How to Create an Agile Work Space
Have you ever given any thought to how you use your work space to its best advantage? For example, is your work space agile? We often hear these buzzwords in the world of work and for good reason, because often they’re onto something. An agile work environment can help us stay productive.
Unilever defines agile working as “an approach to getting work done with maximum flexibility and minimum constraints. It goes beyond just flexible working or telecommuting and focuses on eliminating the barriers to getting work done efficiently.”
Ultimately agile workplaces are spaces designed for maximum flexibility. They empower employees to work how, where and when they choose, and give them all of the technology and tools they need.
It’s the ability to quickly move in and out of these spaces is what makes them agile. It’s not just about adapting space to support employees needs, a really agile work environment gives employees the means to stay productive.
Benefits of Agile Working
Freedom: It offers an increased sense of autonomy and freedom to employees
Happy Workers: It’s often linked to increased job satisfaction, which can result in higher engagement and retention
Reduced Operating Costs: Less floor space is needed because you’re thinking smarter, not harder.
Attracting Talent: Establishing a more autonomous culture with agile working can be a great way for attracting and retaining top talent.
How to Stay Agile
When it comes to agile work environment, flexibility is key. Staff need to be flexible enough to adapt to the tasks they’re given. In a single day, we answer emails, have video conferencing meetings, see clients, attend workshops or seminars, attend meetings in coffee shops or increasingly more these days, we might walk and talk – taking our external meetings in the open air where ever possible.
In agile environments, work happens everywhere and it’s rarely uniform or stationary. It’s evident that few spaces need to play many roles, which is why having the right tools to stay agile and productive are important as is having the right space.
Here at Adapt, we like to think we’re purveyors of agile work spaces. We provide the spaces and flexibility and you bring your own technology and purpose to every space you visit. Our spaces aren’t static structures like the inflexible offices of the past. Quite the opposite, they’re dynamic, agile and adaptable.
What Does Agile Look Like
So what exactly makes a workspace agile and flexible?
- As we move into and out of spaces it helps to have a free-flowing environment. Work spaces with many doors, walls and partitions can create barriers to flexibility. Offering a free-flow space and things like hot-desking and other communal areas can free up creativity and offer up a dynamic energy.
- Comfort is a universal requirement to all of us. We work much better when our surroundings offer what we need.
- Privacy and peace can be difficult to find in open, agile spaces. So minimising the level of interruption to your workspace will improve concentration.
- Other ways to be flexible might include rearranging desks, considering standing desks and finding out how best to seat teams to ensure flexibility.
- Other workspace types you might like to introduce within your space might include: breakout meeting spaces, quiet zones, resource spaces or experiential spaces.
- In an agile working environment, staff may prefer to work from home or in a local café. It’s about being as open and flexible as possible in your company’s approach to where and when staff work.