People claim ‘agile working’ improves wellbeing and productivity. But where is the proof and what do we actually mean by the term ‘agile working’ anyway?
In order to answer these questions we decided to team up with the world’s largest furniture manufacturer and hold a mini-conference in Manchester entitled ‘De-Mystifying Agile’. We also invited a cross section of Manchester’s business community to help us explore the latest challenges and opportunities posed by this relatively recent phenomenon.
Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker, Anisha Patel from Steelcase Furniture, explained that digital transformation has been changing the way organisations approach their business models. Historically structured around individuals or functional departments, today’s workplace is shifting to a team-based collaborative process in a race to be more innovative, more competitive and more effective as a business.
Anisha Patel from Steelcase Furniture
What is meant by ‘Agile’?
Anisha made the distinction between being ‘agile’ from an IT software development perspective and working physically in an ‘agile way’. She used the example of “scrum teams” which on-line retailers such as Amazon use to develop software solutions. These companies operate in a technically complex and rapidly changing business environment. They need staff from a range of disciplines to generate fast-paced, collaborative solutions in order for the organisation to survive. Incremental innovation is key.
She went on to explain how working in an agile way like this can influence the design of the physical office space as well as the furniture within it.
According to Anisha, agile organisations such as Amazon and Google employ a variety of collaborative working methods including 15 minute “stand-ups”, “team sprints” and “scrums”. These demand a far greater variety of workspaces than more conventional businesses which rely more on functional work groups and more linear work processes.
In some extreme cases, project teams within agile organisations are given the freedom to configure their own discrete areas of the office so that they can adapt their space according to their changing needs in real time.
Guest Interview
To help explain some of the practical challenges and opportunities that agile working presents, we invited award-winning former BBC TV journalist, Andy Johnson, to interview a long-standing client of TAG, Irwell Valley Homes’ CEO Sasha Deepwell.
Sasha recently oversaw the introduction of agile working into her organisation. This process involved merging three existing office locations into one new site which is roughly half the size of the previous three offices combined.
Andy Johnson interviews Sasha Deepwell, CEO Irwell Valley Homes.
‘Why Agile’?
Sasha described the dramatic improvement in employee engagement as perhaps the greatest benefit. According to Sasha her organisation had suffered in the past from poor productivity and a feeling of entitlement amongst certain employees. This had manifested itself in presenteeism and a never-ending stream of meetings that went on for far too long and achieved very little.
The move to agile has meant greater levels of trust and personal accountability have had to be adopted right across the spectrum. Staff have been equipped with state-of-the-art technology and have been given the freedom to work in ways that they feel are right for them. But they have also had to embrace greater levels of personal accountability. The new “quid pro quo” appears to be working.
Having said this, Sasha conceded that the changes did not suit everyone but that this was leading to some natural wastage as the organisation strives to become more dynamic and customer centric.
Have there been any immediate financial benefits?
Sasha explained that one of her other key drivers in moving to agile was financial. She described how hundreds of thousands of pounds had been saved.
Most of the savings were due to the new office being half the size of the three locations staff had been based at previously. This has allowed her to invest in creating a far more attractive and stimulating work environment for staff whilst at the same time, reducing the organisation’s annual property spend.
Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?
When asked what she might have done differently, Sasha admitted that she might order fewer meeting pods and sofas if she had he time again as these were being under-utilised. However, as she was quick to point out, it was still relatively early days and as colleagues gain more confidence in the new methods of working they might well come into more frequent use as time goes by.
What were the highlights of the project?
Calmer atmosphere in the office due to less ‘stuck in traffic’ stress and the removal of office phones!
Lack of paper combined with lack of storage leading to a far ‘cleaner’ environment
Seating and workstations more task appropriate which has improved staff welfare
More collaboration and a noticeable reduction in internal emails
Democratic feel with no perks in terms of desk size, private office space or designated car parking
Better work life balance control
More open culture - physically and psychologically
Reduction in meeting times due to fewer meeting rooms and a more agile approach to innovation
Flexible office space is a massive bonus – e.g. able to host an all colleague conference in one large space
What were the greatest challenges?
Change curve: new office; new technology; new habits
Developing a trust-based culture: challenges particularly for some managers and teams
Everyone taking responsibility for answering the door, emptying the dishwasher and other ‘housekeeping’ activities
Moving from parent/child to adult/adult can have teething difficulties and some people can find their comfort and confidence dented
Very little use of ‘booths’ – perhaps over-catered for these and too many sofas!
Less face to face interaction with some people, which may mean over-reliance on emails as less predictable where people will be and when
Question & Answer Panel
Representatives of the event sponsors along with the two main speakers took part in a Q&A session. This allowed members of the audience to have their own questions about agile working addressed.
Panel Q&A
Does agile working improve productivity?
The Q&A panel’s first question was perhaps the most pertinent but as Martyn Markland of TAG was able to point out, the connection between the physical work environment and employee productivity has proved immensely difficult to prove in the real world due to the sheer number of variables involved.
The Leesman Index is currently the leading source of data on employee satisfaction within the office environment (see www.leesmanindex.com). A number of major corporates are therefore using it to benchmark productivity within their organisation. However, as Martyn explained the evidence of such studies has not yet been published.
Anisha Patel of Steelcase also explained that because agile working can refer to more than just the physical environment we have to be careful about what we mean by the term and thus, what it is we are seeking to measure productivity against.
What types of building best suit agile?
Martyn Markland of TAG explained that in his experience, agile working is best suited to modern, deep plan space rather than shallow rectilinear floor plates synonymous with most 1960’s and 1970’s UK office blocks. “This is especially true where 100 or more staff need to be accommodated on a single floor. This is because an agile layout functions best when the walking distances between different activity zones are minimised and sight lines can be maintained throughout the majority of the space.”
Martyn went on to describe how Irwell Valley were keen to create an environment where everyone felt connected. As a result, traditional buildings with central cores and two or more wings had been discounted at an early stage of the search process. The building that Irwell have moved into is a typical example of “deep plan” space with 30 metres between the external envelope and the internal core. This makes it highly flexible in use and ideally suited to an agile space plan.
If you would like advice on agile working and finding the best space to accommodate it, please call Martyn Markland on 0161 457 1422 or email him at mm@tenantag.co.uk.