Ricoh commissioned IDC to explore how employee experience continues to change in today’s hybrid work, remote and on-site environments.¹ What’s shifting most is how organizations prioritize and align employees and technology—not just operationally, but seeing both as strategic drivers of business growth and customer satisfaction.
How has the employee environment evolved?
“We’ve been debating and discussing flexible work models for years now,” says Amy Loomis, research VP for Future of Work, IDC. “It’s not just about one side or the other of being on-prem or being remote. It’s about being able to navigate between those two things.”
Survey respondents shared the benefits they’ve seen from flexible work environments:
- Improved team productivity (56%)
- Improved employee productivity (51%)
- Stronger team relationships (42%)
- Improved employee retention (41%)
These results suggest that organizations investing in flexible work models — and the technology to support them — are seeing stronger outcomes. Higher productivity, lower turnover, faster response times and happier employees can contribute to better customer experiences and business performance.
What is a flexible work environment?
“It’s the best of the digital world and the physical world coming together so that in-person and remote work can be part of a continuum,” Loomis explains. A flexible workplace experience gives employees the tools, solutions and secured access they need to work effectively, wherever they are. This can include:
- IT services and support
- Reception and hospitality services
- Conference and A/V tools
- Process automation solutions
- Smart lockers
- Document and information sharing
- Mail and communication services
These resources help employees stay focused on core business goals while feeling valued and empowered.
Optimizing the hybrid work environment
What do organizations need to do to have a successful flexible work environment? According to IDC’s Loomis:
- Offer technologies, software and hardware for people to get the work done effectively.
- Offer employees secured access to data and the IT support that they need.
- Have a clear work policy that supports flexible work.”
Despite the benefits, organizations still face challenges. The top concerns reported were:
- Lack of employee productivity and efficiency across work environments (59%)
- Trusting employees to keep data and corporate resources secure (52%)
These barriers highlight the need for integrated technology, strong IT support and clear policies to ensure security and consistency across work models.
When businesses address these challenges and align their goals, it’s no wonder that our survey research shows “75% of IT and LOB leaders have implemented analytics and key performance indicators to measure the relationship between EX and CX.”
The survey confirms that improved employee and customer experiences are closely intertwined and not mutually exclusive.
Contact Ricoh USA for more information.
- 1IDC. InfoBrief, sponsored by Ricoh, Building Flexible and Focused Employee Experiences, August 2025
