When a new innovation hits the news, we hear nothing but praise. That same occurred when we first heard about the agile workplace.
This is a type of office design which focuses on the task. Employees would then move around the office, choosing where they want to work according to where they are able to complete the task to the best of their ability.
If you know anything about the agile workplace you’ll know that it has zones. Most agile workplaces have:
- A quiet zone
- A collaborative zone
- A meeting area
- A touchdown area
- A breakout space
These five zones create the ideal workplace for almost every task.
Or do they?
Is the agile workplace really all positive, or are there any negatives to the agile model?
Of course, everything has a downside, and the agile workplace certainly costs money to put together from the start. However, there’s no denying that it’s a great office design once in place and once your employees understand how it works properly.
Check out this TED Talk video which explores agile working in more detail.
If you’re thinking about potentially creating an agile workspace you probably have many questions you want to answer beforehand. Is it going to work for you? Will your employees respond in a positive way? Will the cost be a good investment or not?
It’s true that the agile workplace doesn’t work for every business but for most, it’s a worthwhile change. Finding the best office furniture to create an agile model is vital. This means you need ergonomic office furniture in your quiet zones, so nobody is suffering from aches and pains as a result of an uncomfortable office chair. You should also think about innovative breakout furniture in your breakout space, to allow your employees to be creative and come up with new ideas whilst collaborative and to chill out when they need a quick time out. Of course, you also need to have plenty of space in your collaborative areas themselves, so employees can walk around and brainstorm, perhaps with stand height tables thrown into the mix too.
The agile workplace takes some planning. You need to think about the space you have and how you can best utilise it. You also need to think about how much furniture you need to purchase and how you’re going to arrange it.
Because this is such a big change, you also need to discuss it with your employees beforehand, so they don’t feel like you’ve dropped a huge change on them and they’re struggling to understand how it works for them. By discussing such changes with your employees, you minimise any damage to morale and you help them to feel valued. This has major benefits for productivity too, and that’s always a good thing!
If you’re considering moving towards the agile workplace way of life, it’s a good idea to plan things out carefully beforehand. Discuss with your employees, work out the budget you have, and identify the types of zones that will suit your type of work best. Just because the traditional agile workplace as five zones, doesn’t mean you have to have them all!