Creating an engaging workplace involves the intentional design and cultivation of an environment in which employees are motivated, enthusiastic, and dedicated to their work and the organization's goals. While these may sound like abstract concepts, a lack of engagement has the potential to negatively affect productivity, employee retention rates, and innovation. For example, a recent Gallup analysis found that engaged employees require a 31% pay increase to consider taking a job with a different organization whereas not engaged and actively disengaged employees, on average, want a 22% pay increase to change jobs. What’s more, low-engagement teams typically endure turnover rates that are 18% to 43% higher than highly engaged teams.

Conversely, engaged employees find their work meaningful and feel connected to the team and their organization. They feel proud of the work they do and take ownership of their performance, going the extra mile for teammates and customers. Because of this, Gallup's research has also shown that companies with engaged workforces have higher earnings per share (EPS). Based on the available data, it is easy to see how highly complex concepts related to engagement translate directly to concrete dollars and cents.

Integration: The Answer to Engagement

The integration of workplace experience solutions with physical security automation provides a comprehensive solution that actively improves the employee experience and promotes workplace security – key influencers of workplace engagement. How? Take access control for example. Alone, access control systems operate in isolation, requiring manual inputs to control access to valuable organizational assets. This represents inherent risk to employees and the organization at large due to the potential for manual errors, outdated data, backlogged access requests, etc. Manual access provisioning is further complicated with the introduction of workplace visitors, who also require secured access but are not usually granted access within a physical access control system (PACS). Such siloed procedures and processes lead to high stress and sub-par security, ultimately lowering engagement rates amongst the employees managing and using access.

Integrating visitor management solutions with access control using data-driven automation changes things. Imagine a centralized platform where security teams and access administrators can manage both employee and visitor identities throughout their entire lifecycle. This means automatic access provisioning, AI-based recommendations to tasks and compliance audits, employee occupancy tracking, smart mustering, and more. With such capabilities, organizations can efficiently manage their workforce, reception, resources, and facilities to ensure an engaging and safe work environment.

Integration in Practice

Earlier this year, Vector Flow partnered with Vpod Solutions, a visionary of human-centric workplace technologies, to deliver a joint solution that effectively reimagines workforce management processes and experiences for every industry. This new partnership specifically sees Vpod’s Vgreet Virtual Reception Kiosk brought to life with Vector Flow’s Physical Workforce and Identity Management platform. The result is a single interface that automates many aspects of the visitor and employee identity lifecycle to provide users with the best and most secure identity management experience. The collaboration between Vpod’s visitor management system and Vector Flow’s security solutions enables a higher level of security that starts at reception and connects throughout the facility to keep security management well informed. With real-time occupancy tracking and end-to-end data encryption, the solutions upgrade both digital & physical security. This joint offering also delivers a superior visitor and employee experience by offering a range of self-service options, including pre-registration and fast check-in. Such offerings empower visitors to navigate facilities with ease while eliminating many of the tedious, manual tasks that decrease employee engagement.

Summary

In the pursuit of a thriving and engaged workforce, the integration of workplace experience solutions and physical security automation emerges as a game-changing approach. As the statistics from Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report reveal, the current state of global employee engagement demands innovative solutions to reverse the trend of disengagement that plagues many organizations. Through the harmonious merging of technology, like Vector Flow and Vpod’s collaboration, we witness a transformation in how organizations manage their workforces and secure their spaces.

Learn more about the Vector Flow and Vpod strategic partnership here.