26 September 2020
BY BRANDSBRIDGE
AGILE OFFICE FOR THE TRANSFORMED ECONOMY
Agile Workforce Transformation
The Covid-19 pandemic has a significant impact not just on individuals’ lifestyles but on the society and the workforce as well. Twitter, Google, Mastercard, Shopify & Facebook have taken the lead to announce that they have plans put in place to permanently shift their workforce from office-based to remote working even after the Covid-19 is under control.
In Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA”) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) are encouraging companies to adopt the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement by providing Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) till end-2020 to help businesses digitalise to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 situation. We can find more information at https://www.imda.gov.sg/SMEsGoDigital
Transforming your business Post-Covid 19 Circuit Breaker
WFH arrangement is not new and some companies have already implemented some form of WFH, e.g. 1-day a week or twice a month WFH options, even before the pandemic situation. Covid-19 has sped up the adoption of WFH practice, just like the implementation of Home-base-learning for students and Mobile Wallet Transactions for retailers. Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Chan Chun Sing said that WFH for the current office-bound employees will be the “New Normal” in the foreseeable future.
We are in a period where technological advances allow us to work seamlessly from anywhere. As our country rapidly moves into an ageing population, more people might be required to take additional eldercare leave to care for elderly parents, apart from their child-rearing obligations. WFH seems like a solution where both employers and employees reap the benefits of effective time management and lower operating costs.
Agile Office Layout for the “New Normal”
Agile Office (800sft) Layout for 10 to 12 Staff
With most of the staff working remotely, the office will be less occupied and mostly frequented by staff when they need to do the administrative paper work or to use the facilities to do their duties. As the number of fixed desks gets converted to hot desks, the area required to house the entire team before may decrease by as much as 50%. This is a good thing for companies as they will pay lesser rents and other operating costs.
Agile Office (2000sft) Layout for 25 to 30 Staff
Ergonomic Administrative Work Zone
Agile Office (800sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
Agile Office (800sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
Administrative works include, record keeping and filing, photocopy & shredding, printing, bookbinding and etc, where physical work must be performed. This is the most utilised area and with the ongoing safe distancing measures, the space should be spacious, well ventilated with good lighting and working tables are waist level to allow staff to do their tasks quickly and safely.
Small Meeting Rooms
Agile Office (800sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
When staff return to the office, they are there mainly to do administrative work or physical face-to-face meetings. Face-to-face meetings can range from reviewing samples, brainstorming, and generating mind maps with team members or witnessing the signing of documents with clients. The demand for the usage of meeting rooms will be high. The number of participants will be around 4 to 5 persons, so compact meeting rooms with the sizes of about 10 -12 sqm will be adequate.
Hot Desks and Lockers
Agile Office (800sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
Agile Office (800sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
Since the staff comes back less often, it is redundant to assign permanent seating for everyone. Instead, staff can use the hot desks whenever they are back in office and they will have their own lockers to keep their belongings. Hot desking encourages staff to move around to socialise, which is important since they will see their colleagues less often. The office will be tidier because staff needs to pack up at the end of each day instead of leaving their things around.
Partition Workstations
Agile Office (2000sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
Measures to keep the spread of Covid-19 at bay will mean that open-plan offices will be phasing out, which was the trend for many offices before the pandemic. High partitions and cubicle work desk for office-based staff provide more privacy and safe barrier from the adjacent users. Having more privacy means that productivity will increase and the time staying at the office will be shortened.
Work Pods and Quiet Rooms
The office will be a refuge for a quiet place to do webinars or important calls without the fear of being interrupted. Not every staff will have a conducive place at home for work that requires total privacy, so work pods or quiet rooms will be necessary for them. These single user rooms double up as a de-stress or quick rest compartment for the welfare of the staff.
Break Out Area
Agile Office (2000sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
It is an open space for employees or visitors to relax, eat their lunch and socialise, that is separate from their usual working area. With the ongoing safe distancing measures, dining outside is prohibited, but staff will still need a comfortable and safe place to have their meals and relax.
The break out area functions as an additional space for working or informal meetings and collaborations. Recently, more companies have been paying attention into creating an enjoyable break out areas as it is a form of investment to the staff’s wellbeing.
Elements of an Agile Workforce
An agile office is designed for maximum usage flexibility and it empowers employees to work anywhere they want, choose how they work and when to work. The Company will need to create the right space, policies, and technology to support the new agile workforce.
Agile Office (2000sft) Perspective by Brandsbridge
There is no one size fits all solution and BRANDSBRIDGE has successfully designed and transformed many offices into agile workplaces. We can manage the project from the start of the design phase, to coordinating with 3rd party vendors, e.g. Client’s IT vendor, project management of the construction and assisting our client to move into the new premises.
If you wish to wish to redesign your current office into an agile workplace, you can call us at 6259 3522 or email at hello@brandsbridge.com for a discussion.
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