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The popularity of agile workspaces is growing tremendously. Many businesses are focusing on building a flexible work environment that supports their employees in the best possible way.
Agile spaces promote better workplace collaboration, foster creativity, boost employee productivity, and improve overall employee well-being which positively impacts employee retention. No wonder 71% of companies in the U.S. are already using an agile way of working.
In this guide, we will explore more about the agile work environment, the benefits it offers, and the tips you can follow to build an agile workplace for your team.
An agile workplace is a workplace that offers complete flexibility to employees. Unlike traditional office environments, agile workplaces offer employees the complete freedom to work from different areas of the office at their convenience. The concept of agile workspaces is about providing conducive work environments that encourage team collaboration and enhances employee productivity.
Agile workspaces are designed to accommodate various shared spaces that employees can use at their convenience and comfort. According to the latest coworking statistics, 70% of employees wish to work in agile environment that supports their physical and mental well-being and aligns with their professional goals.
These spaces are not limited to the traditional 9-5 work schedules as the companies adopt hybrid working, remote working, or any other types of flexible working models. The employees do not have fixed work desks assigned to them. They book the desired ones based on the tasks assigned to them before coming to work.
Now let us have a look at the various types of agile workspaces.
Transform your traditional office spaces into agile ones by including some of these dedicated areas in your layout design. Alternatively, you can sign up for an office in coworking spaces to adopt an agile approach in less time.
Ideal for teams working on projects that require intense collaboration and seamless communication.
Used when employees have to give intense focus on complex work assignments.
Designed to provide privacy for one-on-one meetings and phone calls.
Used to organize informal meetings, brainstorming sessions, or collaborative team discussions.
Used to organize formal meetings with team members and clients.
Encourage employees to take a break from work assignments and relax with colleagues or coworkers.
Used for keeping various office tools, such as printers, scanners, photocopy machines, and other office supplies.
Agile workspaces offer distinguishable characteristics that make them unique and thus, most preferred by companies all around the world.
Employees have access to various office spaces at any time of the day. These spaces are designed to suit dynamic workstyles where employees choose to spend time on specific work assignments.
These workspaces have implemented policies, such as flexible working hours, remote working, and more so that employees can work when they are most productive.
Providing comfortable workstations equipped with ergonomic furniture, modern tech gadgets, essential office supplies, and more to help them focus more on their tasks rather than getting adjusted in their workstations.
Employees have utmost privacy and minimal distractions when working from an agile working environment. The dedicated spaces help them eliminate the noise and interruptions and stay focused at work.
The best examples of agile environments include tech giants, such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce, and more who have realized the importance of offering employees an amazing work environment that fosters innovation and boosts productivity.
For example, Google’s offices are designed to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration between team members. The open workspace helps the team in working together and complete their projects on time. The lounge areas or communal tables in open spaces are perfect for organizing brainstorming sessions while project rooms are ideal for conducting workshops.
So what types of companies can make use of agile workplaces? Every company irrespective of its size can adopt an agile work environment provided they are clear about their business goals and willing to transform their traditional workflow processes.
The flexibility offered by agile office space design is ideal for companies that emphasize the outcomes instead of the employees’ attendance. With a focus on employee comfort and convenience, agile workspaces help you build an inclusive work culture.
However, agile workspaces are not appropriate for companies that require employees to work from offices all the time or from other on-site locations during traditional office hours.
An agile work environment offers numerous benefits to employers. It offers your employees the freedom to work most conveniently. Let us have a look at these benefits in this section.
An agile work environment helps you maximize your space by applying agile work principles. You do not have to furnish an office for your entire team. Agile workspaces are designed considering the different nature of office work and flexible work schedules.
For example, if you follow a hybrid working model, you can offer permanent desks to those employees who require one while the others can book their workstations on the days they wish to work from the office. Similarly, you can allow a few team members to work remotely permanently depending on their job roles.
Traditional office environments require a lot of capital investment in real estate, furnishing, office supplies, and other utilities. You will have to hire additional staff to clean and maintain the office space. Investing in an agile work environment will enable you to save costs on setting up new office space and its maintenance.
If you follow a flexible working model, you can allow your employees to book their workstations on a timely basis thereby reducing the costs of setting up new cubicles every time a new employee joins your team.
Agile work environments offer employees a chance to work together collaboratively and achieve their business goals. It supports teamwork, fosters creativity, and creates a sense of belonging among the employees. It helps employees to work closely with each other and build a culture that promotes innovation.
As most agile workplaces offer full flexibility around the place and time of work, it promotes a healthy work-life balance among the employees thereby boosting their efficiency and productivity. It allows employees to find their perfect work schedule and plan their work assignments accordingly.
For example, a few professionals might believe in starting their work early in the morning while a few of them, especially parents might want to come in late. An agile workspace supports employees by offering them the flexibility to work when they feel they are at their best and deliver quality work. It creates a culture of productive and happy employees.
Agile workspaces give your employees the freedom to choose a preferred work setup and a convenient way to perform their jobs. It increases job satisfaction and increases their loyalty towards your company thereby ensuring higher employee retention.
Similarly, an agile work environment helps you attract a larger talent pool to your organization. You can hire employees from any location and any time zone by offering remote positions.
Because of its amazing benefits, many businesses are readily adopting the agile approach for building their workplaces. It is a massive cultural change that can affect your work processes and employee productivity.
Setting up an agile workspace does have its fair share of challenges. Let us quickly understand what these challenges are and how to navigate them.
Expect resistance from a certain section of employees to these changes as you are asking them to give up their old habits and adopt new workstations and processes. For example, employees might be sad to lose their corner offices or might not be comfortable working in an open-plan setup.
The ideal solution here would be to convey the reasons why you are adopting an agile approach for your workspaces. Connect with your employees to understand their needs and address their concerns as early as possible.
Transitioning to an agile workspace does not happen overnight. It is not about making a few changes in the workstation layouts or offering employees the flexibility to work from any desk whenever they want. It involves thorough planning and executing the changes in a step after step fashion. A detailed change management plan is what you need to facilitate these changes and ensure an easy transition.
Clear communication is a crucial aspect of change management as it can help you anticipate any negative effects the change can have on your team or resistance from the team members.
Explain the change to your employees and provide them with necessary resources, such as video tutorials on using room booking software, checklists for reserving meeting rooms, guidelines to follow when arranging a workshop in the event center, and more to help them with this transition.
Here are a few more tips that you can follow during your transition into an agile setting.
Creating an agile workspace is much more than transforming your physical space. It requires a shift in the organizational mindset and adjusting to the evolving demands of your employees.
The Address is a flexible workspace that focuses on the agile approach to building functional office spaces. Many top brands in India are leveraging agile workspaces by The Address for streamlining their workspace requirements. The Address workspaces are designed with state-of-the-art facilities and are equipped with modern amenities to provide an excellent work environment to your employees. If you are searching for a new agile workspace, connect with The Address team and share your requirements.
The Address offers modern workspaces in more than 10 leading cities of India. Begin your transition to agile spaces with The Address today.
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