flexible working
IncreaSIng effIcIency Through SmarTer workIng
Public sEcTOR
The governmenT
workplace of The fuTure
RAPiD EXcHANGE
The IrreSISTIBle rISe of
moBIle emaIl devIceS
FATHER FiGuREs
why SupporTIng famIlIeS
IS good for BuSIneSS
foreword
Flexibility Seminar
2010 – the year of flexible working
Total Smart Working
2010 will be the year when organisations seriously embrace flexible working. The recession has
focused minds on the need to do more with less – and that is what flexible work is all about. – the integrated
Doing more means being more effective. Flexible working can get you closer to customers.
This can be by overcoming the boundaries of distance by using new technologies, by having
approach to Flexible
a more location-independent workforce, and by working at times that are better for your
customers.
Working
Flexible working also enables your employees to be more effective, helping them to achieve
February 24th 2010
a better work-life balance. It enables companies to align working practices with both business
9.30-3.30
need and employee aspirations. It can help to reduce absenteeism, and improve recruitment and
Westminster
retention. And it’s about being more effective while using fewer resources.
The smart and flexible organisation has lower property and facilities costs, as staff work
the seminar covers:
more effectively from a range of locations. It uses less paper, moving processes online. And it
• The future of work in government
reduces the amount of travel, both business travel and commute travel for staff. This means
• Setting up flexible working environments
reducing the carbon footprint of the organisation, and doing more for the environment.
• How to bring together HR, IT and property
The articles in the following pages provide examples of flexible working in practice, and the
to maximise the benefits
benefits that the smart and flexible organisation can achieve.
• Employee benefits
• Case studies
• Flexible working solutions on show in
exhibition area
Cost: £150. early bird price £120 before January
contents 25th
Further details on www.flexibility.co.uk
P03 Public sector: how do government workplaces look in 2020?
P04 Technology: the diverse business benefits of mobile email devices
PARtNERS:
P06 Small is profitable: using a variety of workplaces will increase productivity
P10 Father figures: why helping families is good for business
P12 The green view: flexible working solutions that will cut your energy use
PublisHER: Bradley Scheffer, brad@lyonsdown.co.uk EDiTOR: Andy Lake, andy.lake@
flexibility.co.uk cREATivE DiREcTOR: Andy Sweetman, andy@lyonsdown.co.uk PROJEcT
MANAGER: Daniel Wienburg, Daniel@lyonsdown.co.uk • PRODucTiON MANAGER: Nikki
Dudley, nikki@lyonsdown.co.uk
For more information on any of our supplements please contact by:
T : 020 8349 4363 • W: www.lyonsdown.co.uk• E: info@lyonsdown.co.uk
LYONSDOWN MEDIA GROUP, 22-23 ARCADIA AVENUE LONDON, N3 2JU
Government
Workplace
2020
How will flexible work make a difference to government workplaces?
By Bridget Hardy, Head of High Performing Property Strategy and
Implementation, Office of Government Commerce
T
he year is 2020: the landscape of energy it uses. The challenge is to do that while social interaction shows how strong relationships
government work is transformed. delivering citizens the public services they need can be built with few if any ‘real life’ meetings.
Traditional associations between work and now and in the future. In the future ‘going to work’ will not just mean
place have gone. The link between person Responding to this challenge will need turning up at an office but also ‘tuning in’ to the
and desk has been broken, and in so doing many a radical new approach to integration across network.
people in the public sector across the regions now government departments and between central By 2020 we will be used to working in virtual
have access to better quality space and resources. and local government. It means breaking down places with hosts of people we may or may not
A flexible and sustainable estate has evolved barriers and working, literally, ‘beyond walls’. It have met. I can see a time where the virtual
saving money and giving employees more freedom won’t always be easy for individuals and leaders place becomes the constant - ‘the office’. It will
of choice over where and how they work and live. to understand, adopt and manage these changes. be the place we go to meet our colleagues and
Flexible distributed working is commonplace. It will need open mindedness and a visionary customers, where we know and are known by
Public sector workplaces are strategically placed approach to flexibility. But the process of change others, where we have our work and identity.
within an integrated network of large campuses, has started. Meanwhile the physical places we choose
small on-demand spaces plus transient public and In the UK and US there is great government to work in will become more diverse, more
private places – all interconnected via ubiquitous enthusiasm for so-called ‘Gov2.0’ – using the web distributed and our occupation of them more
wireless connectivity, mobile devices, and real-time to conduct the business of government. Solutions transient. This combination of virtual and
interactive networks. are also emerging to facilitate flexible distributed radically transformed physical workplaces makes
This vision of the future of government working, to connect people, promote a sense of up the government office of the future.
workplaces is from Working beyond Walls, belonging and enable collaboration. These changes will be hugely challenging but,
the Office of Government Commerce’s 2008 The best work almost always comes out I believe, essential and inevitable. Government
guidebook to transforming government of teamwork and the excitement of working must reduce its use of resources, it must reduce
workplaces and modernising the way the public with others to a common goal. Excellent public costs, it must continue to recruit the best people,
sector works. services will more and more rely on cross-sector it must modernise the way it delivers services.
The pressure to modernise, economise and collaboration and engaging diverse opinion and The next 10 years will see the public sector
become more sustainable has never been more expertise. But meeting people ‘in real life’ is no needing to be more innovative and flexible than
urgent. It is essential for the public sector to cut longer so essential, especially for routine tasks. ever.
back significantly on the amount of space and The growing popularity of real-time multi-media
Working with organisations as diverse as barclays, balfour beatty,
Wrigley, Glenmorangie and the public sector we have:
• changed the culture • increased performance and efficiency
• saved accommodation costs • improved Work-life balance
Benefits to customer service and the bottom line are outcomes for the well-managed, flexible organisation.
contact us for a FREE consultation to assess the benefits you can achieve
E: lynette@swiftwork.com T: 01580 201661 W: www.swiftwork.com
Productivity
on the move
The explosion of mobile email devices has
generated a diverse range of business benefits,
writes Jessica Twentyman.
The West Yorkshire Police
access the national crime
database while on patrol
F
or many people, mobile users, despite difficult economic Blackberries while they’re patrolling are too small and ‘fiddly’ to write
email is a habit they conditions worldwide. the streets of Bradford, Leeds or long emails or successfully navigate
couldn’t give up if they But today’s customers - whether Huddersfield. browser screens, a company called
tried. And why would they’re companies or consumers In fact, it’s fair to say that Celio believes it has an answer. Its
they want to? After all, the ability - don’t buy the device simply for access to email while on the RedFly product is essentially an
to send and receive emails from email, insists Rory O’Neill, RIM’s move has done much to whet integrated keyboard-and-screen that
their mobile device means that director of solutions and alliances appetites for access to other kinds plugs into a smartphone, enabling
they can stay productive and in marketing. They’re using it as a of collaboration tool, says Andrew the user to circumvent usability
touch with colleagues, friends and platform for accessing a whole Millard, UK marketing director of issues and offering eight hours of
family, whether they’re standing in a world of different applications he Citrix Online. “There’s a whole new battery life in a lightweight format.
queue at the supermarket, downing says - whether that’s ‘poking’ their way of working that has opened “Sometimes, you just don’t
a quick cup of coffee between friends on Facebook or submitting up in recent years and, as a result, want to carry a laptop with you
conference sessions or waiting for travel expenses directly to their there’s a general expectation that on a business trip. You don’t need
their flight to be called. company’s back-office financial efficiency and productivity doesn’t the horsepower and you don’t
In 2009, the number of people accounting systems. “Email may necessarily take place within the need the excess weight, but you do
who access email from a mobile be where corporate users start,” four walls of an organisation’s want better ease of use,” explains
device hit 139 million worldwide, he says. “But where they go from physical offices,” he says. Chretien Minke, Celio’s general
according to figures from US- there is simply a matter of business That’s the thinking that has manager and vice president for
based market research company, need - there’s a staggering diversity guided Citrix Online’s development EMEA.
the Radicati Group. By the end of of applications out there that you of GoToMyPC, which allows In November, Celio announced
2013, they expect that figure to can access with a Blackberry.” employees to access their office- a partnership with RIM, so that
have topped 1 billion. Take Warburtons, one of the based PC - including all email, files, the RedFly device now plugs into
Canadian company Research UK’s top five grocery brands, where programs and network resources Blackberries as well as Windows
in Motion, manufacturer of the managers can approve purchase - from any other Internet-connected Mobile devices. For those who
Blackberry, has done much to fuel orders for raw materials used in the computer, in any location. The can’t or won’t master the art of
that growth. In the last decade, company’s bakery products even GoToMyPC PocketView feature, cranking out emails at lightening-
it has shipped over 75 million when they’re not at their desks. Or meanwhile, enables desktop access fast speed on their Blackberry
devices to a subscriber base of West Yorkshire Police, where officers via mobile devices. Bold, the RedFly could provide a
some 36 million people worldwide. can access data held on the national And for those users who welcome gateway to more pervasive
Last quarter alone, RIM signed crime database, the Police National complain that the screen and productivity.
up 4.4 million new Blackberry Computer (PNC), via their keyboard on their mobile device
004 flexible working An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group
Clocking off
Productivity, not presence, is the best way to
measure the contribution employees make to
their organisation, writes Jessica Twentyman.
U
K business leaders are utilising including their own homes. Using GoToMyPC
remote working technologies to from Citrix Online, they can view, access and
tackle head-on the increasingly use all their files, applications and email as if
old-fashioned notion that the most they were sitting at their desk, while avoiding
valuable contributions come from employees the rigours of a daily commute across London at
who sit at their desks in corporate offices for peak times.
40 strictly-scheduled hours per week. In fact, The technology has been instrumental in
bosses who continue to insist that people go to ensuring the company can maintain a highly
work at the same time and stick to a set routine flexible, talented workforce, says Rob Chew,
may actually weaken morale and business RadioWorks’ media director. “Flexibility is
performance, according to Graham Jones, essential to business success for us, and through
Internet Psychologist. “People generally don’t like GoToMyPC, we can provide our employees with
being told how to run their life,” he says. “They the work-life balance they are demanding, while
feel their boss is controlling them and therefore operating a competitive business that instills
are actually less motivated.” By contrast, he says, loyalty from our staff, boosts productivity and
bosses who equip staff with the technological promotes client satisfaction,” he says.
means to work flexibly and remotely reap the But remote access to a corporate PC is only
benefits of a more committed, goal-oriented one part of the picture for employees working
workforce. from home, on the road, or at a customer or
That view tallies with recent findings partner site. Citrix also offers a web conferencing
from a November 2009 survey conducted by
Citrix Online, a leading provider of remote
work technologies, to coincide with National
Commute Smart Week. Almost two-thirds of
“Flexible working can cut churn
respondents (62 per cent) reported that they are rates for employers, allowing
sick of the daily commute and want to reduce
the time they spend travelling to and from work. them to retain the best talent”
The most popular solutions proposed by those
polled include home working (34 per cent), and collaboration suite, so that these employees
varying start and finish times (22 per cent) and can still attend online meetings (GoToMeeting),
using technology to enable flexible and remote view webinars (GoToWebinar), participate
working (32 per cent). in high-definition audio conferences (HiDef
Smart bosses are listening - and for sound Conferencing) and create and share recorded
commercial reasons, says Andrew Millard, content with their colleagues (GoView). And if
director of e-commerce for EMEA at Citrix they run up against a technical problem while
Online. “Flexible working can cut churn rates working remotely, GoToAssist provides an easy
for employers, allowing them to retain the best way for them to reach out to skilled helpdesk
talent, maximise their productivity and ensure staff to fix it.
THE sTRicT 40
a motivated workforce as we come out of the These are affordable, easy-to-use HOuRs PER
recession,” he says. In 2009, economic upheaval technologies that help businesses of all sizes WEEk ROlE is
and concerns over business continuity in the face provide flexible working options to their bEcOMiNG OlD
of a global swine flu pandemic conspired to give workforces quickly and easily,” Millard says. FAsHiONED
the UK PLC’s ‘culture of presenteeism’ a sound They will be ideal solutions for the many
beating. In 2010, he predicts, forward-looking businesses interested in embracing new and more
companies will continue to invest in remote flexible ways of working in 2010, while keeping
working technologies as a means to navigate the a sharp eye on cost and complexity.
recovery.
Radio advertising company RadioWorks is For further information:
set to be one of them. It’s already placed flexible Call: 0800 011 2120
working at the heart of its company culture, Visit: www.gotomeeting.co.uk or
by giving employees the flexibility to connect www.workshifting.com
to their office PC and work from any location,
An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group flexible working 005
Smaller spaces,
bigger business
To achieve the best productivity, businesses
should operate from an increasing variety of
workplaces, writes Andy Lake
Organisations can now
expand into smaller
space. Growing the
company does not mean
growing your premises
W
ith the increased commuting distances and the expanding into and using work hubs – either
mobility of work desire to work from home or a local leSS SpaCe government-owned or third party
comes some key office.* Organisations can now expand – will be one of the big stories of the
questions. What According to Mark Dixon, into smaller space. Growing next 10 years.
are offices for? Why are they located Chief Executive of Regus, “Work the company does not mean The advantages of shrinking
where they are? And what is the is becoming something you do growing your premises. In the and outsourcing offices are clear.
point of having offices that are half from anywhere, from the most worlds of planning and economic It’s a harder task to set the wheels in
empty all the time? appropriate place, wherever you can development, they are starting to motion. It requires understanding
After salaries, offices are the be most productive”. refer to this as ‘spaceless growth’. where, when and how people work,
biggest cost for organisations. In a The most appropriate place As we emerge from recession this and how this can be changed.
traditional office with an assigned could be in a central office. But will be an increasingly important It involves changes not only to
desk for each employee, space audits today it is just as likely to be at a concept. property and facilities, but also to
typically find average occupancy local office, at home, on the move, Small businesses as well as technologies and – perhaps most
rates of 45 per cent or less. A staff at the nearest touch-down centre, corporates can benefit from this tricky of all – the assumptions and
survey will typically show that over in cafés, hotels or at client sites. In flexibility of place. 41 per cent of workplace culture that underpin
80 per cent of staff want more this context the role of the office businesses are home based. 60 per traditional working practices.
flexibility in where and when they changes. It becomes more a centre cent of new businesses start up at The organisations that take an
work. And around 60 per cent are for collaboration, and for access home. But home is not the ideal integrated approach to workplace
keen to work from home 1-2 days to specialist resources. The days place for business meetings. A local change will be able to maximise the
per week, or in an office closer to when offices consisted mainly of work hub is the most appropriate benefits on all fronts – cutting costs,
home. ranks of fixed desks is fading away. place for meetings in a professional increasing effectiveness, increasing
Research by Regus plc, Smaller offices that are hubs for setting, accessing facilities such as employee loyalty and improving
the leading provider of flexible larger groups of people are the way printing, or tapping into ‘virtual environmental performance.
workspace solutions, has found forward. office’ services. Being able to
that the length of employees’ Key to making this happen is use a network of hubs has many * For more on this research, visit
commute journeys is closely linked that organisations do not own all advantages for both small businesses www.flexibility.co.uk.
with company loyalty. The further the spaces in which employees work. and corporate employees on the
someone lives from the office, Some are personal (the home, or move.
the more likely they are to think car) some are public (cafés, or public These ideas are also finding a
seriously about changing their transport) and some are shared (the hearing in the government sector.
job. And analysis of workplace local work hub). Reducing the cost of government
surveys shows a strong link between offices by having flexible working
006 flexible working An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group
Celio Corp
REDFLY Mobile
Companion for
BlackBerry and
Windows Mobile
Smartphone
The REDFLY Mobile Companion is not a According to IDC, shipments of Converged smartphone’s shortcomings. REDFLY delivers to
computer; it’s simply a large screen and full Mobile Devices (smartphones and wireless the mobile workforce a solution that unleashes
keyboard for a smartphone. With the REDFLY, handhelds) will grow from 124.6 million in the power of the mobile device by providing users
smartphone customers now have the ability to 2007 to 376.2 million in 2012 (3/08). These expanded visibility and access to their device.
increase their productivity typing long emails, powerful devices bring a capable computing
editing documents, browsing web content, experience to sleek pocket-size designs with access For more information, visit: www.celiocorp.eu
accessing existing smartphone applications as well to applications on the Internet and corporate or email: info@celiocorp.eu
as SaaS based applications at a lower cost and networks. The smartphone continues to evolve
better user experience. into the primary mobile computing platform,
REDFLY will assist you in extending the providing access to all of a user’s applications and
use of your BlackBerry or Windows Mobile data, but it lacks three fundamental aspects — a
infrastructure whilst realising the benefits of large screen, touch-type keyboard and all-day
mobile and agile working. battery life. REDFLY addresses all three of the
Flexibility to support
the growing business
A case study in flexible office space
“You also
need an
accommodation
provider that
can partner
you in being
fast-moving and
forward-looking”
M
ore than ever in the current “If you think about a business in its infancy, The flexibility to grow was Scott Beckson and
economy, companies need to it needs flexible accommodation, not long leases Simon Smith’s first reason for using Regus
focus their energies on their core that tie it into the same place for years. You serviced offices. The second was their desire to
business. The way they use space also need an accommodation provider that can focus on managing the business, rather than
and organise their working practices should be partner you in being fast-moving and forward- managing property.
an enabler of business success, rather than being looking,” emphasises David McDowell.
a drain on resources or a factor that limits their Vital to Investigo’s growth has been the
reach. availability of offices that fit its current scale and
One fast-growing company that has taken the future ambitions. When Investigo has wanted
flexible approach to office space is Investigo. It to increase headcount, Regus has provided more
specialises in recruitment in the fields of finance space. When it has wanted to expand into new
and change management, working with leading areas, Regus has provided high-quality bases
blue-chip companies. Between 2003 and 2009 close to clients and candidates. Had Investigo
Investigo’s turnover rose from £600,000 to over been locked into an inflexible five-year lease for
£28 million, putting it in the ‘Virgin Fast Track an office for just 15 people, the story and rate of
100’ list for the past three years. And it has grown the company’s growth might have looked very
from 15 to over 60 staff. different.
Several elements account for Investigo’s Initially, Investigo based 15 people in the Part of Investigo’s formula for success is that
success, says Managing Director David Cannon Street offices. Then, as the company as many staff as possible are fee-generating. It
McDowell. With a background in recruitment, continued to expand, it moved to another Regus follows that the company should outsource or
founders Simon Smith and Scott Beckson saw office – New Broad Street House – in the heart minimise non-fee-earning activities.
there was potential for a recruitment company of the City. When Investigo expanded into the “No more than a handful of staff do
where experienced staff could work in a more Home Counties, Regus provided new bases in back-office work. The great majority, even the
creative and autonomous environment than Guildford and St Albans and Reading. directors, are fee-generating. They’re focused
many were used to. The flexible work culture is Investigo uses other facilities at New Broad externally – on clients and candidates – not on
supported by a flexible approach to space use. Street House as and when it needs them. These running an office,” explains McDowell.
include a videoconferencing studio, and extra Using Regus offices means that Regus
Flexible aCCommodation meeting and conference rooms. manages everything from front of house and
In August 2003, Scott Beckson and Simon Smith audiovisual technology to maintenance and
moved their young company into Regus serviced managing the buSineSS, not the security – leaving Investigo’s own staff to focus on
offices in Cannon Street, London, and they have property their own areas of expertise.
stayed with Regus ever since. Their reasons were To add further flexibility, Investigo has started
twofold: they wanted office accommodation that to use the Regus’ Businessworld solution. This is
could expand in line with their own growth. And a smart card that offers walk-in access to Regus
they wanted to focus on managing and expanding business lounges and offices all over the UK,
the business, rather than managing property. supporting mobile working.
008 flexible working An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group
Q&A Q&A Q&A Q&A Q&A
tim dwelly mark dixon
director of live/Work network global Ceo of regus
Q: iS Flexible Working good For buSineSS? Q: What trendS are you Seeing in global
A: Few people realise that over 40 per cent of all UK businesses are now WorkplaCeS?
home-based: that was revealed in a DTI survey in 2005, well before A: The way people work has changed enormously in recent years, and as
the downturn. And in fact two thirds of all UK homeworkers are the survivors emerge from this latest global recession, new patterns are
self employed. So arguably it isn’t employees but those who work for emerging. At Regus, we observe these changes at first hand. Two thirds of
themselves who are the flexible working pioneers. They have lower costs our 500,000 customers don’t have a physical office. This is probably the
and waste less time and carbon commuting. single biggest recent change to have happened to the world of work. New
technology has made it possible for millions of people to work wherever
Q: iS home an appropriate plaCe to run a buSineSS? they want, and naturally enough, most of them choose to work where they
A: Self-employed people must think so as most make this choice. But are be that home, traditional office or in an alternative workspace such as a
you can also run a somewhat bigger business from home by using business lounge or café.
subcontractors or freelancers rather than staff. This is flexible working
at its purest - in hard times there is no need to make anyone redundant Q: What are the real beneFitS to Flexible Working?
or close offices. And when times are good, it’s easier to expand a website A: Flexible working has many real benefits; property costs can be reduced
than a warehouse. However, homes aren’t designed for work. That’s by up to 60 per cent, carbon footprints can be reduced through decreased
why live/work property is so important for those who want to expand commuting and improving office occupancy efficiency, productivity can
or professionalise. Live/work is designed for both working and living. be increased whilst employee stress levels can be reduced, and importantly
Our UK live/work property finder website is free to use and will tell you individuals work life balance can be improved.
more: www.liveworkhomes.co.uk.
Q: What do you belieVe to be the
Q: What about the doWnSideS Future oF the oFFiCe?
oF home-baSed buSineSS? A: I believe the traditional model of the office is dead. In a few years’
A: Two main challenges are isolation and low visibility. Home-based time many companies are going to look radically different as they rethink
businesses can be ‘under the radar’, hidden from business support and the way they recruit, train, motivate and deploy their workforces. Take
from each other. For this reason they need places like workhubs (the commuting for example: In the future our children will reminisce about
business equivalent of a gym) - a facility they can use to network and our daily commute to the office in much the same way as we recall life
collaborate with others, book meeting space and perhaps used shared without the telephone. The new flexible workplace will be at the heart of
equipment. We are currently doing research for the government on that change, it will be a better, more rewarding world of work, reflecting
workhubs, with a survey of hub users on our website www.workhubs.com. the way people want to live their lives.
In the new low carbon economy, I expect to see live/work properties and
workhubs become a common part of the landscape.
www.liveworknet.com tel: 0800 142 2342
Web: www.regus.co.uk
An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group flexible working 009
Good for families,
good for business
The government’s measures to support families
at work are encouraging more comprehensive
flexibility policies.
The majority of fathers say
that taking time off leads
to them playing a greater
role in caring for their
children
flexible working open to them – maternity leave outstanding. Some
though only 30 per cent are actually of the leave may be paid if taken
O
using it. The most common forms during the mother’s maternity pay
ver the past few years, There’s a growing awareness that are flexitime and working from period.
the government enabling staff to have a better work- home but options could also include
has taken a leading life balance is good for business, as different start and finish times, parental leaVe
role in supporting it encourages loyalty and increases part-time working and compressed Parents also have the right to up to
parents and carers at work. The job satisfaction. With the average hours. The overwhelming majority 13 weeks unpaid Parental Leave.
‘right to request’ flexible working, cost of recruiting a new member (96 per cent) of fathers who were The new Parental Leave Directive
and new paternity, maternity and of staff around £6k, it makes working flexibly value their working agreed last November will increase
parental leave options have been sense to accommodate employees’ arrangements. Two thirds of all parental leave to four months.
introduced to support parents aspirations for a manageable fathers consider the availability of Member States will have two years
at work - including fathers. It’s balance. flexible working to be important to make the changes. Also if there
good for families, good for equality The most forward-looking when looking for a new job. is an unexpected family emergency,
– and good for business too, says employers go beyond the minimum. The vast majority (91 per cent) eg a child falling ill, employees
the Department for Business, Rather than have a reactive policy of dads now take time off around can take a reasonable amount of
Innovation and Skills. of responding to requests, they the birth of their child and the (unpaid) time off to deal with
Working fathers and mothers have developed comprehensive majority of fathers say that taking the emergency and put other care
with children aged 16 and under flexible working policies for all staff, time off leads to them playing arrangements in place.
have the right to request flexible not only parents. Taking a more a greater role in caring for their The combination of these
working. This right is also strategic approach enables them children. Currently fathers can take leave options and flexible working
available to parents of disabled to maximise the benefits, such as 2 weeks paid paternity leave at a provide employees with a range of
children under 18, and to carers of reducing property and travel costs. standard rate of £123.06 per week. options to balance work and family
dependent adults. More than 10 Many also benefit from contractual life.
million employees are eligible. Father FigureS paternity leave or may also take
This ‘right to request’ enables Flexible working is sometimes annual leave. For further information
parents and carers to propose portrayed as a women’s issue, and Now extensions to paternity visit www.direct.gov.
flexible working arrangements. indeed it is contributing to women leave are on the horizon. The uk/workandfamilies or
Employers must seriously consider achieving greater equality. But men government plans to introduce a www.businesslink.gov.uk/
the request and can only refuse if are also seeking a better balance and new right to Additional Paternity workandfamilies
they have valid business reasons. looking to play a more significant Leave and Pay for fathers of children
According to the 2008 CBI role in caring for their children. due from 3 April 2011. This would
Employment Trends Survey, 95 per According to the Equalities and give fathers a right to up to six
cent of all requests from working Human Rights Commission, almost months’ leave which can be taken
parents are agreed. half of fathers have some kind of if the mother returns to work with
010 flexible working An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group
Flexible Business Technology
We know flexible working can work for the PepperIT, specialist flexible working technology objectively review all the options and provide
employer and the employee, reducing costs consultants, dispute this. Managing Director, the most appropriate solution.
and increasing business potential. Yet only Rob Pearson says “It’s a fallacy. Five minutes
Pearson says “Flexible working is about
40% of small and medium sized businesses searching the web proves there’s an abundant
working anytime, anywhere. If SMBs don’t
(SMBs) allow employees to work from home, range of cost effective solutions enabling
adopt the technology they will lose out to
compared with 76% of large companies. businesses to collaborate from remote
their larger competitors.”
So why are SMBs missing out on this locations.”
opportunity? You can find how PepperIT has helped
PepperIT has an impressive track record
other businesses on their website,
A major reason is the perception that the deploying cost effective flexible working
www.pepperit.com/flexible.
technology to enable effective flexible technologies in SMBs. PepperIT use a simple
working is too expensive. According to a new methodology. First, identify what the business
independent survey commissioned by Citrix could gain from flexible working. Then identify
Online only 43% of SMBs have the technology the technology that best fits the bill. Because
in place to allow flexible working. PepperIT are completely independent, they can
The green view
Flexible work enables companies to be more
effective while being less resource-intensive.
Andy Lake outlines the key factors for making
working practices more sustainable.
The typical office desk is
occupied for less than 50
per cent of the working
day
Other studies have found that green initiatives, and the imperative
this greater awareness in the home to ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’.
environment translates to home
offices. The carbon footprint of the Counting the Carbon
“Doing more with less” has always Department for Transport’s Smarter homeworker is generally lower than Implementing flexible work
been a mantra for business. Today Choices study concluded that that of the office worker. enables companies to improve
we should think of this as meaning “teleconferencing typically reduces their environmental performance.
being more effective while reducing business travel in organisations that moVing proCeSSeS online Sustainability should not be an
environmental costs, as well as promote its use by 10 per cent - 30 Nothing tethers people to the office afterthought, but should be counted
financial costs. per cent”. like archaic paper processes. For in from the outset.
Flexible work is central to staff to be able to work from a Each change to working
reducing the environmental oFFiCe CoStS range of locations and at different practices has an environmental
footprint of work. The three main Offices are hungry consumers of times, it is essential that their impact. Taking a strategic approach
areas to look at are travel, the energy and physical resources. As information and systems can be to integrate business efficiency and
environmental costs of offices and the typical office desk is occupied accessed anytime, anywhere. The environmental performance is the
putting services and processes online for less than 50 per cent of the network is the office for the truly way to maximise the benefits.
to cut down the use of resources. working day, flexible working flexible worker and for the smart
solutions, such as desk-sharing organisation. For more information, visit:
reduCing traVel solutions can reduce the carbon There are many companies now www.flexibility.co.uk/
When introducing flexible work, footprint per worker considerably. that can conduct storage audits savetheplanet
companies should set targets for The redesign of offices to create and convert paper to electronic
travel reduction. A Smith Institute flexible working environments also files, indexed within a document www.greenofficeweek.eu
report last year, Can Homeworking provides a chance to introduce management system. Moving all
Save the Planet? (see table), shows energy-saving features and practices. that filing off the office floor will
what savings can be achieved. Green Office Week, an initiative reduce office costs too.
As more than 12 per cent of launched by Avery, gives advice Measures like this support existing
the workforce already work from on how to mobilise the workforce
home, they are already making a to improve the environmental
substantial contribution to ‘saving performance of offices. A YouGov
the planet’. Three quarters of poll commissioned by Avery
the carbon footprint of working found that 75 per cent of office
practices is made up of the transport workers thought that they were
energy used by individual workers, less environmentally friendly in
most of which is consumed during the office than at home. A lack of
commuting. empowerment, facilities, education,
Business travel can be communication and company
replaced by video, audio and web apathy were all cited as major
conferencing, and through online reasons for this.
collaboration techniques. The
012 flexible working An independent supplement produced by Lyonsdown Media Group
The New Way of Working
Do more with less • Transform your organisation • Be greener
In challenging times, finding ways to work more efficiently is simply
good business - that is what video-enabling your organisation
means. Face-to-face rather than place to place.
Make decisions at the speed of thought. See customers as soon as
a need arises. Keep employees happy working from home.
Get everybody on the same page.
Please visit: www.tandberg.com
or call +44 (0)1784 274 600
The
integrated
approach to
flexible work
Implementing flexible work means
getting everyone working together,
Collaborative Working area
national army museum reports Andy Lake. Challenging, but
(image supplied by peoplespace)
the results are worth it.
O
nce persuaded of the benefits of to a 10 per cent reduction in accommodation According to Halbyn Rich, of flexible work
flexible working, organisations need running costs. According to Paul Savage, Smart specialists Peoplespace, “A truly integrated
to set about the practical task of Programme Manager at Islington, “In an approach saves so much time and money.
implementing it. To achieve the full organisation like a Council, there is no one- The return on investment period is cut
range of benefits means working across several size-fits-all solution. So, while building up an dramatically, and the ability to create better
disciplines – HR, Property, Facilities , IT and integrated framework for delivery, the roll-out working environments and flexibility for staff is
environmental policy. of Smart Working in each service has to take increased”.
It means developing a strategy, setting account of the particular needs of that service, Further case studies on the integrated approach
up a project team, and project managing an and where they are starting from.” are at www.flexibility.co.uk/cases
implementation that may incorporate audits Paul feels that
of current working practices, consultations, Smart Working
developing the business case, moving or is more relevant
refurbishing property, workplace design, than ever in the
deploying new technologies, training, culture current economic
change and developing new policies and climate. “After
protocols. salaries, property
That can be challenging. But partial and facilities are
approaches can be costly without delivering the the biggest costs to
benefits. For example, an implementation that councils. We need
introduces flexible working time options but not the people much
flexible place options may have work-life benefits, more than we need
but not deliver cost savings or environmental desks, and the more
benefits. Introducing home working and desk- we can cut our
sharing without addressing workplace culture overheads, the better
would probably be a disaster. we can maintain
One organisation that has adopted an services.”
integrated approach is Islington Council. Like Because of the
many councils, Islington has been under pressure need for integration,
to increase efficiency over a number of years flexible work, or
– delivering better services, more sustainably, ‘smart working’,
and with fewer resources. The Smart Working implementation
programme began there in 2005, and has ramped is now perhaps
up from departmental initiatives to have an emerging as a
integrated framework that guides Smart Working discipline in itself,
throughout the Council. 2,400 staff are now set with experts who can
up to work more flexibly, working on a desk- combine managing
sharing basis. multi-faceted
Starting from a portfolio of around 40 office projects with a
buildings, the Council has now released 12 of strong understanding
them, and refurbished 13 as Smart Working of the emerging new
environments, where the focus is on collaboration ways of working.
rather than working at fixed desks. This has led
014 flexible working
More and more companies these days are looking to maximise based, the interface is more “Windows-like” than most others.
the time that their sales and technical staff are “in front of Whoever you are in the organisation, you have access to
the customer”. On the face of it, this makes perfect sense as information that you need and for managers, Workbooks
it improves customer relations and increases sales. However provides a powerful reporting engine to ensure your business
whilst it makes economic sense, the reality is that these is on track. More importantly, for the health of your business,
individuals become disconnected from the information in the all the information is retained centrally and not in the heads of
business and soon become islands of information on their own. your employees, thus increasing the knowledge management
that so many small businesses lack. Whilst this will never do
Email, Blackberries and other mobile devices go some way away with all those emails, it will mean that everyone can
to re-connect them, but the central information pool, the access the same information, and that has got to be good for
Customer Relationship Management system (CRM), is rarely business of all sizes.
updated and business processes suffer as a result. Many
corporates throw large amounts of It resources to resolve In short it’s not just the sales and technical people who can
this problem, but for the small to medium sized business they now be more customer-facing, the Marketing Manager, Sales
have neither the expertise nor the cash to easily overcome the Director and the MD can get out there too.
issues.
A technology that delivers a way forward for smaller
companies is the software as a service model (SaaS) or cloud
computing- the software provider delivers their solution
through a web browser. there is no hardware, no software
and more importantly no hassle.
A UK based CRM company that offers one of the best solutions
is Workbooks. With extensive SMB experience, they understand
the frustrations of trying to make applications work together
and to centralise important information to make it accessible
to everyone.
Workbooks offers a comprehensive CRM system that can be
accessed anywhere with an internet connection- you can even
use it out on the road with a 3G card!
What is surprising about their offering is that unlike many
other solutions, Workbooks CRM is no lightweight – it delivers
incredible insight into what’s going on in your business – from
creating and delivering effective marketing campaigns,
tracking customers, appointments, prospects, opportunities,
competitors, and managing post sales support. the user
interface feels familiar and is very easy to use, whilst it is web
Workbooks cRM and Workbook business are available from
Workbooks.com
UK Provider to UK SMB’s