STRATEGIC PARTNERS AND PATRONS
Why agile working is good for business
Mary Keeling (pictured), Business Development Manager at Chamber patron Blueprint Interiors, explains to Business Network the concept of agile working and why it could be good for your business and the wellbeing of your people.
Companies that adopt an agile working culture look to embrace maximum flexibility and minimal restraints. They empower people to work when and how they feel is best through a mixture of clever office design and relevant technologies, in order to give teams the tools they need to work efficiently. But agile working encompasses
more than that. Agile working is about bringing people, processes, connectivity, technology, time, and place together to find the most appropriate and effective way of working to carry out a particular task. It is working within guidelines but without boundaries of how to achieve it. It can be massively beneficial
from both a wellbeing and financial perspective, as it empowers people to work when and how they feel is best. Let’s take a look at how it can be beneficial to the wellbeing of your employees:
FLEXIBILITY Working in an agile way often means having the flexibility to work when and where you prefer. This self-determination allows more freedom than being restricted to one environment for doing every task. Not to mention the fact that the environment might not be equipped for every task. If a person’s job allows it, giving
the flexibility for them to choose working hours within a given
timeframe, or offering several workspace options, can create a more enjoyable, efficient and productive work experience. Offering this choice gives your people more autonomy, and the opportunity to thrive.
INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY As we’ve already mentioned, agile working can promote productivity. And who doesn’t want a productive team? Alongside wellbeing, it’s at the core of agile culture and, for obvious reasons, can significantly improve ROI for companies. Research has found that 67% of
‘agile businesses’ reported a significant boost in their productivity. In some cases, it was increased by up to 20% – which is an efficiency boost most businesses would be very pleased about.
TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION If a person works in a stimulating environment suited to their needs, feels empowered to choose the way they work best and are succeeding because of it, they’re probably going to be less likely to look for a job elsewhere.
‘Research has found that 67% of ‘agile businesses’ reported a significant boost in their productivity’
Create an environment and
culture that caters to employee needs in life and at work, and you’re going to create a more enjoyable place to work. Less time and money can be spent on the hiring process, and efforts can instead be focused on enhancing the wellbeing of current employees.
INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY Creativity is notoriously hard to foster. Being in a new setting can encourage new trains of thought, which can help with finding new and creative approaches to the same problem. This is why providing a variety of
spaces for people can be so good for wellbeing. There’s nothing more effective than empowering someone to do their job to the best of their ability. And no better feeling than being empowered to do so.
SMARTER WORKSPACE UTILISATION Embracing agile working requires careful consideration of how your space is best used, as well as creating a culture that embraces this approach. This might mean creating spaces for tasks in your office that didn’t
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previously have dedicated space. Or changing the way your people choose how, when and where they work. The good news is that technology
makes this easier than ever before as the same space can be equipped for different uses, and people can connect from practically anywhere. For example, we find that most
offices have some under-used desk space of some sort. Very often, technology, furniture and acoustics can be used to transform these redundant areas to provide new and valuable workspace. So, it’s always worth taking a look at how you’re actually using the spaces in your workplace and if they can change to benefit people more than they currently do. By taking a step back to define
the requirement first, our workplace consultancy approach helps to create a workplace strategy which often identifies the potential to work in an agile way, either reducing the demand for square footage or by maximising the space already available by adopting new working practices. The aim is to ensure sustainable cost reductions can be achieved and that business aims and ambitions are supported by the working environment.
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