Agile Working Benefits
Agile working represents a shift in how businesses are structuring themselves and how they are choosing to perform. This evolution is fuelled by business needs and shifting societal attitudes and is facilitated by advances in technology. However, unlike Flexible working which tends to be centred around the employee, Agile working is centred around the employer whose strategy is to improve overall business performance and drive down costs.
Rather than focus on a fixed place of work, such as a designated desk in a designated office, Agile working places the emphasis on the work that needs to be done, irrespective of where the employee might perform their duties. As such, success is no longer measured against traditional KPI’s, such as time and attendance, but is orientated towards results and performance.
Agile working doesn’t necessarily mean working away from the office, on the road or at home. Agile could mean that a business space has been designed for efficiency and performance with hot-desking, break-out areas and zones that might be themed and range from formal to informal. There is no one size fits all and what Agile looks like for one business may well be different to another.
Agile Benefits for The Employer
- Greater workforce productivity
- Improved quality of work
- Increased Innovation
- Cost reduction associated with running and maintaining premises
- Cost reduction associated with owning real-estate
- Cost reduction associated with absenteeism
- Cost reduction associated with vehicle usage and commuting
- Scalable workforce to match demand
- Potential to extend business working hours
- Ability to attract and retain staff
- Increased motivation and engagement of staff
- Cost reduction associated with staff turnover
- Greater business continuity
- Ethical business with a reduced carbon footprint
Agile Benefits for The Employee
- Increased capacity to perform
- Improved health and wellbeing
- Time and money savings associated with the daily commute
- Money savings associated with absenteeism
- Improved work-life balance
- Greater happiness at work
- A feeling of being in control
Agile Benefits for The Planet
- Reduced carbon footprint associated with business premises
- Smaller business premises leaves more room for greener spaces
- Reduced carbon footprint associated with the daily commute
- Less commuting means less wear and tear on our roads and transport systems
- Reduction of consumption that is bad for the environment i.e. sandwich wrappers and disposable coffee cups
- Less printing which means less paper and ink
- Focussed responsibility for environmental efficiencies
Health, Safety And Ergonomics
The health and safety of employees, and duty of care while working, is a major responsibility for a business. This is a relatively easy thing for an employer to do at a designated workstation. However, it becomes more difficult when employees are working in a more Agile fashion. Agile workspaces need to be designed with health and safety and ergonomics at the heart of the process to ensure a diverse range of staff can work efficiently and comfortably. Are the office desks height-adjustable? Are the office chairs suitable for a variety of users? Are there ergonomic accessories such as laptop stands readily available?
For employees that work off-site, it is equally important that their equipment is fit for purpose and that due consideration has been given to their health and safety. A risk assessment should be performed to ensure employees are not putting themselves at risk of an injury or accident?
You can get in touch with Back Care Solutions to discuss assessments of your staff and you may also want to consider ergonomic equipment like that which is contained in our Agile Working Go-Kit.
