How to Turn Your Coworking Space into An Agile Office Space
Coworking spaces hold far more potential than merely stylish decor and ergonomic furniture. They adapt to the rhythm of your team and allow them to shift between collaboration and focused work periods.
Agile workspaces are at the heart of the flexible work setup. This is because they allow employees to choose from various settings to optimise their work environment. Whether it's about time or workspace flexibility, employees can choose what makes them work more efficiently and comfortably.
In an agile office space, workers can choose between working individually through hot desking or brainstorming ideas with their team through a collaborative space with dedicated desks that put workers together. This flexibility and versatility in the workspace boosts agile working and promotes employee creativity as it allows them to work without constraints.
Agile office space offers various work settings to employees to maximise productivity. These include;
| Workspace Category | Description |
| Open Workspace | Designed for collaboration and communication. |
| Quiet Zones | Intended for focused and uninterrupted work. |
| Collaboration Areas | Spaces dedicated to team discussions and brainstorming. |
| Remote Work Options | Allow employees the flexibility to choose between the office and remote work. |
| Flexible Seating | Enables employees to choose different spots daily within the office. |
| Meeting Rooms | Formal spaces for discussions and presentations. |
| Cafe Lounges | Relaxed areas for informal meetings or breaks. |
| Wellness Spaces | Incorporate areas for relaxation or exercises, promoting employee well-being. |
Challenges in Building an Agile Work Environment
Building an agile work environment takes time. It’s a long process that includes identifying your team’s needs for designing an agile office space. Each team operating with distinct business models requires agility to coordinate their work model and demands a workspace environment that caters to their preferences. Challenges such as resistance from employees accustomed to traditional office setups may hinder the adoption of an agile workspace.
People have different preferences when it comes to workspace environments. While some may find fixed desk arrangements conducive to their focused work, others may prefer the flexibility offered by open workspaces. However, too much noise in an open workspace could make it difficult to concentrate, while isolating employees in rigid office spaces may hinder collaboration.
Moving to an agile workspace from a traditional workspace requires consultation with your team and ensuring that you have the necessary resources to create an agile environment. By taking into account the needs of your employees, you can ensure a seamless transition.
How to Design an Agile Office Space Within Your Coworking Space
Creating an agile coworking space should involve strategically aligning the physical environment with numerous agile work strategies. To accommodate diverse work needs, consider offering your team various options, such as hot-desking and dedicated team areas.
Moreover, an agile office space should foster a flexible work environment, enabling businesses to achieve quick results. To promote adaptability, it is important to cater to the current needs of the team while also anticipating future changes in team size and project requirements.
In essence, an agile office space is a dynamic and responsive ecosystem that enhances productivity and supports the evolving nature of modern work.
Here are 5 design strategies you can use to help you turn your coworking space into an agile office space. Keep reading to know how!
Periodically Reconfigure Their Structures
Agile work environments are characterised by the ability to pivot in new directions and reteam for specific projects. This means that workspaces can be transformed from individual workstations to collaborative zones, or vice versa, to better suit a particular project's needs.
Agile organisations can reconfigure their physical structures to align with shifting business needs. If a company experiences rapid growth, the coworking space should be able to accommodate new team members and rearrange workstations smoothly. It is also important to promote flexibility in design to allow for quick adjustments, ensuring that the workspace remains as agile as the business it serves.
By embracing a kit-of-parts approach to design, where elements can be rearranged or added as needed, you can turn your coworking space into an agile office space that evolves in sync with your organisation's objectives.
Accommodate Plenty of Options for Members
Variability is the cornerstone of an agile working office space, emphasising the importance of offering multiple options for individual and group tasks. Whether it's a planned team meeting, an impromptu brainstorming session, or focused individual work, the workspace should cater to diverse activities flexibly.
Consider incorporating open spaces, private pods, meeting rooms, and communal areas to accommodate different work styles and preferences to turn your coworking space into an agile office space. A startup team might benefit from a collaborative lounge area for informal discussions, while a freelance professional may appreciate a quiet corner with individual workstations.
By providing a variety of work settings, you can turn the coworking space into a versatile hub where members can choose the environment that best suits their current tasks, promoting a more efficient and enjoyable work experience.
De-Clutter Your Workspace
Building an agile work environment can feel messy at first, but it's essential to maintain this organised chaos. Consider vertical surfaces with pin-ups, whiteboards, and monitors to ensure an organised collaborative process.
Ensuring accessibility and organisation in these spaces facilitates creativity and communication. Moreover, dedicated areas for visual project management tools and collaborative displays can keep the workspace clutter-free while serving its purpose.
Lastly, consider implementing storage solutions, both physical and digital, to maintain a clean and efficient environment. Striking the right balance between creativity and order is key to fostering an agile working atmosphere.
Promote Agility Through Colors
An agile office space should exude excitement and inspiration, and colour plays a pivotal role in setting the tone of the coworking space. Consider incorporating vibrant colours that energise the workspace and stimulate creativity.
Research suggests that certain colours can impact mood and productivity. Warm colours like red and orange are associated with energy and enthusiasm, making them suitable for brainstorming and collaboration areas where brainstorming and collaboration occur.
Using bold hues in communal areas can create a lively atmosphere conducive to collaboration while calming tones in individual workspaces promote focus and concentration.
On the other hand, cool colours like blue and green promote a sense of calm and concentration, making them ideal for spaces dedicated to focused individual work. By strategically integrating colours into the design, the coworking space becomes a visually engaging environment that enhances the overall agility of its occupants.
Final Words
Coworking spaces are crucial in providing agility that aligns with contemporary working styles in a modern work environment. Office Hub, a leading provider of coworking spaces and serviced offices, recognises the importance of adapting to these changes and offers agile working solutions that cater to diverse business needs.
Whether opting for a managed office or customising a coworking space, businesses can leverage the principles of agile workspace design to create a dynamic and responsive environment that fosters productivity and innovation.
As businesses navigate the demands of a fast-paced world, embracing an agile office space ensures they are well-equipped to thrive in the ever-changing work landscape.
