Mobile trial aims to find best spot to do your work
Who says the public service is stuffy and old-fashioned? The Department of Human Services has joined the throng of companies adopting the trendy, activity-based working (ABW) principles in an effort to provide a more flexible work environment.
Instead of allocated seating and desktop computers, employees in ABW organisations predominantly use mobile devices and are seated according to the activity or project they are working on.
The department will trial ABW in its Louisa Lawson building in Canberra.
The trial, which involves 110 staff, is the first of its kind among federal government agencies and puts the department in the same work-style league as Microsoft, Bankwest, KPMG, PwC, Macquarie Bank and Commonwealth Bank.
A DHS spokesman said the variety of work environments now available enabled staff to choose the most appropriate work space from day to day.
Whereas the traditional work environment offered only two work space options - desk or meeting room - staff could now opt for individual desks, focus desks, team areas, collaboration areas and quiet areas.
"The aim of the trial is to encourage cross-collaboration, team interaction, and to give staff the opportunity to learn from others by exposure to different business groups," the DHS spokesman said.
"It will investigate new and alternative ways of working within the corporate office environment with the aim of fostering creativity and innovation."
The work style appeared in the Netherlands 15 years ago but business consultants only recently began suggesting it as a strategy.
Few public service organisations around the world have adopted ABW. The UK is one of those pursuing a similar approach in its civil-service reform plan.
While not a pure ABW approach, the aim in Britain is to allow public servants to move freely between government offices (bit.ly/14IczlA).
The most recent report on the British reform plan notes that this strategy has the "greatest potential to improve civil servants' day-to-day working lives", but little progress has been made.
The British government's chief technology officer, Liam Maxwell, told IT Pro the flexible working strategy would be underpinned by mobile and collaboration technologies, with cloud services critical to its success.
In Australia, human services staff will be given personal and movable storage "caddies" and laptops that connect to a wireless network so they can work from any location in the building.
Other technologies include follow-me printing and voice-over internet protocol (VoIP).
The DHS trial is not hot-desking, the practice in which staff share the same desk or just an open-plan office.
Instead, there will be more work points than staff across a range of settings.
Although activity-based working has been shown to provide benefits in employee engagement and the utilisation of real estate, it is not without its challenges - most notably change management and ensuring that employees support the required cultural and behavioural change.
Without this, there is a risk of employees viewing the adoption of the work style as merely a cynical attempt to save money on real estate.
The University of California San Francisco discovered this attitude the hard way when it faced a backlash from employees (bit.ly/18EHiB7).
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Activity-based working (ABW) is a flexible work style where employees choose workspaces based on the task at hand rather than having an allocated desk. Instead of just a desk or a meeting room, ABW offers individual desks, focus desks, team areas, collaboration zones and quiet spaces, with staff using mobile devices to move between them.
DHS is trialing ABW in its Louisa Lawson building to encourage cross-collaboration and team interaction, give staff exposure to different business groups, and investigate new ways of working aimed at fostering creativity and innovation.
The trial involves 110 staff and includes laptops that connect to a wireless network, personal movable storage 'caddies', follow-me printing and VoIP. Staff will choose work points that suit their activity, with more work points than people across a range of settings so people can work from any location in the building.
No. The DHS trial is not hot-desking. Hot-desking typically means staff share the same desk or work in a single open-plan area. ABW offers a variety of work points and settings, with more work points than staff, so people select spaces based on the type of work they’re doing rather than simply sharing a single desk.
ABW originated in the Netherlands about 15 years ago and has been adopted by major organisations such as Microsoft, Bankwest, KPMG, PwC, Macquarie Bank and Commonwealth Bank. The DHS trial is the first of its kind among Australian federal government agencies.
Reports cited in the article note ABW can improve employee engagement and increase real estate utilisation. For investors, those outcomes can matter because better engagement and more efficient use of office space may affect productivity and operating costs at businesses adopting ABW.
The biggest challenges are change management and securing employee buy-in for the cultural and behavioural changes ABW requires. Without that support, staff may view ABW as just a cynical cost-cutting exercise—an issue the University of California San Francisco encountered when it faced employee backlash.
Technology underpins ABW: the DHS trial uses laptops, wireless networks, follow-me printing and VoIP. The article also notes that mobile and collaboration technologies, with cloud services seen as critical, are key to making flexible working strategies work effectively.
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