Five ways agile workspaces can benefit future business strategies
From attracting talent to flexible space management, agile spaces have long been championed in workplace design. Condeco has highlighted five key reasons why agile spaces are the way forward beyond the pandemic
As vaccines are increasingly rolled out across the globe, it casts a positive light on the journey back to ‘normal’. Of course, things are highly unlikely to return to how they were before the pandemic. Many of the lessons learned around remote and flexible working will last far beyond the pandemic, and so offices and workspaces in 2021 and beyond will have to be as agile as possible.
Creating these agile workspaces is not only critical but can also bring many benefits to businesses deploying them. Five key reasons how agile spaces can benefit businesses in the future are outlined below:
1: Utilise your starting point
You may have already developed a return-to-office strategy to bring some of your employees back into the office. If so, then you will already have spaced out workstations to ensure social distancing, as well as reducing the capacity and providing video conferencing equipment in meeting rooms.
These measures are an ideal first step for an agile workspace set-up, as the basic principles around shared workstations and meeting room reservations have likely already been put in place. As you reopen your office to more people, you can start with this and fine-tune as needed.
2: Deliver the flexibility employees are looking for
Research from Global Workplace Analytics has found that 25-30 per cent of the US workforce will be working from home multiple days a week by the end of 2021. It’s clear, therefore, that ‘hybrid’ working models that blend office and remote work will become commonplace.
Agile workspaces can help make that work without any confusion or disruption to business. Employees can book the workstations or meeting rooms they need, wherever and whenever they need them, and enjoy greater freedom in how they get their jobs done day-to-day.
3: Adaptable to changing needs
When workspaces are shared rather than being dedicated to an individual employee, it means there’s much less stopping them from being moved, repurposed, or even removed if they’re surplus to requirements.
We live in a time when businesses and operations are evolving fast, and when the spectre of regularly changing restrictions relating to the pandemic remain. In these circumstances, the adaptability and fungibility of these workspaces make it easy for your office environments to be reshaped to meet new requirements, without causing any significant disruption.
4: Attracts new talent
Even prior to Covid-19, talented employees looked for good work-life balance and healthy workplace cultures when assessing potential new employers. With 40 per cent of US workers saying they’d experienced burnout during the pandemic, according to Mental Health America, these factors are only going to keep rising in importance.
Being able to demonstrate to candidates that your working model is flexible enough to accommodate their needs and desires is therefore a huge selling point. If candidates know that the existing workforce is highly valued and has been trusted to choose working arrangements that suit their lives overall, they’re far more likely to think positively of your company when applying or interviewing.
5: Easy to manage
Moving workspaces around and juggling a variety of different employee working arrangements sounds like a huge administrative burden. But the fact is that technology can help take care of everything with efficiency and transparency – and not only through a suite of solutions, but through one solution that does it all.
With a cloud-based solution for workspace scheduling, every workspace in a building can be mapped out (and adjusted if need be), and given its own bookable schedule where employees can make reservations in advance. This level of transparency means workspaces are on hand for employees whenever they need them, and this minimises the risk of any real estate sitting idle through lack of use.
On top of this, whatever safety or distancing restrictions remain in place, and for however long they’re still in place for, you can quickly make changes to stay compliant and get the most out of your premises.
