Building a successful workplace culture no longer requires returning to rigid office mandates. Leaders at GoDaddy and Jasper demonstrate that hybrid and remote-first organizations can foster collaboration, engagement, and high performance without forcing employees back to the office.

Instead, they optimize productivity and satisfaction through intentional experience design, data-driven decisions, and employee empowerment.

This blog recaps a Gable webinar with Jess Hess, Senior Director of Global Real Estate, Workplace Experience, and Safety & Security at GoDaddy, and Julia Soffa, Head of Employee Experience at Jasper.

In the webinar, they shared proven strategies for redefining the employee experience in a flexible work landscape.

Redefining engagement without RTO mandates

Both GoDaddy and Jasper have made a conscious choice to avoid return-to-office (RTO) mandates. Instead of resorting to inflexible policies, they prioritize intentionality, individual choice, and programmatic support. Jess Hess (GoDaddy) explains that the foundation is treating workplace experience as an opportunity to serve “the vast difference of humans that come into the workplace,” including people from different generations, with unique neurodiverse profiles, needs, and preferences.

Rather than simply measuring “butts in seats,” these organizations reframe the conversation around:

• Purposeful, intention-driven gathering
• Empowering employees to shape engagement
• Supporting productivity both in and outside traditional offices

Leaders build environments that adapt to employee needs and foster belonging, instead of issuing blanket requirements that can alienate or disengage the workforce.

Supporting flexibility with real-world programs

GoDaddy’s "Fun Fund" and activity-based spaces

At GoDaddy, flexible engagement is brought to life through programs like the “Fun Fund.” Each team receives a stipend to design their own engagement experience based on what feels meaningful to them, whether that’s in-office gatherings, offsites, or coworking days. Employees are empowered to curate activities, which increases buy-in and impact.

GoDaddy’s real estate strategy reflects this ethos. They continue to maintain a global office portfolio but have transitioned away from a one-size-fits-all model. Offices are now designed according to activity-based working principles, where people have the choice to select spaces and resources that align with their preferred work style.

For example:

• Collaboration hubs for active teamwork
• Quiet, naturally lit rooms for focused work (especially valued by introverts)
• Customizable, multi-use areas for diverse team needs

Remote employees also benefit from programs that recognize home as a productive workspace, with support to create environments that enable their best work.

Jasper’s "Jasper Local" Pilot Empowers Distributed Teams

Jasper, a fully remote, AI-first company, uses lightweight, high-impact programs to cultivate culture and breakthroughs. Julia described launching the "Jasper Local" pilot, which enables employees to organize local gatherings in their cities with minimal overhead.

Employees who volunteer as "city captains" receive a small budget ($25 per person, per quarter) to create meaningful meetups. This grassroots approach has flourished in cities like Boston and Salt Lake City, where gathering happens organically, and employees feel empowered to co-create culture.

Additionally, Jasper sets aside budget for distributed teams to access coworking spaces when they need face-to-face collaboration (including through Gable and similar providers). This bridges the gap between remote flexibility and the positive energy of in-person connection.

The key lesson echoed by both organizations is to start small, iterate often, and empower employees to lead in creating the experiences that matter most to them.

Data-backed decisions drive effective workplace design

Purpose without measurement is guesswork. Both GoDaddy and Jasper integrate robust data gathering with qualitative feedback loops to refine their engagement strategies and optimize space usage.

Beyond badge swipes: Gathering nuanced data

At GoDaddy, Jess describes using multiple data sources:

• Quantitative (badge swipes, desk & room bookings, dwell time in spaces, resource utilization)
• Qualitative (employee surveys, direct feedback, behavior pattern analysis)

Metrics such as when and how people enter offices, how long they engage in various spaces, and which rooms are most utilized help leaders identify what works and where improvements are needed. The “why” behind the data is always explored qualitatively, for example, understanding what environmental factors (lighting, comfort, location) drive space selection.

Data is also used to support activity-based neighborhoods within offices, with distinct environments catering to different job titles, work models, and even personality traits (e.g., introverts vs. extroverts). Real-time workspace utilization insights empower leaders to reduce real estate costs strategically while maintaining high levels of collaboration.

Community feedback fuels engagement

At Jasper, all-company retreats, local gatherings, and communication norms are designed by gathering employee input. They conduct pre-event and post-event surveys and take the pulse of each team to align objectives and measure impact. A single full-company event per year must achieve clear business objectives rooted in what employees value: integration, clarity, and purpose.

Both organizations emphasize that the key is ongoing, iterative feedback. Engagement is never one and done, but rather a cycle of experimentation, measurement, and refinement.

Human-centric, tech-enabled employee experience

Both GoDaddy and Jasper see value in integrating AI into the workplace, not as a substitute for human experience, but as an accelerator for better outcomes.

Information access and trust in AI tools

Julia highlighted Jasper’s commitment to building AI literacy and demystifying AI for employees. The company recognizes that AI adoption requires intentional strategy (not just adding “AI” to a product) and a culture that supports exploration. Jasper has established principles around responsible and inclusive AI usage, encouraging open experimentation and removing the stigma or fear around new tools.

Internally, Jasper invests in asynchronous communication, searchable knowledge management systems, and clear information-access protocols. Regular feedback surveys put trust at the core: employees must believe they can always access reliable, up-to-date resources to do their best work. This is supported by a clear communications strategy and leadership buy-in, ensuring that information flows freely, regardless of geography.

GoDaddy also deploys an AI bot to help answer workplace questions, but only after establishing a foundation of trust in the accuracy and relevance of information. The mantra remains “garbage in, garbage out,” and AI tools are only as valuable as the quality of their underlying data.

Designing for diversity and well-being

A recurring theme for both companies is that psychological safety, well-being, and inclusion are not add-ons but are essential to productivity and performance. This is reflected in how spaces are designed (lighting, quiet areas, flexibility), the structure of gathering programs (letting teams define their needs), and how AI supports—not overrides—human initiative.

There’s also recognition of real workplace disparities. For example, Julia cited a Harvard Business School finding that women are 20% less likely to use AI at work, often due to perceptions that it’s “cheating.” Both companies work to normalize experimentation and highlight the value AI can deliver for all employees.

Insights for Workplace leaders

Key takeaways for leaders responsible for property, facilities, and workplace experience:

• Mandates are not the answer. Flexibility, intentionality, and empowerment build cultures that outperform rigid policies.
• Integrate real-time, actionable data with qualitative feedback. Numbers alone mean little without context. Combine space utilization analytics with employee pulse checks for a complete picture.
• Empower employees to create meaningful engagement, whether through stipends, local leader programs, or co-created activities.
• Invest in AI strategically. Build AI literacy, hire for curiosity, and create processes that prioritize trust and clarity.
• Design for diversity and psychological safety. Quiet spaces, flexible programs, and clear communication matter.

Moving forward with a human-centered, data-optimized workplace

GoDaddy and Jasper prove that building great employee experiences does not require top-down RTO mandates. The key is in designing a workplace ecosystem that:

• Empowers employee choice
• Harnesses data and analytics for continuous improvement
• Supports collaboration both virtually and in the real world
• Uses technology and AI to augment, not replace, human connection
• Puts well-being and inclusion at the center

These strategies provide a future-proof blueprint for workplace leaders looking to reduce costs, enhance collaboration, and optimize real estate utilization. Flexible, scalable programs with proven results show that a more human, effective, and empowering workplace is achievable.

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