Flexible office spaces are workspaces designed to offer businesses and employees short-term office rental arrangements. As opposed to traditional office buildings with long lease agreements, flexible workspaces often see people using them on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. Backed by some of the best hybrid workplace solutions, these flexible spaces are helping organizations to collaborate with their team more efficiently on a global level.
As work patterns change, many companies are turning to flexible
workspaces as a solution for agility and cost efficiency. These shared spaces
also foster collaboration, teamwork, and camaraderie among employees, yet some
common misunderstandings surrounding flexible workplaces make space utilization and adoption harder
than necessary.
What Is a Flexible Workspace?
While the idea of a flexible workspace may sound straightforward, its implementation involves much more than placing some beanbag chairs by the coffee machine. A successful flexible workplace must provide employees with both collaborative, agile working areas and quiet, focused areas so that each can do their best work when and how it suits them best. Such flexibility can be achieved using highly efficient space planning software and thorough consideration of available space and resources.
The flexible workspace should be designed to support meetings of various sizes, from brainstorming sessions to large-scale presentations. These spaces should be managed using space management solutions to offer the best possible experience to the team, enabling them to harness flexibility for the utmost productivity. These areas should feature light seating with plenty of power outlets available and quiet zones providing much-needed respites from noise in other parts of the space.
Flexible workspaces make it easier to adapt as the needs of your business shift, offering greater adaptability as needs shift and evolve. This can be especially advantageous during rapid growth or expansion since you won't pay for unnecessary space that won't ever be used. They provide businesses that need to cut back costs during difficult economic times with an effective solution without long-term lease commitments to reduce space requirements without incurring penalty costs.
Furthermore, teams should make use of modern technologies like space planning software in their workspace to facilitate modern team collaboration, such as projectors and whiteboards, videoconferencing equipment, and more. This can especially prove invaluable for teams working remotely or with clients or external workers. The ultimate aim of having a flexible workspace is to enable the team to work beyond any restrictions, be it with space, time, or even technology.
Organizations need to provide suitable office spaces that accommodate
these hybrid workplaces in order to support employees who choose either onsite
or remote work options. This means having flexible meeting spaces like phone
booths and huddle rooms as well as designated work areas like quiet,
collaborative zones and regions. In this article, we'll discuss some of the
effective ways you can use flexible office space in your hybrid workplace for
the utmost productivity and enhanced team collaboration.
Read along to learn more
about How to use flexible office space in your hybrid workplace:
Use Technology for Space Management
Office spaces were often mismanaged in the past. Workspaces would remain empty throughout the day, while meeting rooms only saw occasional usage. With hybrid workplace solutions, however, space utilization can be optimized by employing seat scheduling software that informs organizations which desks are free and when. Not only can this type of technology enable flexible seating arrangements, but it can also simplify meeting bookings and processes for people working onsite and offsite.
The use of the right hybrid
workplace technology is something crucial to making the hybrid work model
successful for both teams and individuals alike. By providing employees with
technology for brainstorming sessions or videoconferencing, these types of
spaces allow employees to feel like part of a cohesive unit even when working
remotely at times. Furthermore, these areas serve as informal gathering places
where colleagues can gather for quick chats or unplanned strategy sessions.
Simplify the Meeting Booking Process
One of the greatest challenges associated with hybrid workplace models is managing an ever-evolving need for space. Workplace leaders should keep tabs on usage statistics related to meeting rooms, desks, and offices for an accurate assessment. With the help of some best-suited hybrid workplace solutions and meeting booking tools, leaders can significantly help their teams stay up-to-date about meetings, enabling them to stay focused on what's necessary.
With the help of the latest hybrid
Workplace technology, decision-makers will gain insight into when spaces
are most occupied and when they sit idle. Pairing this data with desk booking
information gives them a complete picture of how their workspaces are utilized.
Alternatively, large meeting rooms that remain unutilized while teams work
remotely during the day could be divided into smaller collaboration areas that
allow employees to work in person without interrupting others.
Consider Coworking Spaces
Although companies should consider potential drawbacks when transitioning to a hybrid work model, it's also crucial that they recognize its unique benefits. A hybrid workplace that has been properly designed using space planning software can increase productivity, reduce distractions and foster an onsite sense of community among employees. One approach is using shared or coworking workspaces for on-demand meetings and collaboration.
These spaces are typically situated near employee homes or city centers
for easy accessibility without long commutes; additionally, many of these
facilities feature amenities that support the well-being of the employees, such
as lounge areas with meditation rooms and wellness programs. One way to
maximize space utilization is
through meeting scheduling software that tracks when employees are working
remotely or at their offices.
Support Remote Work
Flexibility may be the norm these days, but it's also vitally important that we maintain support for remote work. This requires providing each employee with all of the equipment needed to work from home, such as ergonomic desks, large monitors, and reliable Internet connections. Fostering teamwork and collaboration between remote employees is also essential and can be achieved in various ways, such as virtual water cooler sessions, company all-hands meetings, or peer-to-peer learning exchanges.
Positive feedback by company employees in a hybrid workplace plays a
vital role, which can be achieved via different means such as high-end
integrations, efficient hybrid workplace
solutions, and ensuring utmost employee satisfaction. Post Covid_19, many
companies have stopped providing remote work facilities to their employees; it
is still one of the biggest flex organizations that brag about attracting
brighter minds to their organization globally.
Use Adaptable Workstations
People working onsite need somewhere comfortable to settle into their day - make this easier by providing adaptable workspaces such as huddle spaces and special wellness areas like standing desks or yoga classes. Appropriate space utilization is highly important when it comes to adaptable workstations. Flexible workspaces can be effectively managed by space management solutions, which can alleviate much of the hassle and expense of running an office.
Making your hybrid work model successful relies heavily on having the
appropriate workplace tools. These include hybrid
workplace solutions that allow you to coordinate schedules and find an
acceptable time and place for everyone. It also allows people to reserve desks
when needed while leaving them available for other uses during other parts of
the day or week. You should also access workplace analytics for greater insight into
how their workplace is utilized.
Consider Having an Open-Plan Design
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, employee expectations of
hybrid work continue to increase. Employees desire the flexibility of remote
working while still benefitting from in-person colleagues' support and company
culture - prompting CRE leaders to assess how workplace functions, including
office space management, can be leveraged to meet both requirements. However,
with the right hybrid workplace
solutions in place, business leaders
can achieve this goal effectively.
Open layouts make an excellent option for hybrid workspaces, as they're
highly adaptable and encourage collaboration across teams. Unfortunately,
making the switch can be challenging for employees who struggle with noise and
distractions - however, acoustic solutions and design solutions may provide
relief.
Hybrid workspaces require having multiple work areas, from coworking
spaces in the main office to satellite offices and huddle rooms - so workers
can easily find what suits their specific needs.
Benefits of Flexible Office Space in Your Hybrid Workplace
Flexible office space offers employees a variety of work locations.
This might include adaptable workstations for hot-desking and social areas with
comfortable seating and sufficient natural lighting. Employees with access to
flexible spaces are more likely to meet productivity goals while cutting
overhead costs by requiring fewer desks and offices per employee.
Flexibility
Employee productivity increases when employees have the freedom to choose where and how they work. They may choose from private offices for calls or presentations or collaborate in meeting rooms to work through ideas together. Furthermore, they can move among break areas, quiet zones, and collaborative spaces until finding one suitable for each task. Flexible office space can also help companies reduce expenses by decreasing the need for dedicated space.
Leveraging workplace analytics generated by some of the proven and
data-oriented space planning software,
it is possible to establish whether employees are working onsite or remotely
and make informed decisions regarding how much physical space will be required.
Collaboration
One of the major difficulties associated with working in a hybrid working culture can be finding ways to collaborate and communicate with coworkers within one office space. Employing flexible and hybrid workplace solutions solves this issue, as the space can be shared among multiple organizations or employees at any time. Flexible workspaces also provide lounge areas that facilitate employee connection and promote ideas.
Companies seeking to create flexible workspaces should include
collaboration areas, lounges, and breakrooms designed to encourage
communication and productivity. Such spaces should have comfortable seating
arrangements with power sources and high-speed internet.
Efficiency
Employees that feel they have access to productive workspaces at any time are better able to meet productivity goals. Flexible office space also provides common areas that enable team members to spontaneously collaborate on meetings, workshops, or brainstorming sessions away from individual workstations. Furthermore, this type of flexible design may feature relaxing areas with comfortable seating that encourage employees to take breaks and develop relationships in the office.
Flexible workspace solutions make it easy for employees to quickly
locate open desks when needed compared to office hoteling systems, which
require them to reserve spaces ahead of time. They also enable facility
managers to better comprehend office space
utilization data for improved efficiency.
Conclusion
Having flexible space in your hybrid workplace can help your business scale faster by eliminating upfront capital investments for new locations. It can help you reduce the number of workers that must be present simultaneously, which in turn lowers overall occupancy costs. In addition, hybrid workplace solutions and tools should also be made available, which provide full workplace scheduling solutions for managing desk and meeting room bookings while keeping an eye on utilization metrics - among others.
Offering flexible workspaces improve employee morale and overall job
satisfaction - something particularly helpful for companies employing large
numbers of remote workers as it gives them more control over their working
environments without interruptions typically found in traditional offices.
Teamwork in the workplace leads to higher productivity and happier workers - so the more teamwork facilitated, the better it will be received by both your workforce and yourself!
AUTHOR BIO
Melvin Wallace is the Marketing Manager at MyRendezvous, a leading workplace management solutions provider. With a strong marketing background and a deep understanding of modern business needs, he is passionate about optimizing workplace experiences. By leveraging expertise in workplace technology, he develops effective marketing strategies, educates businesses on the benefits of workplace management systems, and shares valuable insights through blogs and articles.