Agile working and the working environment
Perhaps it was the most used word of 2019; 'Agile', who has never heard it before will inevitably have to deal with it once. A term that even finished in 2nd place in the election in 2017: “Which office word do you want to say goodbye to immediately?” And yet today it is so integrated in organizations that it is no longer possible to ignore it.
But what does it actually mean and what does it yield?
In short, it actually means that you as an organization are flexible and can easily keep up with changes in the environment. These organizations consist of multidisciplinary teams that can act quickly and independently and also have room to experiment. As a team, there is no longer a long-term planning, but always short cycles of a few weeks in which people work on certain 'sprints'. The results of this are assessed and with the feedback it is easy to make adjustments where necessary. To see exactly what your progress is as a team, it is important to work together visually. Sharing information is important here and gives the participants insight into each other's (partial) activities.
How are these principles applied in practice?
There are quite a few different Agile working methods. Some of the most used are:
- Kanban
- Scrum
- Spotify model.
How does this affect the organization?
The shift to 'agile' working requires quite a bit of change from an organization. In the first place from its employees, who are often trained to work (together) in a different way. Also sure of the working environment. Not every organization is furnished in such a way that it is possible to work 'agile' in terms of interior. For example, it is important to take into account the needs of the different teams/disciplines within an organization, so that one can determine what certain spaces to work (together) should look like.
Agile working has been implemented in the many facets of the design. With the aim of supporting different work styles. And that is exactly what should be taken into account today.
Not everyone works the same way and has the same needs. One prefers to work in a closed office, the other prefers an open office garden. By adjusting the design of your working environment to the various working styles that take place within a company, you make it pleasant for the user to work. And if you work pleasantly, this not only increases your creativity, but also your productivity.