How to Achieve Agility in the Workplace

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We live in an era of rapid change and development and businesses are navigating different working models to help them adapt to this landscape. As new products are released at an unprecedented rate and the list of technological advancements seem infinite, shifting to an agile way of working is allowing businesses more flexibility to adapt.

As the flexible workplace evolution continues to grow; it becomes clear that today’s workforce needs the option to work at any time, from anywhere. An agile business needs an office that accommodates a variety of work settings and styles to enable new behaviours and working styles that support a shift away from a fixed desk position.

Agile workspaces support business growth

With change comes new demands and the expectations of the emerging generations have had a profound impact on the workplace. Research suggests that 70% of Millennials seek flexibility when looking for a new job. As Millennials are predicted to make up 75% of the workforce by 2025, investing in agility is a sure-fire way to ensure your business continues to attract top talent.

Understanding the environment you want to create will be influential in determining the office layout, as well as the design elements and technology you put into it. While the focus on the physical workspace should be designed with flexibility in mind, the end goal is to enable a culture of collaboration, autonomy and trust between employees.

Is agile working right for your business?

Before deciding to transform your workplace into an agile environment, you need to set out clear reasons for why you want to make that shift. The temptation is to follow the crowd and take the decision to go agile but what’s right for one business, may not be right for another.

There needs to be a clear business driver for making changes – no matter how small or large these reasons may seem. Undertaking a change of this scale requires the co-operation of your people and shouldn’t be a sporadic decision. If implemented correctly, agile working can help unlock the potential within your business and create an exciting new environment for your people.

For some businesses, the reasons for creating a more agile environment might be obvious, but for others, they may be less clear on the changes they could be making. In any case, conducting a workplace study can help give you a better understanding of how your space is performing and what changes you could make to get more out of your office space.

How to make your workplace agile

If you want to achieve true enterprise agility, there are key elements that you need to bring together in alignment. These elements are People, Place and Technology and each of these elements needs to be considered properly as one without the other will undermine the success of your workspace.

Get buy-in from your people

Company culture goes beyond the physical confinements of office design, but you may be surprised at how design can affect and influence behaviour.

A workplace should be designed to enable dialogue between teams and facilitate effective communication. Once this has been achieved, businesses can begin to develop a culture of trust and empower employees to embrace and nurture change.
Maximise your space

Agility can be enabled within any size of workspace by assessing your office layout and space plan. By interrogating your space, your fit out partner will be able to unlock underutilised pockets of space, as well as introduce a variety of workplace settings in the office which gives staff a choice of where to work.
Integrate technology

Technology enables businesses to work in an agile way by empowering employees to work at a location that suits them, and the business, with seamless connectivity.

There is a need to assess how current software is integrated into your workplace as, without the correct IT infrastructure, a shift to an agile workspace will create barriers and frustrations. Video call capabilities, room booking systems and VPN access are some of the more basic technology requirements which will help people stay connected and work more efficiently.

It’s important to recognise that workplace needs will differ from one company to the next and there is no one size fits all approach. Taking the time to understand how your people work, and what their requirements are will be valuable when it comes to shaping your workplace and adopting new ways of working. Instead of focusing on the elements you can put into the workspace, focusing on your goals and desired outputs of going agile will be more beneficial.

The Age of Agility

For more information on agility in the workplace, this guide will help you to decide how your business can benefit from agile working.
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