Work is something you do ... not somewhere you go!

The trend toward activity based working (ABW) seems unstoppable and for good reason - the economics. You can typically increase floor-space per employee by around 50%. However in my experience there are 4 keys to making it actually as good or better than traditional workplace set-up.

1. Leadership. Define "working flexibly" carefully and then really implement that, like you mean it. This is firstly about the managerial concept of work and working and culture. Its tied up with trust. If you have managers who define flexibility as "you can work 2 desks away but not 3", then it will struggle from the start. This usually means all desks are up for grabs at all times and often there is a "camping window". This means that if your are going to be away from the space for more than, say 3 hours, then you take your stuff. It also means truly accepting that people can work anywhere - including at home. All this needs to be laid out in clear policy terms ,and crucially, sanctioned, lead and lived by the executive group first and foremost. It means the executives need to pull each other up if any one is slipping back to traditional ways or thinking. It also means you have to address the way execs and EA's operate together which is often a justification for why everyone else can work flexibly but "we" have to be near each other.

2. Get the technology right. You can only work flexibly if you can - which means everything needs to be mobile, fast, interconnected, and that meetings can be virtual. When ABW goes wrong the technology is often one of the culprits.

3. Goals have to be clear and measurable. No room for grey - what is each person going to deliver this week, this month. That's why ABW goes well with agile thinking. It means shifting your concept of work from input to output oriented - "I don't mind HOW you get stuff done, but you have to get stuff done".

4. You have to make team time a priority because the old ways relationships were developed and built (organically, chatting casually, being around each other) are not there in the same way. So on-boarding becomes important and specific times for team catch-ups must be prioritised - and be mandatory even if virtual. The "team scrum" becomes crucial and needs to be fast and fun.