Inside the Role of a Workplace Experience Manager

How an Emerging Role Is Reshaping the Workplace & How Technology Is Essential to Bringing Its Value to Life 

Let’s be honest — most offices haven’t caught up to the reality of how people want to work in a modern hybrid environment. The desk might be bookable. The lighting might be automated. But is the workplace truly worth the commute? 

In the wake of widespread workplace transformation, a new role has emerged to meet the moment: the Workplace Experience Manager (WEM). Created in response to the shift toward hybrid work and the growing emphasis on employee experience over space optimisation and building performance alone, this role didn’t exist in many organisations before 2020. 

However today, global real estate services firm JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) confirms this trend, calling it “one of the fastest-growing job titles in real estate.” (Read the full article here.) 

What started as a traditional office manager position has evolved into a cross-functional, experience-first role that sits at the intersection of real estate, IT, and HR—with a mission to create seamless, people-centric workplaces that support productivity, foster connection and collaboration, and enhance employee overall well-being. 

Workplace Experience Manager: A Role at the Crossroads of Culture & Technology 

Workplace experience managers help bring together physical space, digital tools, and cultural programs to shape the day-to-day work experience. Their goal? To support comfort, collaboration, and satisfaction—whether employees are on-site, remote, or somewhere in between. 

Their top responsibilities typically include: 

• Managing hybrid schedules and space utilization alongside real estate teams 

• Implementing and integrating workplace tech (desk booking, room scheduling, wayfinding, access control) 

• Coordinating Soft FM (facility management) services like catering, cleaning, and events 

• Delivering a consistent, high-quality, and seamless employee experience 

• Analysing workplace data and feedback loops to drive continuous improvement 

• Organising in-office events and facilitating employee engagement 

Together, these responsibilities make workplace experience managers essential to building environments that are not only efficient but engaging, adaptable, and truly employee-centred. In other words: they curate the why behind coming to the office. 

The Necessary Skill Set: Human-Centred, Tech-Savvy 

To navigate such a multifaceted role, workplace experience managers need a mix of soft skills and operational expertise: 

• Empathy and communication to understand employee needs and gain leadership buy-in 

• Tech-competency/savviness and data literacy to manage tools and measure impact 

• Project management and operations knowledge to keep initiatives running smoothly 

• Change leadership to encourage adoption and align cross-functional teams 

These skills enable workplace experience managers to connect people, process, and place—turning strategy into day-to-day frictionless impact. 

 

The Challenges: Complexity, Constraints, & Change 

The role is essential—but not without obstacles. Workplace experience managers often face: 

• Disconnected workplace tools with no unified interface 

• Difficulty measuring the ROI of employee experience initiatives 

• Tension between space flexibility and fixed assets (e.g., modular space vs. long-term leases) 

• Limited access to building systems or control in tenant spaces 

• Cost-cutting pressures from real estate teams focused on square-foot metrics 

• Lack of clear ownership or support in some organisational structures 

Overcoming these challenges requires not just creativity and coordination—but also the ability to select the right tools to simplify complexity and scale. That’s exactly where Intelligent Buildings Software Stack (IBSS) by Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions (MEIDS) comes in. 

The truth? Many workplaces still rely on siloed tools, patchy processes, and outdated assumptions. They confuse “functional” with “frictionless.” Or worse—they treat workplace tech as a set of utilities, rather than an enabler of emotional connection and performance. 

Workplace Experience Managers know better. They understand that a great experience isn't an accident—it’s designed. And with the right platform behind them, they can turn that vision into reality. 

The Technology Behind the Role: MEIDS’ Intelligent Buildings Software Stack 

The Intelligent Buildings Software Stack (IBSS) by MEIDS is purpose-built to solve the exact challenges of workplace experience managers—providing WEMs with a unified platform to manage, measure, and future-proof the workplace. 

Here’s how IBSS empowers the role: 

• Makes Hybrid Work Data Visible and Actionable 

  IBSS provides real-time data on desk, room, and shared space utilisation. Workplace managers can easily monitor demand, adjust space allocations and policies, and ensure every team has access to the resources they need—without overcomplicating or overbooking. No guesswork required. 

• Unifies Workplace Tools and Interfaces 

  Rather than juggling siloed apps, IBSS integrates essential technologies like desk booking, wayfinding, access control, and occupancy sensing into one cohesive experience—for both managers and employees. 

• Drives Data-Backed Decisions

  IBSS pulls together data from IoT devices, building systems, and user behavior to deliver insights that connect physical space to employee outcomes. Think: engagement, productivity, and wellbeing. This capability helps validate investments and uncover new opportunities for improvement. 

• Supports Flexible, Multi-Site Management 

  Whether managing a single office or fifty globally, IBSS enables localised control with enterprise oversight. Dashboards can be customised by region, role, or department—making collaboration across HR, IT, and FM easier. 

By bringing all the pieces together, IBSS helps workplace experience managers focus less on juggling systems—and more on delivering great experiences. 

 

Powering the Future of Work 

Workplace experience isn’t just facilities management with a new name. It’s a shift in mindset—from managing assets to curating experiences. From uptime and square footage to sentiment, outcomes, and redefining how we meet, collaborate, and connect at work. 

As the workplace continues to evolve, the role of the workplace experience manager is only becoming more critical. But to truly thrive, they need more than a patchwork of apps or spreadsheets; they need tools designed for the complexity of the modern workplace. 

With IBSS, we’re giving WEMs the visibility, intelligence, and flexibility to create spaces where people can do their best work—no matter where or how they work. 

As Sam Walton, MEIDS Global Industry Marketing Manager for Smart Buildings, puts it:  “The future of work isn’t about cubicles or headcounts; it’s about creating spaces that are connected, commute-worthy, and culture-rich. Creating those kinds of spaces takes strategy, empathy, and data-driven design—all of which the Workplace Experience Manager brings to the table.” 

To learn more about our Intelligent Building Software Stack (IBSS), visit our website or contact us to speak with an expert.