Description

As part of the transition to a new office space, an Activity Based Working (ABW) environment was formed in 2017. Through observation and natural movement as a result of COVID-19, ABW has been overlayed with hybrid working, revitalizing what was pre-COVID and acknowledging a change in the daily work week. With the two approaches working together, it forms connections between individuals, teams and departments.

Who

Identified through the Senior Leadership team and in partnership with the People and Culture team, a policy was created for implementation across the organisation.

How

With the policy activated, individuals had the option to utilise any available workspace throughout the building. This would see an area full of people, representing a number of teams across the organisation. Through conversation, familiarity and intrigue, relationships and connections were made organically.

The policy formed part of the initial induction for new starters, and with leadership backing, and alignment with the organisations cultural values, the expectation was set from the start.

Outcome

Although still in its infancy, the organisation is also already seeing more agility and progressiveness amongst teams. The use of the employment engagement survey will be the key to identifying its on-going success.

As part of an upcoming ‘ways of working’ project, whereby the organisation will be reviewing what is working and what is not, the idea of potential “Neighbourhoods” are being considered, where closely aligned teams from all service levels are grouped.