Every business wants to find the right way of working which increases productivity. Why? Because when productivity increases, so do profits, and profits are what drives every single business to make a decision or otherwise. 

If you don’t have the right office system in place, your business is going to perform in a sub-standard way. Surely, as a manager, you want to find the key which unlocks the door to business growth and increased profitability?

There are many different office systems you can look into, such as hot desking, remote working, activity based working, but agile working is certainly one which is turning the head of many a business. 

What is Agile Working?

Agile working means you have an office space which is divided up into zones and within those zones, employees can decide to work from wherever they want. This flexibility means employees can collaborate with different colleagues, they can choose a space which suits the task they need to complete, or you can dedicate different teams to each area and encourage collaboration and movement between them. 

It’s an innovative and forward-thinking way of working, and one which many businesses are using to great effect. WordPress and Dell are two companies who use agile working and embrace the flexibility of this type of system. Check out the TED talk video below which gives a bit more information on the subject.

Now you know what agile working looks like, do you think it’s the right fit for every single office?

There is no system on the planet that is going to be the right fit for every office because every business is different and contains different personalities who respond in a unique way to certain challenges and methods. In that case, you need to think carefully about whether agile working is the right fit for your business and certainly discuss the idea with your employees before deciding to opt for it. Consultation is key here. 

A small office may struggle to accommodate the different zones which make up the traditional agile workspace, however, a large office will certainly find this aspect easier. 

It’s also possible that your employees may struggle with the idea of agile working at the start, but this is where idea sharing and consultation comes in handy. You can’t simply drop an idea on your employees and expect them to like it, you need to explain and show them why it might work well for them and the business alike. The same goes for other office desking systems, such as hot desking. This is a system which has a bad reputation, but it’s also one which works very well for many businesses, including some big-name brands. 

At the end of the day, agile working is a very popular option and one which is a suitable option for many businesses. Could it be the answer to your productivity woes? Possibly so, but you need to think carefully before making any bold moves. Perhaps you could trial it for a while and see if it’s something which would work; this doesn’t mean changing your entire office design and implementing zones, but it does mean perhaps asking your employees to try out a model which is similar for a few weeks. Again, you will need to do this with their involvement and discussion in order to avoid any morale problems that might be otherwise caused. 

If you have a small office and you still want to try the agile working model, you can do this on a smaller scale. Perhaps having an agile mindset rather than an actual agile workplace is the answer. Encouraging collaboration and having a slightly smaller area for quiet work could be a good piece of middle ground to try. 

Whatever your feelings about agile working, it’s definitely something to consider.