Creating personalised work environments with AI

Our recent blog post on the Impact of AI on workplace design and architecture received some great feedback from our community, so we’re keen to continue the conversation and get you thinking about your workspaces from a technologically capable point of view.

AI’s influence on workplace design and architecture has clearly centred on three key touchpoints:

• Smart and adaptive spaces that allow for flexible office layouts, dynamic lighting, temperature control and so on
• Enhancing employee experience by supporting office tasks such as meeting room bookings
• Data-driven decision-making to ensure office flow and high usage areas are working to best effect and feeding back into other office utilities such as lighting and air conditioning

Let’s now take these developments a step further and better understand how AI can be harnessed to create personalised work environments. 

Using AI before an employee becomes an employee

First impressions count. You could have a high-performing workspace but manage your employee onboarding process like you’re stuck in the 1980s. If your office support or HR team is bogged down in form filling, training checklists, reference checking and compliance, consider how AI could tighten up your HR processes. You’ll find your team has more time for the things that matter, and the initial employee experience sets the scene to support your internal culture and have a fulfilling career in your business.

Using AI to monitor individual employee behaviour and needs

This has traditionally been seen as the Big Brother effect, but AI monitoring is much more nuanced today. Of course, you may be able to pick up negative behaviours more quickly – who is not doing their dishes or using the wrong recycling bin for soft plastics or influencing on company time, however, the value is better used in understanding employee behaviour that you want to encourage and reinforce.

Imagine being able to personalise training and development programmes or predict future performance.

AI Chatbots and Virtual Assistants in the Workplace

We all love seeing time and efficiency savings, no more than an employee being able to carve off menial tasks to someone else. Internal Chatbot technology can support employees in answering questions, scheduling meetings and drafting simple emails.

Virtual Assistants can help to manage inboxes and prioritise work. Over time they’ll learn your preferences and you won’t need to ask them twice to do a task – it will already be done! 

Supporting employee wellbeing

We talk often about our expertise in designing workspaces that cater to employee health and well-being. However, AI is increasingly supporting this role in the workplace too.

AI-based wellness programmes are becoming more commonplace as employers seek to support their employees cost-effectively and efficiently. AI wellness programmes can understand an employee’s language, tone and talking speed and track the emotional health of team members in an anonymised way. It allows companies an early indicator of possible burnout or stress – hugely helpful to then have a face-to-face or human conversation with an employee before things spiral out of control. Helping to create happy and productive teams would be a huge win for AI in the workplace.

Customising Office Lighting

Good lighting is necessary in an office environment and supports eye health and general well-being. Smart AI lighting can adjust light brightness and colour temperature to mimic natural light patterns. This is great for reducing eye strain and helps to lift employee mood.

AI can also learn employee lighting preferences via user inputs and environmental sensors. Optimising lighting for certain times of the day or specific tasks, at individual desks can really support team morale. Individual lighting preferences can minimise lighting costs and serve to make your team feel cared for.

Optimising Office Temperature

Like lighting, office heating can be customised to meet the needs of individual employees. Not everyone likes to work in warmer temperatures, and as we know, everyone has a slightly different thermostat.

Traditional air conditioning has a “one temperature suits all” approach. AI climate control systems, however, can learn and adapt to external environmental factors and individual preferences. AI temperature control systems can operate with sensors throughout an office space, and measure temperature, humidity and air quality. Employees can provide real-time feedback so that areas of the office can be adjusted as needed. As well as providing energy savings to the company, you’ll also improve working conditions for your employees.

Maximising workspace layouts

We know that workspace layout and flow impact the productivity and collaboration of teams. AI can help workplace designers and architects to better understand movements through an office and the usage of certain areas. Machine learning to support workplace designers in deciding the best location for desks, meeting rooms and communal areas is a game-changer.

If certain teams collaborate more often, it might make sense to seat them close to one another. Underutilised areas can be repurposed for breakout areas or quiet zones for focus work.

Combining the art and science of workplace design, with the tech capability of AI, will have great outcomes for tomorrow’s workforces. Making workspaces an enjoyable place to spend time, create and collaborate can only be a positive thing – for businesses and their employees!