to imaging that the human being will return to the former state, when for many this new normal is better than the old, and these new routines and habits are now part of our lives. Mandate or magnetize? There are some recent high-profile “Mandators” that have insisted on their workforces returning to work, and in many cases, these demands have been met with reluctance, if not rejection, as people have more choices today than perhaps, they did before. On the other end of the scale, the “Fully Flexible” work where you want has other implications that potentially challenge important issues such as culture, community, collaboration, and maybe even real estate investments - what do we do with all that empty space if we don’t use it? That said, mandating doesn’t necessarily mean demanding your workforce return to the office 5-days a week, 9 to 5. It can be what you want it to be and, more importantly, what is right for your business and your people. There is a multitude of examples, from: Mandating your workforce to a full return to work Partial mandate – one, two, three plus days a week Flex-first supplemented by coming to the office once a week, or every two weeks Fully flexible, work where you want The key to the future and return to office strategy is transforming your spaces into places where people choose to be. So, understanding the levers to compel your people back to the office becomes ever more important: What’s important to your organization? What’s important to your people? How can you gather around teams and micro-communities? What services and amenities can add to the draw? This is in the context that there is no one-hat-fits-all solution. The Human Evolution Many organizations are searching for the “What” as if there is one solution to the challenge when the reality is that by nature, there can be no singular answer to this complex puzzle - every organization does slightly different things, has its own unique culture, its own personality, AND every individual working for them is different and unique. What we do know from pre-pandemic research is that coffee and the commute were always the top ten serious issues in work experience and employee satisfaction, and therefore big obstacles to overcome in the challenge and puzzle of solving the return-to-work strategy dilemma. Organizations need to embrace that people have changed - you may have some of the old guard who is no longer around, you will have new hires that don’t know what the “old normal” even was, and among those, you will likely have folks who have never been in the workforce before at all! It’s in this context we think about the process of human evolution, how we have survived and thrived as a species, and how we adapt, improvise, and overcome. Throughout this evolution, we have moved forward, never backward, and therefore, why would we go back to the 4-hour-a-day commute, the sea of bland cubicles, crappy coffee, and a curled-up cheese sandwich for lunch? Caroline Quick , Head of Global Real Estate and Workplace at tech company Cloudflare, described the physical eco-system of the future, which includes on-demand opportunities for dispersed workers to be supported with physical space from the headquarters to Lighthouse Offices and the use of micro co-working hubs on the very local level. Looking at the challenge differently is key, rather than trying to force the return to the ways of the past. Understanding the why ahead of the what is critical so that we can reinvent the future and not just reengineer the past. Productivity is a dirty word? Loneliness has become a thing. Disconnectivity is an issue, and according to Dr. Bobbi Wegner from Groops, these factors are at least as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day! And if this state exists among our workforces, then openly talking to productivity can be received as an insult to the sensitivities of your people. That said, it’s still important to understand, but how do you measure it? What is the number of widgets you make? Your top-line revenue? Bottom line? The amount of code produced and progress made. At the end of the day, if you’re measuring productivity for the reasons that you don’t trust your employees, then you probably have the wrong employees in the first place. Or you’re taking the wrong approach to trusting and empowering them to be the best they possibly can be. Focus on people Jennifer Adams of Poly HP described a story of change when an employee was presented with the future state, and the employee simply responded, “I don’t want this.” And how that put the context into how change management needs to embrace the perspectives of all the stakeholders and how the future can be shaped together and not in isolation. From their research, they have seen a shift in the prevalence of different personas in the workplace, with the biggest shifts connected to where people work in relation to the office environment. Understanding the needs of our different user groups is key to understanding how and what to design to help them do their best work for their individual needs. Maintaining the focus on people is important because no matter what our organizations do, our existing or future real estate, the services that go on inside, ultimately, we’re in the people business. The Digital Divide During the round table discussion, the day before the main WORKTECH event, hosted by Peter Elden of property developer Hines and Poly HP, we had folks in the room and remote participants via video. What became apparent was that there was a digital divide and inequality between those on video and those in-person. The question became that in the new future, where we are dispersed more than ever before, how can we bridge this digital divide and have digital equality no matter where our people may be? The office can’t fix culture, but it can impact the community and the environment. Design Matters! Elizabeth Gordon and Lisa Scribante , Partners at design firm Mithun, went through their designs of the Atlassian office space in Austin with Atlassian’s Head of Real Estate & Development, Larry Segal , in the room. Beautifully designed, curated space with features to really attract people to come to the office. Then how Mithun shared their design principles for the Atlassian Austin office - a design that not only addressed the business and physical needs but, through deep design and thoughtfulness, transformed a space into a place where people choose to be. Joyce Li and Justine Hewitt also joined the stage with their designs and plans for Visa's new global headquarters, Mission Rock, in development in San Francisco – groundbreaking design featuring retail space, community areas, collaborative spaces, flexi-working, and outdoor terraces in the heart of San Francisco, overlooking the ballpark. The design foundations were built on comfort and safety, but also easy to consume. Like Matthew Myerson’s presentation from the WORKTECH Academy and the example of the LEGO HQ and their 1/3rd workspace, 1/3rd collaboration space, and 1/3rd social space, these designs are much more than workplaces. They’re destinations. These examples tell the story of how important design is to create places where people choose to be, around creating an experience beyond work itself, and how the office can become a homage to the culture of the organization and act as a magnate to your workforce. In other sessions, Dr. Agustin Chevez of the University of Melbourne described his 42-day pilgrimage from Melbourne to Sydney and the things he learned from the beauty of boredom along the way. Lewis Love gave us a masterclass in thinking about how to think about the workplace and the future. Nicki Persaud , head of global safety and security at IoT company Samsara, gave us some pearls of wisdom and insights as we think about designing and delivering global experiences. Another great conference, thanks to WORKTECH, Philip Ross , Isabel Dewhurst-Marks , and Samantha Cullen . Thanks to all those that attended. I look forward to seeing you at the next one, wherever that may be! #Visa #Envoy #Freespace #Inpixion #Infogrid #Avuity #Biamp #SmartenSpaces #SERA #Mithun #Niantic #Samsara #Atlassian #Marqueta #Groops #VergeSense #Poly #WORKTECHAcademy #10Times #WorkDesignMagazine #WorkplaceEvolutionaries #ERAco #4xiGlobalConsulting WORKTECH Academy - How we'll work tomorrow WTA is a global network of workplace and work experience professionals focused on #People #Place #Culture #Innovation #Design and #Technology. It's a place for insights, thought leadership, and community. If you've attended a WORKTECH event, you are already a member. However, there are additional ways to get involved at Community, Corporate, and Global Partner Levels, Come Join the Conversation! Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co- founder of 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions and is focused on a people- first approach to enable optimum Human Experiences for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure . Simon believes that Experience Matters! applies in many different ways and is the fundamental foundation of a successful business, no matter the business. Simon is a global citizen, having lived, worked, and traveled to over 45 countries and six continents, and believes in the power of human potential. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and the North America Chair of the WORKTECH Academy. Simon lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

For years we have been working with operations of dispersed locations in foodservice, restaurants, hotels, and retail, and for all that time, we've been chasing the goose with the golden egg of real-time operational and financial data. Any highly transactional, dispersed business knows the importance of getting quality data as close to real-time as possible, and for some organizations, that could mean a couple of weeks after months end - that’s potentially 42 days after your first day of operation, and as any operator will tell you, that’s a lot of time for things to go pear-shaped, and horribly wrong. It’s a compounded issue in high-volume, low-margin businesses, where every penny and every basis point counts. With margins so slim, it’s no wonder that the restaurant business has the highest failure rate of any business sector. "If revenue is for vanity, cash and profit are certainly king, and data is gold. In fact, some say that data today is more valuable than liquid gold, oil, and that is probably true." Turn noise into data into insights you can see and drive business impact . For example, in the food business, you have your major costs of labor and food comprising the lion’s share of your operating costs. These two alone, in some cases, can represent up to 85% of your operating costs. Add to that, any business where there are high volumes of cash creates the risk of shrinkage. Unchecked labor hours, over time, can add up to potentially catastrophic business outcomes. Like any complex business problem with such high stakes, there have been plenty of efforts in the past to come up with a solution. In some cases, organizations have tried to solve the span of control by having a singular point-of-sale operating system, but that can be costly, difficult, and in the case of foodservice operators working with a myriad of client-owned systems, near impossible. Operators and entrepreneurs have tried to come up with operating systems that try and capture and control the very dynamic nature of these operations, but with low success levels and adoption. “Operators who have tried to build their own systems end up spending twice the budget, taking double the time, and in the end, their platforms do half the things they hoped for to truly fix the very real business issues.” There have also been a string of innovators over the years who have tried to solve the puzzle but ended up trying to boil the ocean and fixing bits, creating complex, difficult-to-adopt platforms and resulting in low levels of take-up and adoption. "We're not in the business of software, and for those who have dared, then the saying applies - it'll take twice as long, cost twice as much, and do half the things you wanted it to do in the first place." At 4xi, we’ve worked with established technology partners to adapt existing platforms that span multiple use cases, and now specifically for operating organizations of dispersed operations. We believe that the nub of the matter is to measure the things that matter the most in real time. Your Management Accounts can look after the rest. This important work has focused on three main issues faced by businesses today: Real-time visibility into operational performance and standards Real-time visibility into financial performance and flash reporting Answering the unanswerable questions of the past Elevate is a “Business in Your Pocket” platform that empowers your entire business and engages them in a continual 360-degree audit of your business. Everyone everywhere is engaged in measuring your daily performance in line with your operating standards and key performance measurements and also takes in customer and employee sentiment. Elevate is created on the premise that everyone is responsible for quality and excellence each and every day. DATAxi is a data ingestion and visualization platform providing you with real-time data, insights, and the ability to make real-time decisions. DATAxi FLASH REPORTING gathers the data that means the most to you via an easy-to-use app from each of your operations. Manage cash, labor, purchasing, expenses, and turnkey performance metrics like Labor to Sales Per Hour, Participation, Check Average, and much more. Imagine this in a live feed dashboard, alerting exceptions, remedial operations, and high-performance outlets that warrant recognition. DATAxi INSIGHTS provides the opportunity to answer questions previously unanswerable before. You provide the question ; we’ll look at the available public and private data sources to help answer the questions, then we’ll put together the platform, which will give you a fully searchable, comparable dashboard for you to cross-analyze the data and answer your questions like never before. To the point about “why it’s important” for dispersed operations portfolios: Increased visibility leads to data and insights that can drive action. Increases accountability of operators. Insights lead to actions that improve performance. Opportunities to drive impactful efficiencies. Opportunity to drive and monitor global operating standards And the impact: - Each 1% business improvement across a $1,000M portfolio is substantial. - Each 1% of procurement revenue visibility is significant. - Tracking performance to agreed KPIs is critical. - Compliance with Governance, including QBRs, and Leadership Visitation, is important. We understand the data input puzzle too, and that is exactly why we deliberately chose not to go down the (in most cases) impassable data integration route or expect operators at the portfolio level to try to aggregate data but focus more on the front-line folks to take just 10 minutes to input the most valuable data that create maximum visibility and impact. “These data platforms from 4xi represent the best opportunity I have seen for years to help operators get better visibility to their business, make real-time decisions, and therefore control their own destiny and success.” These groundbreaking platforms are ideal for operators of dispersed locations but also for client organizations managing multiple partners across their portfolio and any business wishing to get deeper data and insights. VISIBILITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE. Explorers Innovation Directory At 4xi, we've built our Explorers Innovation Directory of carefully curated Innovation Partners, all driving positive impact in the Away from Home market: workplace, education, healthcare, senior living, and leisure. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

WORKTECH Academy's annual The World of Work in 2023 report gives a taste of what will be happening in the world of work over the coming 12 months. It explores 20 key ideas for the coming year some of which are established, some are emergent, some remain experimental. Together, they paint a picture of volatility and change. After the white-knuckle ride of 2022, buckle up because here we go again. What’s on the cards for 2023? Top 20 trends explored A surge in data analytics in a more scientific workplace is just one of 20 key ideas discussed in the WORKTECH Academy report, The World of Work in 2023. The report predicts that this could be the year that data-led decision-making in the workplace really breaks through, leading to a more scientific approach that we might term the ‘Science of Work’. Data analysis and measurement, or telemetry, has been on the rise for some time. But what will swing the balance this year is the growing recognition by company leaders that we’re on the brink of a great opportunity – a much smarter workplace capable of providing constant data flows that can inform evidence-based decision-making on everything, from HR policies and wellbeing to organizational structure and office redesign. More organizations this year will embrace the data analytics, spatial intelligence and sociometric technologies that can give insights into performance and behavior in the workplace, as sensors and cameras – both of which are proliferating in offices – capture every move. ‘The Science of Work’ is just one of 20 key ideas captured in ‘The World of Work 2023’, which has been produced by WORKTECH Academy with its Global Partners, Adrianse , Area , Condeco , ERA-co and Unwork and proudly supported by 4xi Global Consulting . Publication of the report marks the 20th anniversary of the WORKTECH event series, which was established in London in 2003 with an inaugural conference at the British Library. Ever since WORKTECH first emerged 20 years ago as a platform for knowledge exchange and debate, the WORKTECH Events series and the WORKTECH Academy network have sought to look at the future of work through an integrated perspective of people, place and technology. This report maintains that ethos. It presents a mix of established, emergent and experiment ideas in the spheres of HR policy (from the four-day week to workcations and job-title inflation), place-making factors (from the office as off-site to vertical gardening and mixed-up use) and new technologies (from AI chatbots to robots and audio-visual innovations). Download the report here . WORKTECH Academy is the world’s leading membership club and intelligence platform exploring the future of work. WORKTECH Academy Membership grants access to world-class knowledge and insights as well opportunities to co-create thought leadership content and share with a global professional audience. Email: info@worktechacademy.com for more information on joining the community. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Ever wondered how to get real time data in the palm of your hand? Do you have unanswered questions that you cant get the data for? Would your business be better if you had full visibility? For most, the answer to all these questions is yes. These are just some of the questions that DATAxi answers to fill the void. What is DATAxi? 4xi Global Consulting has teamed up with DOMO to create DATAxi - a data ingestion and visualization tool for service providers and client-side organizations in the away from home market. USECASE: Data Ingestion & Visualization You want to keep track of a set of metrics that are important to your business. This might be such things as global commercial property markets across certain metros, you might want to track labor and employment costs, or maybe certain trends across markets or industries. In this example, we took the data of three best place to work indices and mapped them across the United States to see geographically speaking, how work experience performance was being reported from metro to metro. But then, using the same data set, we can map by industry too, and when you layer in other factors like Living Wage, Median Household Income, Housing Costs, Cost of Living, Unemployment Rates, Level of Education, Crime Rates, Education Levels, you can get a really clear picture of not only the markets you operate in today but those markets you want to operate into the future. IMAGINE: Being able to track commodity pricing of your essential ingredients, monitor retail pricing at a local level to ensure your pricing strategy is right, or to understand where to open your next outlet or office. USECASE: Dispersed Operations - Flash Reporting Whether a foodservice business, retail, grocery chain, in hotels, restaurants, or in fact any dispersed operations business, then access to real time and visibility of data is essential. Often with high volume and low margins, things can go wrong very quickly - getting timely critical operating performance metrics can make a substantial impact to your business. IMAGINE: At the end of each operating day you have access to a dashboard on your device that allows you to see the key performance metrics of your business in real time - visibility everywhere. We work with you to identify the top metrics that mean the most to your business. Typically these would be metrics like; Total Sales, Number of Transactions, Labor Hours, Total Daily Purchasing, and from that being able to have a set of data that includes such things as Average Transaction Value, Sales Per Labor Hour, track your purchasing on a rolling basis, and compare and contrast across your entire portfolio applauding high performers and tackling issues for improvement. For some, with the luxury of single point of sale systems across your portfolio, you may have this functionality already. But for those that don't and have a collective of legacy systems, then DATAxi becomes an even more powerful tool. At the end of each day, the operator on the ground completes the quick and easy to use input form on their device to punch in the key metrics of the day and give you and on your team total visibility, right there, in the palm of your hand. Although DATAxi can absolutely plug in to existing data sources, we also understand that for many organizations that can get in the way of progress, and therefore we put it in the hands of the front-line operators without overburdening their already busy days. We're ready to answer your questions, are you? Like all businesses, you have important questions that go unanswered, DATAxi provides you with the visibility and insights for you to make informed decisions, take action, and drive business impact like never before. All we need to get started: 1. Tell us what answers you’re looking for 2. What problem you’re trying to solve 3. We’ll consult with you on the options 4. Explore available data-sets (external and internal) And, upon engagement: 5. Set up your own visualized dashboard 6. With up to 10 sub-sets of data 7. Your own visualized data portal We do all the hard work in the background. Whatever your data needs, the unanswered questions, the things that are keeping you up at night, let’s talk and work out how DATAxi can help you solve your data challenges and deliver Visibility, Insights that enable you to take decisive, data-based Action and drive IMPACT. Download our introduction to DATAxi or contact us to learn more at: hello@4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

In this latest article, 4xi's Simon Elliot and world leading gamification expert Alyea Sandovar explore how gamification of the work experience may be something you might consider to improve the engagement levels of your workforce. Never has the attraction and retention of employees been such a challenge, especially in the service industry where many organizations are struggling to keep the doors open with a lack of available talent to fill open positions. With attrition rates in the eighty percent's, the cost of turnover is high - every organization measures it differently, from an estimated dollar rate to a percentage of salary - we have heard everything from $6,000 per employee to 33% of annual salary. For an employer with 2,000 people, then for each 5% improvement in retention, that's over $600,000 straight to your bottom line. The hidden costs of attrition go far beyond advertising, recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training etc. but also the more intangible lost knowledge that takes time to replace, the familiarity with your business and the continuity for your customers too. We also know that as with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, there are foundational elements of the employment proposition that employers need to tackle: base pay, healthcare, paid time off, retirement, but what then? How do employers engage? How do they interact? How do they survive? How do they thrive? Maybe gamification is one way that you can take engagement to the next level in your business. It doesn't have to be all work and no play! To learn more about gamification for your work experience, contact us at hello@4xiconsulting.com Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co- founder of 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions and is focused on a people- first approach to enable optimum Human Experiences for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure . Simon believes that Experience Matters! applies in many different ways and is the fundamental foundation of a successful business, no matter the business. Simon is a global citizen, having lived, worked, and traveled to over 45 countries and six continents, and believes in the power of human potential. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and the North America Chair of the WORKTECH Academy. Simon lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Alyea Sandovar is a gamification and play consultant helping businesses increase conversions with employees and customers in the entire CX, EX journey from discovery to brand ambassadorship. Alyea helps organizations build meaningful engagement through gamification consultation, gamification workshops, play testing & research. She is also the founder of the Playful Creative Summit and consults as the COO for Peekabond, an app for global families. She is a global citizen, from Colombia, has lived in Paris, Buenos Aires, Houston, San Francisco, Indonesia, and Amsterdam. She currently spends her winters in Lisbon, Portugal. Alyea holds a M.A in Clinical Psychology, a M.A in Human Organizational Systems, and a Ph.D. in Game Production 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

According to investment banking firms, including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods there are warning signs on the horizon, especially for the office sector. CNN reports that despite nearly three years after the pandemic began, offices are just halfway filled as workers reluctantly return to the office. Meanwhile, workplace experience professionals are working hard at magnetizing the office whilst at the same time accommodating people wherever they may be. Workers still aren't coming back consistently or every day: Data shows that Friday is the lowest day of occupancy and Tuesday the highest. Of the top 10 cities in the U.S. occupancy rates are on average just 40% since many offices sent workers home because of COVID. The Return to Office Some major companies are beginning to crack down on employees who are reluctant to return. Disney is ordering corporate employees to return to offices four days a week. Starbucks also recently instituted a three-days-a-week office schedule. Apple has also called for its corporate workers to be in the office at least three days a week. Snapchat recently asked workers to return to the office 80% of the time, or the equivalent of four days a week. Meanwhile, Amazon isn't looking to force workers back into the office anytime soon, saying that it doesn't have a plan to require people to come back. Other corporations are varying from "the mandate" to the "come when you wish" approach, and everything in between. There is a perspective that both organizations and employees have a civic responsibility to return to the office - to support the micro economies that exist around the workplace - transportation, the caterers, the bars, restaurants. Bigger Issues Loom Although for many in the work experience business return to office is top of mind as we try and magnetize the experience and create places where people choose to be, its not the only concern. With corporate real estate assets totaling $33 trillion globally ($20 trillion in the U.S.), and a potential decline in valuations of up to 30%+, then the potential crisis could prove to be of seismic proportions. Some recent headlines could be an early indicator of things to come: Evergrande, Chinas second largest developer carrying $300 billion in liabilities Brookfield defaults on two Los Angeles office towers, $784 million Blackstone defaults on €531 million Nordic property PIMCO saddled with $1.7 billion default in office market meltdown What would be the impact on the global economy if such a massive sector be hit by such a potential large write down in valuations? Latent Real Estate We have all witnessed an increase of the shuttered storefronts as the pandemic accelerated impact on retail continues. Shopping malls and high streets emptying as Amazon deliveries increase at our doors seemingly every day, as corporations mothball or withdraw from real estate - the issue becomes what becomes of that latent real estate. The question of latent real estate is an issue and what will become of it as organizations review and reduce their real estate footprints, whilst at the same time, the retail real estate market remains under pre-pandemic pressure also. As reduced footprints remain in, or migrate to premium Class A real estate, then the latency could result in empty buildings which has a societal impact as those spaces attract and become a magnate of negative social behavior and crime. Alternative Uses Converting offices to residential in often high demand metro housing markets could be one answer, as could multi use buildings that not only accommodate workers but have retail, food, community, education, even hotels. Imagine a building (or campus) where everything you need is there in one place - could the principles of the Quaker work towns be returning? Could there be a resurgence of boutique, smaller retailers filling the voids created by absent big box stores? Some time ago, in an article with WORKTECH Academy , we painted a picture of Waterford Oaks and what the work/life experience of 2040 might look like - this was intended as a futuristic look into the future but maybe recent events might accelerate this faster than we anticipated. We'd love to get your thoughts on this subject, leave a comment, or email simonelliot@4xiconsulting.com How do you think the future of work will impact corporate real estate and vice versa? Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co- founder of 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions and is focused on a people- first approach to enable optimum Human Experiences for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure . Simon believes that Experience Matters! applies in many different ways and is the fundamental foundation of a successful business, no matter the business. Simon is a global citizen, having lived, worked, and traveled to over 45 countries and six continents, and believes in the power of human potential. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and the North America Chair of the WORKTECH Academy. Simon lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

If you want to know how you compare, then, you need to compare yourself against your peers. What is benchmarking and why it matters in your workplace? Benchmarking is a tool that businesses use to compare their performance against businesses considered to be the best in their industry. The notion of best practices comes to mind here. Continually keeping a pulse on what other organizations are doing often allows a company to refine its practices and thus increase its overall performance. To remain competitive and relevant it is critical an important part of your company's plans must include benchmarking against what other firms are doing. Performance measures are generally shared and discussed internally but rarely with peers and colleagues except at meetups, clubs, and associations. Yet, having access to real-time insight can be a defining difference not just in terms of change in process or action but in speed to resolution. Being in front of the 8-ball is a lot more advantageous than finding yourself behind it. It is not surprising therefore that many organizations struggle with learning how other firms operate their onsite corporate workplace services, especially in this new world of work. Learning ways to know what other firms are doing can leave you frustrated at the lack of intel available at the level you need. To remain competitive and relevant, an important part of your company plans must include benchmarking against what other firms are doing. As the Vice President of Amenities at Morgan Stanley, I would often be responsible for preparing for and requesting capital funding for large complex renovations. Inevitably, the first question I was asked: How do we compare to others? Why should we approve these funds? What are others doing in this space? How do we compare? Have you spoken to industry peers? Do they have this problem? I would return to my desk and call on peers and colleagues in the industry in hopes they had time to answer me and then return for the capital request meeting the next week with a handful of answers to what competitors were doing. If I was lucky, I heard back from three people. I found getting answers quickly and in time for these executive meetings difficult. Real estate executives manage billions of dollars in their budget and need to ensure all investments are necessary before granting approval. If they learn other firms and competitors are not offering certain services, they may hold off approving a particular request and instead, invest in more critical or pressing areas. According to Barbara Boden , Managing Partner at 4xi Global Consulting when she was head of Global Amenities at JPMorgan Chase & Co, she and her team would constantly be asked by the Head of Corporate Services for more detailed information on what other financial firms were doing. Barbara’s comments echo a familiar theme of needing to know and needing to know now. Understanding benchmarking, being in the know with your peers, and having a pulse on what is working in your field make all the difference and save an extraordinary amount of time trying to get that intelligence. Why Ongoing Benchmark is Important and what should I Benchmark? In addition to ensuring your firm is investing wisely, there are other reasons to include benchmarking as one of your business practices, primarily because it is an effective way to identify best practices in your industry. Most importantly it is important to benchmark a variety of workplace experience topics as the complete picture tells a deeper story. Ideally, you need to find a way to continually benchmark and not look at your competition once a year. It is in the ongoing and regular intervals that trend pattern analysis comes into view. Rob Gordon who held the position of Head of Global Amenities at American Express shared how during his tenure, he always had difficulty benchmarking certain topics outside of what his vendor partners could provide. Rob had to search each local area and try to connect with like clients to investigate and ferret out useful information. Needless to say, it took a lot of his time and there was not, at that time, a meaningful tool to help solve this business challenge. By way of example, here are some areas you may want to consider benchmarking against and how other firms are handling these topics. Workplace Topics you should aim to benchmark against regularly include: Return to Work Strategies Post-COVID Best Practices Amenity Strategies Foodservice Insights Breakrooms & Pantries Policies & Procedures Investments & Subsidies Sustainability & ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) Health & Wellness Key Performance Indicators Technology Innovation The advantages of benchmarking include: Keeping a firm grip on what others are doing in the workplace. Remaining current on peer organizations practices Connecting to industry professionals outside your immediate network Understanding the current trends Learning industry insights Having a continual pulse on how your firm compares to others. Identifying gaps in your service offering. Improving your guest experience. Helping to create a roadmap for future planning. In closing, the world of work has completely changed. Magnetizing the workplace is a strategy being emphasized across many organizations to do everything they can to offer their employees an exceptional workplace experience, to encourage their employees to want to return to work vs having to return to work. Making sure you have a pulse of what your industry peers are doing is a critical component of your return-to-workplace strategy. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ann McNally led global amenities at Bristol Myers Squibb and Morgan Stanley before leading growth with service giant Sodexo. Ann was one of the founding consultants at 4xi Global Consulting and is the practice lead for Criterion Benchmarking delivering data and insights for amenities services leaders. For more information on CRITERION Benchmarking, you can email Ann McNally directly at annmcnally@4xiconsulting.com If you are having difficulty learning how your organization compares to other organizations' workplace and soft services experience offer overall listen to our podcast. @Barbara Boden , former global amenities lead at JPMorgan Chase & Co, and @Ann McNally Americas amenities lead at Bristol Myers Squibb, and Morgan Stanley talk about their perspectives on the importance of peer-to-peer learning, benchmarking, and insights. CRITERION Benchmarking is an exclusive online membership for workplace experience leaders - with access to peer-to-peer insights on various site services. CRITERION provides real-time answers to the often asked question – how do we compare to others? CRITERION gives you access to insights both inside and outside your network and eliminates the time and effort devoted to gathering answers through limited calls and emails. CRITERION Members agree to participate in the monthly anonymous survey covering relevant workplace topics. Our reporting methodology ensures confidentiality while providing an in-depth actionable report in aggregated format. CRITERION also offers a combination of public and private polls only accessible to members in our password protected membership area. Learn more about CRITERION Benchmarking and how it can help you with data and insights through peer-to-peer learning. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, creating an impact on the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy; whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Dallas | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Simon Elliot 18th February, 2023 Last week, some of the most influential work experience professionals and organizations from the financial services sector gathered in New York to explore and discuss the future of work, and workplace. Hosted by BNY Mellon's Alicia Duncan , and co-presented by JLL's Bobby Magnano , 4xi was delighted to support the conference with Ann McNally moderating the final panel of the day - Workplace Experience. For those that didn't get the chance to attend, here are some my observations and key takeaways from the event: The Reinvention of the Modern Office Philip Ross , founder of WORKTECH and CEO of Ungroup kicked off the conference talking about his newly released book, Unworking, the Reinvention of the modern office with co-author, Jeremy Myerson. Unworking takes a fascinating look at the foundations of the modern office and how that has evolved over time. As we look toward a future of hybrid or virtual offices, this is a timely call to rethink the very nature and design of the workplace. Over the past one hundred years, the office has been integral to the development of modern society. It has shaped the architecture of our cities, the behavior of our organizations, and the everyday movements of millions of people. In 2020, however, the global pandemic brought our attendance in the office to an abrupt halt and triggered a complete reevaluation of the purpose of the workplace. Unworking offers a panoramic view of the office and explores what happens next. The authors advance a manifesto for “unworking”—unlearning old habits and rituals established for an outdated office and crafting and creating new ones fit for an age of digital technology, design innovation, and diverse workforces. What do people really want? In this new era of the office and work, what do people really want, or perhaps more to the point what have they realized that they no longer want, or not to return to old habits and rituals - it comes back to the "C's": Convenience: What you want, and need, when and where you need it. Community: and the yearning to have a sense of friendship and belonging. Connectivity: to the business and colleagues, wherever you are. Collaboration: to get things done, to make an impact. Commute: is now understood for the waste of precious life that it once was. Coffee (and food): is an important magnet to return to office. No longer is a grueling commute, a dismal cubicle, a crappy cup of coffee, and a curled up cheese sandwich for lunch enough to lure people to work, let alone stay. There has been talk about the "Great Resignation", and even in hindsight, the "Great Regret" but the reality is that people have changed, and many would say, they have changed for GOOD, for the better. What do organizations want? Of course productivity, revenue, and profitability are always in focus but more so today is the investment and utilization of real estate - do firms need all their space, and if they do plan to keep it, how do they optimize it, program it, to become relevant to the new ways in which we will work into the future? There seems to be a consensus that firms want their people back, but the question becomes how often and when? From full 5-day a week mandates to what seems to be a more common and softer approach of XX days a week - coordinated in teams so that office time becomes more valuable than just going for the sake of doing so. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays seem the obvious candidates, however as noted, some are opting for Mondays and Fridays which often offer less heavy commutes, and the opportunity to build in social time and team building. Whatever your return to work strategy, level of mandating, it must be visibly led by leadership - ensuring that the office experience is meaningful, has purpose, is a valued experience for them to be motivated to return. How to engage with the workforce, wherever they may be? Long on the wish list has been the all encompassing work experience app that until now has been out of reach. Organizations (and people) struggle with the adoption of multiple apps that do multiple things - it gets complicated, confusing, clunky, and adoption rates have long been challenging as a result, questioning the sensibility in the investment and the tangible outcomes such deployments drive. Enter companies like Inpixon and Modo Labs who seem to have mastered the art of integration of existing legacy apps, platforms, and systems, and bring them into one place for a seamless, all encompassing user experience - from checking out commute options, booking a desk, meeting room, ordering lunch and a fitness class, to knowing which of your team will be in the office today, where, connect, and arrange to meet, or a social after hours. It's apps like these that are making a difference at firms like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Capital One. With adoption levels being the primary measure of success, firms who adopt an airline approach and incorporate security access can reach that 100% magic number. How do you measure the investment in work experience? So, you have created your plan to transform your work experience. You're proud at the level of creativity, ingenious initiatives that are not only going to get people back to work but they're going to have a lot of fun in the process! It's planned, costed, and about ready to roll -final hurdle, the CFO, "This is all well and good, but how are we going to measure success, or otherwise?" Of course, it's not that hasn't crossed your mind, but how do you measure what for many are soft metrics and turn them into something that is measurable but also valuable to your organization. We think its all about alignment: What does your organization want to achieve, and why? What is the impact of the outcomes and why does it matter? What are the metrics of measuring success? What is the investment, and the return? Is your leadership fully aligned and committed to the journey? EXAMPLE PROBLEM STATEMENTS & COMPARATIVE MEASURES Identify some problem statements that apply to your business, including the comparative measures and what they mean to you: - Our RTO target is X% and our actual rate is Y%. - We know we're losing our talent to A, B, and C corporations. - Of all the offers we extend, we have an acceptance rate of DD%. - Our employee turnover rate is E% higher than the industry average. - Our employee listening scores have declined by F% over the past 3 years. - We're in the 4th quartile in the Best Place to Work index. - Great Places to Work perform G% better than those that are not. - It costs us H% of annual salary to replace each leaver. It's when we frame these work experience transformation initiatives in such a way that we can create measurement metrics to support our investment proposals, and track our progress against them over time. Work experience transformation isn't a one hat fits all, as every firm is different, different cultures, dynamics and goals - the best plans are those that are highly tailored yet based on the foundations of industry insights and data. We hope you enjoy these insights and observations, let us know your own thoughts. Thanks to all those that joined us in New York, including: #Accenture #Adriance #Appspace #BroadridgeFinancial #Circles #CNA #CountryFinancial #Cresa #DOJO #Envoy #Eptura #Freepace #Gensler #Hines #Infogrid #Inpixon #ISS #Jefferies #JLL #MODOLabs #Nelson #NorthernTrust #Nuvolo #NYU #PNC #Robinhood #RowPartners #SatoriConsulting #SpaceMatrix #Spacestor #Steelcase #Unwork #Wilkhan #WillisTowersWatson #WORKTECHAcademy #10Times #Veldohen #WiredScore #WorkDesignMagazine #WorkplaceEvolutionaries #ERAco #4xiGlobalConsulting Another great conference, thanks to WORKTECH, Philip Ross , Isabel Dewhurst-Marks , and Samantha Cullen . Thanks to all those that attended. I look forward to seeing you at the next one, wherever that may be! WORKTECH Academy - How we'll work tomorrow WTA is a global network of workplace and work experience professionals focused on #People #Place #Culture #Innovation #Design and #Technology. It's a place for insights, thought leadership, and community. If you've attended a WORKTECH event, you are already a member. However, there are additional ways to get involved at Community, Corporate, and Global Partner Levels, Come Join the Conversation! Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co- founder of 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions and is focused on a people- first approach to enable optimum Human Experiences for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure . Simon believes that Experience Matters! applies in many different ways and is the fundamental foundation of a successful business, no matter the business. Simon is a global citizen, having lived, worked, and traveled to over 45 countries and six continents, and believes in the power of human potential. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and the North America Chair of the WORKTECH Academy. Simon lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Barbara Boden, Managing Partner and co-founder, and Ann McNally from boutique advisory firm 4xi Global Consulting, share their insights on the importance of data and benchmarking on this episode of Customer Service Academy hosted by Tony Johnson . In this episode, we welcome Barbara and Ann into the studio to talk about data, insights, vendor relationships, and moving from insights to action. They have also created a new tool called CRITERION Benchmarking - a membership driven platform to find information on questions leaders have about their business and specific topics. Barbara and Ann share their thoughts on how: The best organizations use data to make decisions and prioritize resources. Working with contract partners to connect cultures in a meaningful way. Don't let data rot in a desk drawer, you must take action on what you learn to improve your business. Just getting the data isn't enough - share the information widely to harness the brainpower of your organization. In times of uncertainty, data keeps the focus where it matters the most. CRITERION BENCHMARKING CRITERION is an exclusive online membership for workplace experience leaders - with access to peer-to-peer insights on various site services. CRITERION provides real-time answers to the often asked question – how do we compare to others? CRITERION gives you access to insights both inside and outside your network and eliminates the time and effort devoted to gathering answers through limited calls and emails. CRITERION Members agree to participate in the monthly anonymous survey covering relevant workplace topics. Our reporting methodology ensures confidentiality while providing an in-depth actionable report in aggregated format. CRITERION also offers a combination of public and private polls only accessible to members in our password protected membership area. The possibilities and use cases are endless, but here are just some examples: Return to Work Strategies Post COVID Best Practices Amenities Strategies Foodservice Insights Breakrooms & Pantries Policies & Procedures Investments & Subsidies Sustainability & ESG Health & Wellness Key Performance Indicators Technology & Innovation Learn more about CRITERION Benchmarking and how it can help you with data and insights through peer-to-peer learning. Barbara Boden spent 20 years of her career leading global hospitality and amenities services at financial services powerhouse JPMorgan Chase & Co for 250,000+ associates worldwide. Barbara is a thought leader and pioneer of creating winning strategies and execution of first class work experiences. Ann McNally led global amenities at Bristol Myers Squibb and Morgan Stanley before leading growth with service giant Sodexo. Ann was one of the founding consultants at 4xi Global Consulting and is the practice lead for Criterion Benchmarking delivering data and insights for amenities services leaders. For more information on 4xi, 4xi360, or CRITERION Benchmarking, you can email Ann McNally at annmcnally@4xiconsulting.com Tony Johnson is 4xi’s Chief Experience Officer and leader of the Evolving Experiences© practice. Before joining 4xi, he was the Customer Service Officer for Aramark, a global food and facilities organization. Tony is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), award-winning speaker, and globally recognized employee and customer experience expert. Tony is the author of 3 books on leadership, employee engagement, and customer experience and hosts an industry-leading weekly podcast, Customer Service Academy. Customer Service Expert | Author | Trainer | Speaker 4xi: Inspiring a brighter future, together. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, creating an impact on the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy; whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Dallas | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Data and insights are the fuel for impactful decision making. In Customer and Employee Experience (CX and EX) strategy, data is an integral part of the design and feedback process. You likely are inundated with requests to give feedback on every hotel room, flight, ice cream cone, and oil change you receive. And that was probably just last week. The reason you feel so under siege is that organizations have realized that customer data (and the ability to segment that data) can create a distinct competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. The better you can understand your customers the more personalized service you can deliver for them. That is a winning recipe for building loyalty and customer lifetime value. So where to start? While collecting data might seem like the logical first step, we need to be sure we are first asking the right questions. Asking the Right Questions You must begin with the right question set. That will likely be customized based on your market and when it comes to customer experience, Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the current standard bearer. This measures your likelihood to recommend businesses and products - and you’ve seen it hundreds of times. It normally sounds something like “I would recommend Downtown Chevrolet’s maintenance department to a friend or colleague.” The one thing to remember here is that survey fatigue is cutting into the number of questionnaires customers are willing to complete these days. Your best bet is for small surveys, even just one or two questions, in hopes you can harvest some data from your customer base. Gathering the Data Now that we have the question set dialed in to the fewest number of questions possible, we can start mining. Data provides insights into the experiences of both customers and employees - and highlights areas for improvement. Data can come from various sources such as email surveys, follow up calls, focus groups, and customer feedback platforms (Voice of the Customer). The more data you collect, the more accurate and comprehensive the picture of your organization's CX and EX strategies will be. Benchmarking Once you have data, it is essential to benchmark it against industry standards and best practices. This will give you an idea of how your organization is performing compared to others and highlight areas for improvement. Benchmarking also provides valuable insights into what is working well for other organizations and can help you design and prioritize your overall strategies. Asking the right questions, gathering the data, and benchmarking against the marketplace provides context. Data without context is meaningless and won’t show you the whole story when it comes to potential actions to take. Taking Action Collecting data and benchmarking are just the first steps. The real value comes from taking action on the insights gleaned from the data. This may involve making changes to your products or services, improving processes, or investing in training and development programs for your team. Taking action will not only help improve the experiences of customers and employees but will also drive business results. This is often where organizations lose focus – translating what they learn into steps to improve experiences for their customers and teams. Don’t let your data rot in a desk drawer or on a server, ensure that actions plans are built, prioritized, and most importantly executed with accountability. Listening to your customers builds sales and listening to your team builds retention. Gathering data, benchmarking, and taking action are crucial components of organizational growth and accountability. They provide the foundation for decision making, drive meaningful results, and help organizations stay ahead of the competition. Data-driven decision making is the key to unlocking the full potential of both your customer and your employee strategies. By embracing these four components, you can create personalized and meaningful experiences that will set you apart in the marketplace. Listen to Tony's Customer Service Academy podcast with 4xi's Barbara Boden, and Ann McNally talking about the importance of data, benchmarking, and insights. #CRITERION Tony Johnson is 4xi’s Chief Experience Officer and leader of the Evolving Experiences© practice. Before joining 4xi, he was the Customer Service Officer for Aramark, a global food and facilities organization. Tony is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), award-winning speaker, and globally recognized employee and customer experience expert. Tony is the author of 3 books on leadership, employee engagement, and customer experience and hosts an industry-leading weekly podcast, Customer Service Academy. 4xi: Inspiring a brighter future, together. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, creating an impact on the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy; whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Dallas | Santiago | London | Tokyo

With all due respect to movie classic The Godfather, the line “It’s not personal, It’s strictly business” isn’t the best approach in today’s marketplace. Today everything starts with personalization. Customers have come to expect personalized experiences that cater to their unique needs and preferences as the stakes for hospitality continue to increase. As a result, organizations are discovering the power of data and technology to deliver these customized experiences at scale. So, what can you do to harness the power of personalized experiences to build loyalty (and sales) within your brand? Understand Individual Needs Customers come from all manner of diverse backgrounds with even more diverse preferences and expectations. That means that using data scraped from all Voice of the Customer (VOC) channels and stored in a dynamic CRM system can help gather insights into individual preferences and behaviors. From there it becomes incumbent to tailor experiences to meet their specific needs. That means creating service methodologies and steps of service that bring the brand to life, curating products that meet the specific needs of each segment, and delivering it all in a way that feels “just for me” in nature. Customize Experiences Across the Customer Journey Not too long ago, the idea of knowing customers’ names was a unique way to set yourself apart from your competition, but now it’s ubiquitous in the marketplace. Everyone is recording names on coffee cups, at the point of sale, or on your sub wrapper before they start making your sandwich. Now, let’s be clear – learn people’s names and use them. Just don’t think it is the end of the personalization journey. Businesses must look for ways within all touchpoints to create personalized experiences across the omnichannel experience. Think about how Amazon suggests items to buy based on past purchases or what you currently have in your cart. When we recently adopted a new King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, as I was buying new collars and leashes, Amazon reminded me to get another dog dish and walking harness. Personalization can also mean ensuring that websites meet the needs of evolving consumer preferences and are ultimately accessible and user friendly. Customization also comes in the form of live interactions with your team. Whether in a contact center, chat, or in person environment, teams have the opportunity to customize tone, conversational style, and complementary suggestions to the customer in front of them. That personalized approach ensures that customers always have what they need. Data-Driven, Tech Enabled Decision Making As mentioned earlier, data is a key enabler of personalizing experiences for customers. Whether through surveys, market analysis, interviews, or observations, the more you know about your customers, the better you can customize experiences for them. There are a host of tools available to gather and implement data with your customers each day. Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots can provide simple self-service type tasks for customers and will continue to handle more complex operations in the future. Surveys and feedback mechanisms continue to evolve based on customer preference to allow for mobile friendly or even SMS text-based questions that are easy to answer and quick to complete. Moreover, AI continues to automate the review of survey information to show sentiment analysis and trends by market segment. This is crucial as each generational purchasing cohort has a distinct set of preferences as they take their journey with a brand. This analysis and application of data will lead to experiences that resonate personally with customers of all backgrounds. The power of this work is only beneficial if you take time to learn about your customers, train and coach your employees, and align your brand with consumer preferences. Without that effort you’ll just spend a lot of money on shiny technology with nothing to show for it. When companies create personalized experiences: It creates a welcoming, inclusive, and connected experience for customers Customers feel understood with a sense of trust and loyalty Customer satisfaction increases Overall customer spending increases Customers engage more frequently with brands across all channels Customers become brand advocates and defenders Now this all comes with a set of potential challenges inherent in the age of data and analytics. Every organization must address privacy concerns when it comes to protection of confidential and sensitive information. This could be credit card security compliance, health privacy, or consent when it comes to harvesting and using data. This is a measure of trust, and you only need a quick google search to find financial, healthcare, government, and retail organizations that have lost the faith of their customers when they allowed personal data to escape into the universe. It is truly all about balance. It is about collecting data, using data, and being judicious with data for the good of both decision-making and your customer satisfaction. Experience will continue to be driven by personalization and customization of service and experience. By applying the right data at the right time and coaching your team to apply the learnings without coming across as a creepy stalker, you can create moments tailored for each segment of your customer base. This will drive the unique, welcoming, and inclusive service that will bring your customers back again and again – and share your brand story within their sphere of influence. Until next time, Tony. *Hand crafted by a real person, not AI Tony Johnson is 4xi’s Chief Experience Officer and leader of the Evolving Experiences© practice. Before joining 4xi, he was the Customer Service Officer for Aramark, a global food and facilities organization. Tony is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), award-winning speaker, and globally recognized employee and customer experience expert. Tony is the author of 3 books on leadership, employee engagement, and customer experience and hosts an industry-leading weekly podcast, Customer Service Academy. For more information about 4xi's Evolving Experiences©, you can contact Tony directly at tonyjohnson@4xiconsulting.com 4xi: Inspiring a brighter future, together. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, creating an impact on the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy; whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy , Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 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 | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Dallas | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Boutique advisory and professional services firm, 4xi Global Consulting, announces Sodexo and Leanpath veteran, Christy Cook as Chief Sustainability Officer in Residence to lead their Sustainability Simplified© practice. Christy is a highly accomplished leader in the field of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG), and sustainability with nearly 20 years of experience. Her expertise lies in corporate sustainability and collaborating closely with clients to enhance their sustainability performance. From her beginnings in devising sustainability solutions for a single college campus, she expanded her impact to 8,500 sites across North America, spanning seven diverse business sectors, during her tenure at Sodexo, the 19th largest employer globally. "We have worked with Christy on a number of projects over the past couple of years and have always been impressed with her absolute dedication and commitment to all matters ESG. We are delighted and proud to welcome her to the 4xi family." - Simon Elliot, Managing Partner, 4xi Global Consulting. In her role at Sodexo, Christy served as an internal consultant to the company's top 500 partners, driving ESG reporting for Sodexo North America, and spearheading sustainability initiatives across the 8,500 sites to achieve Sodexo's ambitious public sustainability commitments. Additionally, she led the development in establishing world's largest food waste prevention program. As the Vice President of Customer Success at Leanpath, an environmental software, Christy led the account management team and empowering clients to adopt food waste prevention and measurement practices in kitchens worldwide. Currently, Christy holds the esteemed positions of President and Chief Sustainability Officer at vranda, an ESG software solution that is in advanced acquisition discussions. Furthermore, Christy is the founder and CEO of InvestHER Strategies, where she serves as a trusted strategic advisor to sustainability leaders at startups and small businesses, empowering them to drive positive change. In her most recent endeavor, Christy joined the esteemed 4xi team as Chief Sustainability Officer, reinforcing the organization's commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible business practices. With an illustrious career spanning diverse leadership roles in the ESG and sustainability sector, Christy continues to inspire and shape the future of sustainable practices, making a lasting impact on both businesses and our planet. Meet Christy: Impact drives everything I do. I am a “real idealist". That shows up for me idealistically in that I believe everyone wants to do better and take steps to do so. The realist in me understands that the path to make positive change takes work, time, and people can be resistant to that progress for various reasons. Those two views, idealism and realism, are often said to be opposing forces. However, I like to think of them as guardrails for the work that people in organizations want to do. My role is to understand the real opportunities and struggles organizations face on the path to drive greater impact and I design programs to eliminate or reduce those issues so progress can happen. Approaching complex environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues with that lens builds trust that often makes businesses more sustainable over time and their actions more impactful. I joined the 4xi team to expand my impact and simplify sustainability for greater adoption. There are no boundaries with this talented team working together. You might have a simple program that needs developing or a complex ESG Strategy. No matter the task, our strength is in the collective. Welcome to the 4xi team: Our Strength is in the Power of Our Collective. Interested and figuring out where to start? Check out 4xi's Sustainability Simplified© services. Learn more about our approach to ESG in Sustainability Simplified 2.0 Email me at ChristyCook@4xiconsulting.com Book a Call feature on the Sustainability Simplified website, or Reach out to me on LinkedIn . 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a boutique advisory firm focused on advancing the Human Experience (HX) in the away-from-home markets: at work, in education, at rest, and at leisure. Our team of senior leaders, and industry and functional experts are available to support your ESG Strategies, Sustainability, and Procurement. HELPING ORGANIZATIONS ALIGN ESG VISION WITH STRATEGY, RESOURCES, EXECUTION, AND MEASUREMENT. ESG STRATEGY & ALIGNMENT Helping organizations translate ESG vision into strategy, gain alignment, and drive execution, and impact. SUSTAINABILITY ROAD MAP We help you build a sustainability road map to transformation and change in practical, measurable steps and actions. SUPPLY CHAIN: SETTING STANDARDS Review your existing procurement practices and how they apply to your strategy. Set new standards to optimize impact. MENU DESIGN & NEW PRODUCTS Structuring now just what you buy and from where, but helps you with menu alignment, and search for new products. OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE Our team has decades of experience in helping organizations optimize ESG performance and really make a difference. MEASUREMENT & REPORTING The clearest way to drive impact is having a line of sight to your performance, from which you can make impactful decisions. DOING THE RIGHT THING, IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Meet OUR TEAM and learn more about how we can support your business, BOOK A CALL to explore how we can help you, or email us at hello@4xiconsulting.com