Managing the Agile Workforce, a guidebook presented by Advanced Workplace Institute

Advanced Workplace Associates (AWA) and the Advanced Workplace Institute (AWI) has assembled resources to share with facilities managers and real estate professionals to help in these challenging times as workers and companies manage the Coronavirus and its workplace impact.

The AWI developed a guidebook, Managing the Agile Workforce, in association with the Center for Evidence-Based Management. The 48-page booklet, created in 2014 and reproduced in 2019, explores the march toward virtual working that has become a global reality in the space of one week.

The AWI Research Group undertook a review of academic research relating to the management and operation of virtual workforces with a view to identifying the best understanding and advice in relation to the operation of agile/virtual teams.

The drive for virtual working has come as a consequence of increasing pressure on companies to be more responsive to change, reduce their operational costs and respond to staff desires to have more say over when and where they work. Within the definition of ‘virtual working,’ AWI embraces:

• Working in different physical locations (base office; other company location; 3rd party or partner location; home; on the move; café; hotel etc.);
• Working in different time zones (where organisations use different territories to follow the sun or to recruit the best resources from specific market places or service geographic markets);
• Working at different times (shift patterns, job share, compressed hours, flexitime, part time)
• Geographically distributed teams AWA and the Centre for Evidence Based Management (CEBMa) undertook a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of available research in order to provide Sponsor organisations with the best evidence to guide their own management and virtual teams in best practice techniques and approaches.

The guidebook has been produced to provide a detailed understanding of the various aspects and concepts studied, giving practical guidance on each aspect. Here is a summary of the Sections – allowing the reader to follow their own areas of interest and focus:

Please click to download Managing the Agile Workforce from Advanced Workplace Institute.