There is one question that is almost always asked by people who are interested in Activity Based Working (ABW). That is, "How is it operated, managed, and spread within the company?" ABW is not something that ends once the visible environment, such as the office and IT environment, is completed. Rather, that is the starting line. After the start, whether workers can work while feeling Advantage and whether improvements can be made for a better way of working depends on the system that promotes the new way of working.
This time, I would like to introduce some of the organizational structure of our company and the activities we are engaged in. Although our efforts are still lacking in some areas, there may be some points that can be used as reference for office operations other than ABW and for spreading new workstyle concepts unique to our customers.
Operation and improvement by two cross-departmental organizations
At our head office, operations and improvements are carried out by two cross-departmental organizations, the "XORK Neighborhood Association" and the "XORK Style Promotion Committee." The "XORK Neighborhood Association" is made up of members selected from a wide range of departments in the office, and is primarily responsible for formulating and publicizing rules and operating methods in the office, enforcing them, carrying out improvement activities, and making proposals to management and supervisory departments based on these activities. Our company has been conducting "neighborhood association activities" in its offices since 2004, and the activities of the "XORK Neighborhood Association" follow that tradition. Members of the Neighborhood Association also play a role as ambassadors, raising awareness among their respective departments.
Meanwhile, the "XORK Style Promotion Committee" has two major missions. The first is to understand the current state of working styles themselves beyond the boundaries of office space, extract issues, and consider measures. The second is to generate new business ideas from the experience of putting new working styles into practice. The latter is a role unique to our company, whose mission statement is "Designing tomorrow's 'work'." In line with this mission, the committee members are made up of ① corporate staff from human resources, general affairs, information systems, etc., and ② planning and development staff who create new businesses, and they actively exchange opinions without barriers.
Although the roles of the XORK Neighborhood Association and the XORK Style Promotion Committee are slightly different, they often share a common understanding of issues and work together to share information and communicate with workers as appropriate.
Pulse survey responding to major changes in work styles
One of the main initiatives of XORK Style Committee is to understand the current state of working styles through surveys. Currently, a "Post-Relocation Questionnaire Survey" is conducted once a year to measure the effectiveness of the move compared to the results before the move, and pulse surveys are conducted once every two to three months to gather the opinions of workers.
The pulse survey covers a wide range of topics. Immediately after the transition to ABW, we focused on the theme of paperless work to understand the factors that prevent people from moving around the office while working. Since the COVID-19 pandemic led to recommendations to work from home, we have seen an increase in topics such as the status of its implementation, the working environment for working from home, and anxiety about returning to the office. In order to tackle a new way of working that is unprecedented in Japan and to respond to the drastic environmental changes brought about by the pandemic, we felt that we could do nothing without understanding the situation of workers from various angles.
Asking the same questions periodically and observing the progress of results is very important from the perspective of grasping the current situation and measuring effectiveness. However, in today's situation where working styles are rapidly changing to keep up with the times, we believe that efforts to collect the information needed at any given time more frequently are also essential for smooth operation.
Conducting orientation for workers
The results of the surveys conducted are tabulated and the results are shared with workers by posting the results on the company intranet. However, it does not stop there. Once or twice a year, at a milestone, we set up a forum for information sharing titled "XORK Style Orientation". Examples of the content of these meetings include: sharing the results of the most recent survey results, sharing recognition of achievements and challenges resulting from changes in work styles, and informing employees of the rules for operating within the office to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
Before the pandemic, these events were held in XORK 's cafe space, but now they use Teams' live event function, allowing people to participate in real time or watch a recording at a later date.
It is also important to follow up with new employees and workers who have been transferred
Additionally, XORK Community creates and posts handbooks explaining how to use the office, including ABW operations, for new employees and employees who have been transferred from other locations, and holds regular information sessions. However, just listening to an explanation can be hard to get an idea of how to apply it to your own work practices. This is where the "team agreement" initiative, which we also introduce in this column, proves effective.
Each team discusses how to welcome new members in advance, so new members are not suddenly thrown into a new office without knowing anything. Many teams have rules such as "working nearby at set times for a certain period of time," so they can gradually get used to a more flexible working style. In the process of regularly reviewing the "team agreement," any problems new members may have with the way they work can also be caught. The XORK Style Promotion Committee encourages each team to review the "team agreement" at times when there are many personnel changes.
After making such a big change in work style, the most important thing is how to continue and spread the change within the company, and the right answer will differ depending on the organization. Our ABW consulting service will utilize the knowledge of Veldhoen, which has been implementing ABW for over 30 years, and will support you through the operation of the system. If you are interested, please download the materials here and contact us.
