Bricks

Bricks – buildings and new ways of working

People would like to work more from home. Estimates range anywhere from 10% to 40% more, depending on the type of company. So, what happens to the office? Creating spaces and facilities for activity-based working is the answer. Done properly, it leads to greater social and cultural cohesion, stronger engagement and enhances the value of your employer brand.

What is activity-based working?

In short, activity-based working, or ABW, is an opportunity for companies to rethink how the way in which they work contributes to their vision and objectives. It recognises that people perform different activities each day. As a result, the working environment, technology and culture directly impacts people’s ability to do this work.

‘Anything’ goes

In terms of buildings, or bricks, ABW creates options for your employees as to where they want to work, how, and with whom. In principle, anything is possible. Cafés, libraries, on the road – these facilities need to support the work activity as effectively as possible. If you believe people need to come together frequently because that stimulates engagement, decision-making or innovation, you must create an office space that facilitates this with the right facilities, the right culture and the right identity. On the other extreme – if your activity is no more than bringing together supply and demand, perhaps you need no office at all.

Whatever you do, your office has to create the setting that allows a culture of connection, inspiration, accountability and trust – four key features of new ways of working.

What are the benefits?

One of the best practices for maximising employee engagement and productivity is the element of personal choice: choosing where we work, when we work, how we work, and with whom we work.

On a personal level, ABW makes it possible for individuals to organise their work activities productively and enjoyably. In ways that best suits them and with whom they need to work. It transforms work into something people feel empowered to do, rather than somewhere they have to be.

On an organisational level, ABW directly influences organisations to reduce their physical space requirements, increase flexibility and empowerment of their staff, embrace fit-for-purpose technology, accommodate a changing workforce headcount and work within an appealing, up-to-date workplace that will help to attract and retain talent.

In practice

There are three key areas to address when introducing ABW.

The physical space – the bricks – is designed specifically to accommodate the different types of work performed in the organisation. You can introduce specific design elements to support collaboration, process work and focus work. If working remotely, your staff need the right equipment.

ICT’s role is enhanced in an ABW environment. Up-to-date and functionally appropriate ICT is crucial to promote mobility and flexibility for all staff.

Collaboration and the way in which people engage in work will be different. The way people work shifts towards more autonomous, conscious behaviours based on trust and empowerment to create a mobile, productive workforce.

What are the risks?

The biggest risk of implementing ABW is not doing it right. Too often organisations see Activity Based Working as a natural progression to a more modern workplace strategy without understanding what is involved and why. The most common risks:

• Treating ABW implementation as just a refurbishment of the current space
• Not enough resources being allocated to managing the change
• Underestimating the necessity of serviceable ICT in an ABW environment, especially during the implementation period
• The first time that facilities management, IT and HR teams are working together in an integrated way

These risks can result in: budget adjustments, timeline changes, staff unrest, and, ultimately, that the investment into the new way of working has no major impact.

If you’d like more information on how to introduce activity-based working in your workplace, please contact me.