How To Develop An Agile Office Space

Developing an agile office space is ultimately about improving how your team uses your workspace. Agile office spaces were initially designed to streamline IT projects that require forward-thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration for success.

With traditional office design, employees are assigned a specific space where they are expected to work. In an agile office space, areas are designated for particular projects and tasks instead of specific workers. As a result, agile workplaces make it easier to complete projects that are comprised of multiple smaller tasks rather than long assignments.

Nearly 80 percent of business executives believing that future offices will be structured more around projects than job function, agile working spaces are revolutionizing how organizations think about productivity.

Agility in the office is about empowering your team with the freedom and flexibility to use spaces as they see fit. Because of that, there’s no wrong way to go about, so long as you’re encouraging your team to use space freely. So let’s take a closer look at some agility strategies you can start implementing in your workplace.

Agility Strategies You Can Utilize Today

Encourage Openness

Encouraging movement and connectedness is a fundamental aspect of any agile working environment. Simplify your work environment as much as possible before adding walls, incorporating furniture, or closing off spaces. While you don’t want a barren office, your team needs the freedom to move around your space and locate collaboration partners quickly.

Incorporate Stand-Up Meeting Spaces

Agile office spaces prioritize short stand-up meetings rather than drawn-out seated meetings. Standing up during meetings encourages collaboration, active listening, and concise communication. Adding higher tables to your workspace can encourage your team to stand up while meeting, leading to more effective and efficient meetings.

Balance Working Areas

While agile offices make plenty of room for collaboration and communication, some tasks require quiet, focus-oriented spaces. So make sure to balance collaboration areas with quiet areas so your team has the ability to work in a space that’s most conducive to the task at hand.

Cultivate a Creative Culture

If you want to promote a more innovative approach to problem-solving, you need to cultivate a creative culture in your office environment. After all, that out-of-the-box idea may lead to a new way of doing things that sets you apart in your industry. Office design elements that facilitate a creative environment include:

• Plants

• Natural light

• Vibrant color patterns

• Pin-up boards

• Whiteboards

• Monitors

The tone and “feel” of your space are fundamental to shaping how your team works and the ways they approach projects. Agility is about creativity and flexibility, so your office space should be a reflection of those priorities.

Stay Agile

At the end of the day, agile office space is just that: agile. Don’t get too fixed on your workspace over time. That only results in constricting the freedom with which your team can use your office space. Remaining flexible and open to new strategies about how your organization can best use space is essential if you want to use agile office design to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow while thriving today.

Schedule Your Free Workplace Audit

Schedule your free workplace audit today if you want to start exploring how your team could benefit from transitioning to agile office spaces. We’ll work with you to assess your current work environment and pinpoint strategies to help your team use spaces more effectively.