How to transform the workspaces in companies?

The emergence of activity-based working

‍

What is it?

‍

The principle ofactivity-based working, or "ABW", is based on the freedom of employees to choose their work environment according to their needs and activities during the day. Offices are no longer assigned to one or the other: each employee is free to choose the workstation best suited to his or her tasks, which improves productivity. Activity-based working also encourages employees to move around in the space and promotes exchanges and collaborative activities.

‍

To be part of this process, companies must reconsider the purpose of the office and rethink the work spaces.

‍

What are the prerequisites for activity-based working?

‍

Change management

‍

Activity-based working brings many changes and companies have to face several challenges. Here are the main ones: 

‍

• IT solutions: the tools must be both collaborative and secure.
• Human behaviour: we must favour cross-functional management, which is based on trust, and reduce the permanent control of performance.
• Workspaces: while offices need to be reorganized to better suit the needs of employees, they also need to have a choice of where to conduct their business.

‍

What work spaces should be offered?

‍

If workspaces are the basic professional equipment for employees, they are also an indispensable instrument for management.

‍

To ensure the professional well-being of employees and increase productivity, companies must rethink and transform their premises. For example, companies often transform old closed offices into spaces of conviviality or relaxation to dedicate them to collaboration.

‍

The most important thing is to create several zones with different atmospheres to match each need:

‍

• encourage exchanges between teams;
• stimulate creativity (brainstorming session...);
• promote concentration...

‍

The open space: champion of collaborative work

‍

The advantage of theopen space is that it allows employees to share their knowledge and discover the challenges of the company's other businesses. Moreover, by its collaborative nature, it strengthens team cohesion.

‍

Barriers between colleagues or between employees and managers are removed. All members of the company are more accessible. An open space, coupled with new digital tools, limits the isolation that some employees may feel inside a closed and individual office.

‍

The closed office and the phone box for more calm and confidentiality

‍

The ideal workstation is not always in the center of the open space. Employees who are looking for a quiet, secluded place to concentrate will prefer the closed office or phone box. Those who need to have a confidential conversation or hold a business event, such as a client meeting or job interview, will naturally gravitate toward these closed workspaces.

‍

The essential meeting rooms

‍

The meeting room is always useful for employees who wish to meet while avoiding the noise of the open space. It is to be preferred for :

‍

• conduct brainstorming sessions;
• debriefing at the end of a session (brainstorming, meeting with clients...);
• benefit from equipment adapted to the situation (octopus for sound recording...).

‍

Semi-enclosed spaces

‍

With the help of movable partitions, it is possible to create a private space in the center of the open space or to create a passage space (a corridor...). Semi-partitioned spaces encourage serendipity, and therefore collaboration and information exchange.

‍

Spaces outside the office

‍

Coworking, telecommuting... New work methods make daily life easier and give employees the opportunity to break the routine by carrying out their activities outside the company walls. For example, a customer meeting or a seminar can be organized in a coworking space.

‍

The benefits of activity-based working

‍

Activity-based working allows :

‍

• Promote productivity by choosing the right place for the right job, with the right people and the right equipment;
• strengthen collaboration between teams;
• to boost the work dynamic thanks to the change of location.

‍

Studies show that the more the workspace is adapted to the activity of the employee, the higher the mental dynamics. In the end, activity-based working improves everyone's productivity!

‍

Workspace design should reflect the needs and activities of employees. In the office, it is necessary to provide a soundproof meeting room and creative spaces. But by letting your employees work outside the company's walls, you diversify the types of spaces offered and promote their productivity. Activity-based working is a concept that fits perfectly with hybrid work Each space is designed to meet a specific need.