A Workplace Experience Platform (WXP) is software that unifies the digital and physical touchpoints employees use at work—communications, collaboration, services, space, and resources—into one coherent, personalised experience. It pulls together tools like room and desk booking, internal communications, wayfinding, building access, IT and HR self‑service, recognition, and analytics, then orchestrates them through a single app or hub so people can find what they need quickly and get work done with fewer blockers.
A WXP reduces friction across a working day. Instead of juggling separate apps for booking a desk, checking building capacity, filing an IT ticket, or catching up on leadership updates, employees use one front door. Leaders gain real‑time data on space utilisation, sentiment, and service demand, which helps them tune policies, redesign spaces, and cut costs without hurting experience. In hybrid and multi‑site environments, this coherence turns inconsistent workflows into reliable routines.
WXP capabilities vary by vendor, but most platforms include these core layers.
Start with a single, employee‑facing entry point—usually a mobile app plus a web home. It surfaces tasks, messages, reservations, approvals, and recommendations. Good hubs personalise content by location, role, team, and preferences so a salesperson on the road sees different prompts from a lab technician on site.
These features help facilities teams right‑size space, reduce no‑shows, and create predictable patterns for hybrid days.
The aim is reach and relevance: ship fewer, higher‑value messages to the right people at the right time, rather than broadcast spam.
This cuts wait times and deflects low‑complexity queries, freeing specialist teams for higher‑impact work.
A WXP builds a practical graph of people, places, teams, and resources by syncing HRIS, calendars, identity, and building systems. It uses this context to tailor experiences—for example, suggesting a quiet zone near your team on a day you’re scheduled on site, or pre‑loading a desk booking with your favourite peripherals.
Look for low‑code builder tools to design nudges, approvals, and multi‑step flows: e.g., prompt new joiners to book orientation desks, consume key policies, and set up MFA; or trigger a survey when a user checks out of a room that had a projector issue.
Experience leaders need evidence, not anecdotes. A strong WXP tracks:
Tie these metrics to outcomes like engagement, time saved per employee, and real estate cost per FTE.
Terms overlap, so define the boundaries clearly.
- EXP focuses on the digital layer of the employee journey—communications, knowledge, learning, and feedback.
- WXP spans digital plus physical workplace—spaces, access, sensors, and on‑site routines—while still covering communications and services.
If you’re remote‑first, an EXP may suffice. If you run offices, labs, or campuses, choose a WXP or ensure your EXP integrates deeply with space and building systems.
Traditional intranets centralise content and links. A WXP is action‑oriented: it collapses tasks into the flow (book, request, report, recognise) and personalises surfaces. Think “do” rather than “read.”
IWMS/CAFM tools serve real estate and facilities operations (leases, assets, maintenance). A WXP complements them by exposing employee‑facing experiences and aggregating data for decisions. Many organisations integrate WXP booking with an IWMS backbone.
Service management platforms handle tickets, SLAs, and back‑office workflows. A WXP provides the front‑door experience and cross‑functional catalogue; it routes work to ITSM/ESM behind the scenes.
Ownership is cross‑functional:
Create a joint steering group with clear decision rights. Product‑manage the platform with a backlog, roadmaps, and quarterly goals.
Prioritise capabilities that address your biggest pain points first.
Employees should see content and actions tailored by location, team, role, language, and preferences. This raises relevance and reduces noise.
Most on‑site interactions happen on mobile. Ensure critical actions (book, badge, support, updates) work offline or degrade gracefully. Provide a clean web experience for desktop‑heavy roles.
Demand pre‑built connectors and documented APIs for:
This protects your investments and avoids vendor lock‑in.
Unified, secure search across knowledge bases, policies, rooms, people, and tickets. Results should honour permissions and show quick actions inline.
Granular roles, review workflows, expiry dates, and content quality checks. Poor governance is why intranets decay; don’t repeat the pattern.
Trigger helpful nudges based on context—e.g., prompt you to extend a meeting if the next slot is free, or suggest off‑peak days to reduce commute pain. Keep nudges useful and scarce.
Insist on SSO, MFA, encryption in transit and at rest, role‑based access, audit logs, and data residency options. For occupancy and location features, minimise personal data and apply clear retention periods. Publish your privacy stance in plain English.
Time zones, languages, public holiday logic, building‑level variations, and local regulations must be first‑class concerns.
Decision first: shortlist tools that solve your two biggest experience gaps within one quarter. Then test them with real users in real buildings.
Examples:
Run hands‑on demos using your data. Avoid scripted showroom tours. Can a new joiner install, sign in, and complete top tasks in 10 minutes without guidance? Measure clicks and time, not impressions.
Prove calendar sync, identity, and booking writes in a pilot environment. Confirm data flows back to source systems cleanly and that permissions match reality.
Validate that utilisation metrics align across systems within a known margin (e.g., badge vs sensor vs booking). If numbers diverge, understand the capture logic and sampling.
Ask vendors for adoption playbooks that include frontline tactics, not just comms templates. Look for behavioural nudges, champions programmes, and on‑premise signage kits.
Ship value fast, then expand.
Track a small, stable set of measures. Trend them monthly.
Treat the WXP as a product, not a project.
Name a product manager and a triad of leads from Workplace, HR/Comms, and IT. Give them decision rights on roadmap, content standards, and data usage.
Open a simple intake for new features and content. Review monthly, prioritise by impact and effort, and publish decisions to maintain trust.
Use the minimum data needed to provide value. For occupancy and location:
Use AI where it reduces toil and speeds action; avoid gimmicks.
Govern usage with human‑in‑the‑loop review for sensitive changes and guardrails against biased recommendations.
Tie savings and gains to a simple model:
Document assumptions, show the sensitivity range, and update the model quarterly with live data.
Pick a commercial WXP if you need speed and breadth. Choose build or extend if you have rare requirements or strict control needs.
Make the experience work for everyone:
A Workplace Experience Platform is the employee’s front door to work. It connects people to spaces, services, and information through one, personalised hub; automates routine tasks; and gives leaders evidence to improve how and where work happens. Deploy it to remove friction, reduce wasted space and effort, and make hybrid work reliable.
