Market insight: partnering on productivity

Nestlé Coffee Partners has released a new report with the aim of supporting workplace productivity...

Nestlé Coffee Partners has teamed up with top experts to help workplaces nurture productivity, as employees return to the office. The collaboration, with insight from specialists Humanyze and workplace design experts Brainybirdz, sees the release of Thinking Smart About Productivity. The report uses in-depth research and insights to show the science behind productivity, how to boost it, what makes an effective workplace and how to increase collaboration.

An interesting topic highlighted is the attractors of movement – which include everything from the physical journeys we take, to everyday tasks that influence and affect interactions with others. Findings suggest that hot beverages are a powerful facilitator for movement in creating moments of planned and unplanned interactions in the workplace.

The report offers a range of ideas for businesses, including how to enable flow and focus with the use of hot beverages to stage ‘strategic interventions’ via a hot beverage station. Elsewhere, kitchen space can be used as a high-quality coffee breakout area, to facilitate better breaks or offer ‘happy hour’ options for businesses.

Hot drinks can also be used to encourage more productive teamwork, the report finds, with collaborations over coffee or in a more casual ‘café’ area helping to drive productivity. And, according to the experts, ‘unplanned interactions’, which are often more informal coffee moments, can help build trust, spark new ideas and promote different ways of thinking.

David Basson, head of beverages UK&I for Nestlé Professional, said: “As workforces return to the office – be it full-time or just for meetings - encouraging productivity is important. Our report uses scientific thinking to help businesses engage effectively with their employees and facilitate productivity in a range of ways.”

The Nestlé Coffee Partners range of solutions caters to three main drivers: coffee as a reason to take a well-earned break from work; creating a coffee shop experience to help attract and delight employees; and helping to harness coffee as the social connector, connecting with colleagues and visitors over a cup.

Simon Baggaley, category manager – beverages for Nestlé Professional, added: “To truly think smart about improving productivity with hot beverage solutions, careful thought and consideration needs to be given to every element, including the client, their consumers, the category, and ultimately the brands a business chooses to partner with. We are confident that Nestlé Coffee Partners can provide the right solution for any workplace.” 

Key findings

• Senior managers view 71% of meetings as being unproductive and inefficient, and 64% view them as coming at the expense of deep thinking or flow and focus states
• 71% report frequent interruptions in the workplace
• Different teams are nine times more likely to interact if they’re on the same floor. However, studies have shown that switching to an open-plan office layout can reduce these interactions, possibly by 70%, due to an over-reliance on e-mail communication or a perceived lack of time to focus
• 62% of employees believe that their workplace environment supports productivity

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