The modern office rarely stands still for long. There is always a new development of some sort on the horizon, new office chairs with all singing, all dancing features, a new type of technology, and new office desking arrangements, designed to boost productivity, with a big eye on the main prize – profits. 

With that in mind, how about offices which change their entire design around, incorporating different areas, different systems and ways of working, and attempting to create a workplace which focuses on the individual and the task, rather than the regular 9-5 route?

The agile workplace has received a lot of press recently, simply because it has become so popular. This guide is going to give you the entire low down on what the agile workplace is, what it encompasses, the pros and cons, and also talk about how you might like to incorporate it into your office space, including how to go about it. We’ll also talk about the modern office furniture which suits this type of space best. 

We should also point out that agile working obviously operates within an agile workplace. In that case, the workplace facilitates the system of working, making the whole jigsaw fall into place. 

There’s no denying that switching from a regular office environment to an agile way of working will take a period of adjustment, and it is also likely to require investment in terms of new office furniture, and perhaps even moving the office around entirely.
Despite that, the outlay is generally considered worth it, and you’ll understand why when we begin to talk about the advantages of this type of working. Of course, everything has a flip side and we’ll also talk about the possible downsides, so you can have the complete picture before you make a potential decision to go down the agile route. 

So fasten your seatbelts, we’re about to go on a whistle-stop tour of the world of the agile workplace. 

What Does Agile Really Mean?

The term ‘agile’ is used in many different ways and it has several connotations. In this case however, agile is a workplace which focuses on the task at hand and the wellbeing of employees. This means employees will decide where to sit within the office, and indeed where to work in general, in order to get the best outcome for the task they have before them. It also means they can be flexible in terms of how they feel and how best to concentrate at their chic office desks. 

What does agile working look like? It can mean working from home in some cases, working in a co-working space, working within a collaborative area of the office, or working in a quiet spot which won’t lead to distractions. It’s about assessing the task and utilising the right area for optimum completion. 

From that description you can imagine that an agile workplace is made up of several different areas, including an area for collaboration, an area for quiet work, with luxury office seating, break out spaces, touch down areas, office storage and resource areas, as well as meeting spaces and canteen/break areas too. The main barrier to all of this? Space. 

If you have a small office, you might be turning off from the chat and thinking the you simply don’t have the space to incorporate all of this. A small office isn’t a major problem, it simply needs creative thinking. To help you understand how you can continue in the agile model even with a small office, we’ll dedicate a section to this very subject a little later on. For now, bear with it!

To give you a little more information on what an agile workplace looks and feels like, check out this useful infographic. 

Source: www.spectrumworkplace.co.uk/agile-working-the-5-essential-elements-infographic

As you can see, employees are able to go into work in the morning and decide where they are going to sit, depending up on the task they have to complete. This is different to hot desking in several ways, because it is completely focused on the task, but also on the wellbeing of the employee. Hot desking tends to strike fear into the heart of office workers, because it takes away the idea of having an office desk to call home. Agile working doesn’t do that, it simply encourages employees to move around and work where they feel comfortable and where they feel the task can best be completed. There is flexibility in agile working, and a sense of a more creative and laid-back approach. 

We mentioned earlier that transitioning to an agile workplace may take a little time for employees to get used to, and it may be that you come up against some resistance, especially with employees who may have been with the business for a considerable length of time. There are ways around this too, and again, we’ll cover a section on this, to help you overcome any potential roadblocks towards agile success. 

The Pro's And Con's of an Agile Workplace

From our initial explanation of what an agile workplace is, are you feeling that it might be useful for your business? If you’re still on the fence or need a little more persuasion, let’s cover the pros and cons, and see how you feel at the end of this section.

Pro's of an Agile Workplace 

• Higher morale – The idea behind the agile workplace is that employees can choose where is best for them to work, depending on the job they have to do. That means they’re being trusted to make those decisions, helping to boost morale and employee engagement. An agile workplace is also varied and flexible, which has a more positive and creative feel. All of these elements helps to boost morale and help staff to want to go to work, as well as going the extra mile.
• A better home and work life balance – Agile working means that employees can work wherever they feel is best for the task, and that also means working from home or from a co-working space if they believe that is best. For staff who have responsibilities outside of work, e.g. young children, the ability to be able to work from home on occasion is ideal for ensuring a better home and work life balance.
• Increased job satisfaction – Many believe that agile working can increase job satisfaction, simply because of the higher morale and the varied workplace. There are no rules per se with agile working, so the employee can make changes to their day, which suit them and the task, therefore avoiding those situations which make a working day long and arduous.
• Less distractions – There are likely to be less mistakes made because staff can choose to work in a spot which suits them best.
  This means less distractions and therefore less errors, which could have a very detrimental effect on the business and the customer(s) involved.
• Helps with recruitment and retention – Agile workplaces are attractive places to work, so this is going to help a business to attract new talent, and also retain the valuable members of staff they already have. If you look at companies such as Apple and Google, who all have agile methods of working in place, these are companies everyone wants to work for! By the end, the hope is that all of your employees will love being agile workers.
• Helps employees with disabilities – If a business has a member of staff with a disability, agile working is a better option for them, because they can choose where is best for them to work from. This increases job satisfaction for that member of staff and morale overall.
• Less lost sick days – Increased morale and job satisfaction means less lost sick days for a business, which can add up to a huge amount of revenue lost over a year. An agile workplace focuses on wellness, i.e. less distractions, break areas, spots for a time out, a team working feel, and that in itself helps to reduce the number of days off sick which staff may have.
• Higher productivity levels – Perhaps the biggest pro, and one which we are going to delve into a little more shortly, is higher productivity. We’ll talk about this in a second, so we won’t go into much detail right now, but an agile workplace is certainly a productivity booster, which in turn boosts profits a little further down the line.

Con's of an Agile Workplace 

Everything has a downside, and agile working is no different. Here at Calibre Office Furniture, we believe in giving you the full picture, so you can make your own decision, with all the information to hand. In that case, here are the cons associated with agile working.
What you will see is that there are far less cons than pros! 

• The initial cost – When you first decide to switch to agile working, it’s likely that you will need to make a few purchases or changes to your office space. This is obviously going to cost money. Whilst you can limit the amount it will set you back, by planning accordingly and being careful with your purchases, there is going to be an initial outlay at the start.
• Possible employee resistance – Because agile working is relatively new in some ways, it’s possible that some of your employees might not really understand it when it is first introduced to them. This could lead to a little resistance towards the change and make life a little difficult, until they get used to what is going on. We’ll talk in more detail about this issue also a little later, but for now, it is an initial con to think about.
• A lack of structure – Agile working means that employees don’t come into work at 9am every morning and sit at the same desk until 5pm rolls around, there is far less structure and far more flexibility. This has to have a downside too, and that comes in less predictability. Employers may not know when certain staff are going to work from home or elsewhere, and there needs to be a quality communication system in place to ensure this issue doesn’t become insurmountable. In addition, some staff members may not work so well without structure, and it all comes down to personality types within your office space. In this case, introducing the idea carefully and slowly, and supporting these staff members until they feel better about the new system is vital.
• Small offices may struggle, but it’s not impossible – We mentioned earlier that a small office isn’t necessarily a barrier to agile working and that’s still true. Despite that, a smaller office isn’t going to be able to have as many of the agile features, compared to a larger office space. This may compromise on the experience overall.
• Energy costs in unoccupied areas – It’s possible that there may be certain parts of the office which are left unoccupied at certain times. Unless there are measures in place to ensure no lights are left on, nothing is left on stand-by, there could be wasted energy costs to deal with.
• Health and safety risks may be slightly increased – More space and more areas to work within means a slightly higher risk of health and safety problems. Businesses can get around this by doing detailed risk assessments on a regular basis, and ensuring all bases are covered.

As you can see, there are possible downsides to working in an agile way, but these problems can all be overcome with proper planning from the outset and putting systems in place to ensure no problems occur on an ongoing basis. Every business should expect a few teething problems when a new system is incorporated, especially if staff members have been with the company for a long time.
Ensuring everything is well thought out beforehand will mean there are no nasty surprises, and with careful space management, an agile workspace can be achieved with a small or large budget equally. 

Why Does Agile Mean Higher Productivity Levels?

We touched upon higher productivity levels in our pros and cons section, and that is something we really need to delve into a little deeper. 

Businesses strive for productivity above most other things. Why? Because productivity means profits. The higher your productivity level, the greater the potential for profits, so it makes sense for businesses to focus on this to a high degree. 

Morale has a direct link to productivity. When a staff member feels valued, happy where they are, and they are supported and enjoy their work, they will always work harder, perhaps going above and beyond what is expected of them. They will come up with more ideas, their creativity will be on the rise, and they will push beyond boundaries that would otherwise cause a roadblock. When a whole team of employees feel this way, they are going to have a greater output of work. That is productivity right there! Higher productivity means more sales, more connections, more possible clients, and basically means more money coming into the business. 

There is no downside to focusing on productivity, but in order to do that, you need to first focus on morale. 

It’s no good having a workplace which has low morale. In that case staff will do only what they need to do before they can go back home again, and they’re far more likely to call in sick as a result. Mistakes will be more likely and this is passed down to your customers and clients. Poor morale can break a business, it’s really that serious. 

So, where does agile working come into it?

Agile workplaces and agile working methods allow a member of staff to make a decision for themselves. They can choose to work at a regular office desk and complete a task with few distractions, perhaps using office screen partitions to help them concentrate on what they need to complete. Once that is done, with a small bounce in their step from completing a task well, they can perhaps move into the collaborative area and brainstorm with their team about a new product that is on the horizon.
This gives the best of both worlds. Work being done, and that feeling of accomplishment that gives, to team working and the far more sociable and upbeat feel which goes along with it. 

Agile working gives choice and flexibility. In addition, if a member of staff has small children and one is feeling a little under the weather, they can call their manager and say they’re going to work from home that day. This means they can keep an eye on their young child and they can also continue to work; no lost working day for the business and no stress of not having gone to work and perhaps guilt associated with it, for the employee. 

It’s win, win!

For a visual take on what an agile working situation could look like in practice, check out this video. Do remember however, every business’ actual agile working model will be slightly different. You’ll see in this video that James takes his own laptop into work – that might not be the case for your business, but it is a consideration you could think about. 

Key Elements of an Agile Workplace

In our earlier infographic we mentioned the different spaces which make up the entire agile workplace, so let’s delve into these now and explain what they are, and why they are needed. 

The whole basis of an agile workplace is about an open plan office layout. This means that different zones and areas can be incorporated, but they all run into each other. This cuts out segregation and ensures that everyone can work together and collaborate when they need to, but the use of extras such as office screens and acoustic panels can cut out the background noise for those who need to concentrate on close and quiet work. 

Of course, agile working also means that staff can work from home occasionally or elsewhere, but the agile workplace is the main base. For the majority of the time, all staff will be within the office, but which part of the office completely depends upon the task they need to complete. 

Within that open plan design you will have the following spaces: 

Breakout Spaces 

A breakout space is a truly flexible area which can be used for anything from brainstorming meetings, quick ad hoc chats between colleagues about a project, taking a quick five minutes’ time out, to any task that an employee simply feels they would like to utilise the laid back feel of a breakout space for. 

A breakout space is often located within the main office environment, but usually to one size, or towards the back. This means that any conversations that are going on in that space aren’t going to annoy or distract anyone in a quiet zone. For that reason, placing a breakout space close to a collaborative zone is a good idea. 

Modular seating collections are a good idea for a breakout space but you can also look towards office booths and other dedicated breakout furniture for a colourful and inventive feel, with an air of flexibility about it too. 

Touchdown Areas

A touchdown area is really an overrun area of sorts and is ideal for staff who are calling into the office for a short time, i.e. to hand in some work, to send some emails, etc. This is a good spot for remote workers to touch base and for those who are choosing to work out of the office on that particular day, who need something from the office quickly, or on the go.

You can purchase dedicated touchdown area furniture or you can simply utilise multi-functional stand height tables and maybe high stools to give the feel of a quick ‘drop in’ area. Remember, a touchdown area isn’t meant to be a place where staff work from for long periods of time, so it can be more casually furnished as a result. 

Quiet Zones

A quiet zone is, as the name suggests, a part of the office which can be used for quiet work. This is usually work which is done individually and not as part of a team or collaborative effort. Employees can come to this space when they really want to concentrate without distractions. 

It’s a good idea to site this part of your agile workspace away from your collaborative zone, for obvious reasons, but you can use desk pods or acoustic panels if you need to down out any existing white noise or background chatter, to create a more private and focused environment. 

This part of the office should have ergonomic chairs, creating a comfortable and supportive environment, with no distractions to cause a problem. Rather than casual furniture, this part of your space needs to be more structured, so think about a high end office feel, perhaps with executive wood desks for a structured and professional feel. 

Collaborative Zones

The total opposite of a quiet zone, collaborative zones are for chatter, ideas, brainstorming and discussion around subjects which need a team approach, rather than an individual approach. This space should be more casual and more geared up towards creativity and ideas. You could decorate this space in a bright and inventive way, to further push forward creative solutions and ideas. 

Think about collaborative office furniture to aid the process, or if you want to be a little more flexible you could also consider cheap modular office furniture, which can be moved from space to space as requirements arise. 

This space needs to be relaxed but subtly include everything to make ideas flow easier. Height adjustable desks are also a possible addition to a space such as this, as the process of sitting and then standing is known to boost blood flow to the brain, therefore giving a boost of focus and creativity at the same time. 

Meeting Spaces 

It’s likely that your meeting spaces will be separate to your main open plan office, but we will include them here as they do need to be part of your entire environment as a whole, and form an important segment. 

Despite the fact that meeting spaces are usually in a separate room, for confidentiality and privacy reasons, that doesn’t mean they need to be formal and ‘stuffy’. You can decorate your meeting spaces in the same theme as your agile workspace if you please, keeping everything creative and open.Think about circular boardroom tables as opposed to a traditional solid oak boardroom table, as one idea. 

Your conference room furniture can easily be modular, as we mentioned with the collaborative area, and this will allow you to store it away when you need to and move it around too. 

It’s more likely that external clients and customers will be using your meeting spaces, as due to the informal feel of an agile workplace, team meetings are more likely to take place in the collaborative area or in the breakout space. If you do need to hold a formal get together, or there are too many members of staff you need to gather at one time, your meeting area could be the destination.  

How to Conquer Space Issues

Generally speaking, in order for a space to tick the agile boxes, it needs to incorporate all of these areas, however if you are short on space, you can tweak a few and perhaps join them together. The only two spaces which 100% need to be separate are your collaborative and quiet zones. The reasons why really speak for themselves, but it’s entirely possible to join your breakout space and your touchdown space if you don’t have the extra room. 

Depending upon how many meetings you actually have within your organisation, you could also use your meeting as your quiet zone and ensure that you have a robust booking system in place for meetings which need to occur. This isn’t the ideal option, but it’s one which could work if you really do have a small office to work with and you want to be as agile as possible. 

Furniture which saves space could also be a good option to think about here, so opt for a folding table rather than a large brainstorming desk, and think about a foldable sofa, rather than a sofa which is static and can’t be moved. Modular furniture is also idea for small spaces because it is easy to move and also very easy to store away. 

Addressing Employee Resistance

Whilst all of this probably sounds fantastic at this point, there may be one stumbling block – some of your employees may not agree.
It’s normal to expect a little resistance to change, and if you have employees who have been with your company for a long time, they’re not going to want to see wholesale changes to an environment which they’ve worked in for years. This is part of being human and nothing you can blame them for. What you can do however is approach the situation in the right way, and ease the waters of change. If you can do this correctly, you’ll ease tensions and anxiety, and your employees will see the advantages, rather than the negatives. 

The best ways to approach this are: 

• Be open and honest about your plans
• Discuss the agile workplace with your employees and ask for their opinions before any decisions have been made
  – make sure your employees know that at this point, this is just an idea and not a firm plan
• Set up a focus group to come up with the pros and cons, possible ideas, and brainstorm it all together.
  By doing this, you’re involving your employees and they are more likely to feel it is a positive change
• Avoiding making decisions on your own
• Allow employees to watch videos about how agile working can benefit them, and think about inviting someone in from another company who work in this way. This means everyone can sit down and talk with someone who has solid experience, rather than ideas

Transitioning into agile working may take time, but it’s important to remain positive at all times and involve your employees as much as you can. If you can do this, you’ll be able to sidestep any resistance far easier than if you made all the choices on your own and simply told your staff how to work. Remember, morale is vitally important, and how you handle this change could make or break your office morale levels. 

Steps to Creating Your Own Agile Workplace

If you have read this guide and decided that you want to press forward with creating your own agile workplace then the next step is to plan things out carefully. 

Look at the space you have and think realistically about what you can do with it. You could also request a design visit and have one of our professionals come into your office and give expert advice. Most issues can easily be worked around with a little creative thinking, but a few changes here and there may be required. We mentioned a few in our short on space section, i.e. going for modular options and combining areas. 

Once you’re sure about the space you have, it’s time to discuss your plans with your employees. Set up that focus group and ask for ideas. It’s entirely possible that one of your employees will come up with a creative idea which could totally change the outlook of your plans and improve them massively. If you don’t ask, you don’t get! This will also smooth the waters and keep morale high.

Purchasing the furniture you need is also a bit part of the plan. Do your research and look into the best options for your space.
Think outside of the box and opt for useful extras such as desk cable management options, and maybe think about stand height tables, to get everyone active and healthy as a result. Agile working isn’t only about the task and productivity, it’s about increasing your employees’ entire experience of work and their health and wellbeing as a result. 

Changing your decor is something you could incorporate, and that’s to be recommended when moving towards the agile model.
This is supposed to be a bright and creative space, so think about white office furniture, perhaps with bright walls, or maybe go for a biophilic look, bringing elements of nature inside. It’s about creating a space which employees can be proud of, as well as one which is ultra-productive.

Moving from a regular set up to an agile workplace will probably also require training, i.e. explaining to your staff how it works, giving examples, models, having people come in to talk to them and really ensuring that everyone understands the flexible nature of the system. You should expect a period of time where there might be a few hiccups, but over time these will iron themselves out. 

Conclusion

And there we have it! Welcome to the agile workplace.
Our venture into the world of agile working and the overall agile workspace. How do you feel about the whole subject now?

Agile working is making waves in the office world, and that’s for a very positive reason. Moving towards this model will bring a fresher, more creative and focused feel to your space, and will increase morale as a result. Despite that, it is a huge change to face and doing it in the right way is vital if you want to sidestep any potential issues along the way. 

Be sure to take your time, ask for advice and ideas, purchase the best office furniture for your needs, and personalise the whole agile model to suit your business and your employees as a whole. 

Thank you for reading!