"Ability to be Agile"

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Agile Workplace, one of the most talked about design trends in today’s corporate environment. But what exactly does “Agility” in design mean and why do more and more progressive companies move to this direction?

Agility for individuals and an organization, as described by Biospace, is being able to adapt quickly or evolve in response to changing circumstances while being able to breakdown barriers in the organization.

Accompanied by technology advancements, Agile workplace design intends to create flexibility through thoughtful usage of space, capitalising on an Activity Based Working (ABW) setup.

As companies of today transition into an age-diverse workplace, in the volatile and competitive global market; an “Agile” workplace offers various settings in accordance to the activity or the need - may it be self-organising or in cross-collaboration.

Conversely, with an array of systems and technology in place coupled with ABW utilized as a business strategy, interior architecture comes as one of the most visible influence when it comes to creating an effective office environment.

“Employees who are satisfied with their physical workplace are 16 percent more productive, 18 percent more likely to stay, and 30 percent more attracted to the company over competitors.” Gartner <https://www.gartner.com/en=">https://www.gartner.com/en</a><em>">

ABW is broken down into several characteristics from a design that suits every work style, to employee inertia, policies, technology and the company culture - bringing it all together into an effective office setting.

Some of the latest setup in an Agile space include:

Landing

By nature, a landing in a residential is the transitional space that takes you from one room to another. Likewise, in offices, the idea of the landing serves as a spot that breaks reception to the production area. It could be a space where you assign standing desks or seating units for individuals walking past each other to allow opportunity for a quick chat.

Focus Space

Gearing to support the flow of creativity, the focus space allows an individual to work according to their needs. It is the best space to focus on a task uninterruptedly next to your seat neighbour. It could be a room or a stand-alone table with partition panels to provide enough setting to stay focused.

As quiet as it could get, designing focus spaces have its limitations, we have to understand that only 70decibels is needed to stimulate focus - we want to offer a space that is quiet enough for individuals to concentrate, but nothing noise cancelling that is too quiet which would lead to a rest zone.

Electronics Free-zone/Recharge rooms

The office space is where we spend most of our days, and in between office conditions our body starts wailing down for recovery. The National Sleep Foundation revealed that the lack of sleep affects a person’s productivity and in return, hurt the company’s revenues.

In the real world, the best way to avoid health problems is to maintain a consistent sleeping pattern with an average of 7-9 hours. However, in some circumstance that we fall short, the best way is to take a recovery nap in the middle of our day.

Recharge rooms allow individuals to take a 15-20min coffee nap to restore mental and physical energy, leaving you refreshed for the rest of the day. Designing a recharge room does not mean a complete bedroom setup; sleep pods or a comfortable couch can do wonders.

Consequently, recharge rooms can be delivered as an electronic-free zone. The idea of this space is for employees to leave their devices, disconnect for a few minutes, relax and find peace away from incoming notifications from emails and texts - even for just a couple of minutes.

i.1 Image link: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f8/90/4b/f8904be3d60b76f69fe6d8cbf45ef7f2.jpg

i.2 Image link: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/83/a3/55/83a3558859ee00db08d34e3fc22f4229.jpg

ABW’s efficiency

More often than not, ABW is confused as only a space-saving solution or for many, a trend to create a visually stimulating model. However, more than its creative appeal, ABW is an encouragement to a transformational business strategy.

The inclusion of ABW, if utilized correctly, can result to cost efficiency in terms of fit-out as well as operating costs. As we anticipate changing times, there are estimates suggesting that the workforce of today utilize only 60% of workspaces and see much more productivity by either visiting clients directly or working in close collaboration with their teams.

The challenge becomes evident when we look at industry research; in 2010, Leesman conducted a research about Activity Based Working and how the physical, virtual and behavioural aspects of a workplace environment influence business transformation.

Considering various industries who adapted the ABW; implemented through Leesman’s LMI model, the analysis between ABW group and the control group amassed a slightly higher effectiveness at +1.3. However, on mass, the ABW group showed higher pride agreement at +12% but lower productivity agreement at -7.2% in comparison to the control group.

As we anticipate challenges on ABW as a business strategy, it is also a fact that global business trends move us into creating a massive change in the organization. We should be expecting resistance but if implemented accordingly designs retrofit to support engagement could be a powerful transformation tool.

A multi-faceted workplace

Providing the right office environment goes in various ways; we do not singularly confirm business structures to play as the vital player but we also put pressure in building a community alongside technology advancements as a partner in creating a stronger business environment.

The transition to an agile workplace should be a thoughtful and deliberate process, we do not seek abrupt shifts based on trends but rather we look deeper on the core of the company’s system to its value for the users and stakeholders.

Agile design is about changing the way we view work, we want to create a space of balance by offering employees their personal space at the same time transparency through spaces designed to allow direct communication. Therefore, creating an environment of cross-collaboration as well as a company that cares for their people.

References

Biospace. 31 Jul 2018. “How can you be more ‘Agile’ at work?”. https://www.biospace.com/article/how-can-you-be-more-agile-at-work-/. .

Capers Z. 16 Jan 2019. Get App. “Agile workplace designs offer flexibility that improves productivity”. https://lab.getapp.com/agile-workplace-design/. .

Diezun J. 09 Jan 2018. Radice. “Why are nap rooms important at work?”. https://radicesleep.com/blogs/magazine/why-are-nap-rooms-important-at-work.

Leesman. Feb 2017. “The rise and rise of Activity Based Working”. Online Research Book. https://www.leesmanindex.com/The_Rise_and_Rise_of_Activity_Based_Working_Research_book.pdf. .