1. All for it, and it has become the culture of the business that as long as people get the work done, it is irrelevant where they get it done from.

2. Dead against it – it’s not the culture of the business and it is easier to manage and control productivity if people are physically in the office.

3. Still unsure and are dabbling with the idea, only letting certain people do it and therefore it becomes a perk rather than a right.

The latest person to question the benefits of  the right to request flexible working, Colin Coulson-Thomas, the author of Winning Companies; Winning People, has presented in Westminster to the All Party Parliamentary Group inquiry into flexible working. His stance was one of warning of the dangers of having a ‘right to request flexible working’ which could backfire for companies where some job roles require the presence of someone to fulfill their job, as he said:

“An effective and desired way of working for one role or person might not be appropriate for another. In some cases ‘being there’ might be important, while other work could be ‘location independent’”.

Only a Right to Request Flexible Working

However I think that he is forgetting that there is currently only a right to request flexible working, it is up to the discretion of the company to say whether they agree to flexible working or not and therefore should not be under pressure to allow employees unsuitable for flexible working, to be able to undertake it. He was right in saying that particular individuals are more likely to remain motivated while working away from the office and these people can often produce higher productivity and effectivity levels than if they were in a busy, noisier environment.

But for those people who need social interaction there is a raft of tele, video and web conferencing facilities which enable regular team collaboration and other communication tools which if used appropriately are sufficient to keep people working and motivated.

Experience speaks volumes

Speaking as a former home worker myself, I found that for my particular role as a project manager I had the best of both worlds: regular teleconferences with the project teams and quiet times to complete project documentation and correspondance by email and instant messaging (limited to internal company use only).   I was targeted with objectives and measured by output, not presenteeism and this is one of the big reasons that people tend to stay many years with the company I worked for. The trust and value they place on their employees seems to reap massive benefits.

“Aon has created a stand alone insurance policy to reimburse companies for wages, fixed costs and extra expenses if they are unable to access their buildings due to government action.”

Hats off to Aon for identifying the gap in the market here as many generic insurance policies/ business interruption policies do not cover specific pandemic viruses, indeed they only usually cover costs caused by physical damage or ‘notifiable diseases’ which H1N1 does not always qualify for.

The new product from Aon is believed to be the first of its kind available to all kinds of industry, though the general target is for Retail, Transport and Manufacturing where employees would be hard pushed to fulfill their roles from home. I’m sure many of the 100 shops in Princes Street, Edinburgh which suffered a power cut during peak business hours this week, would now be very keen to take up such a policy…

Continous working much better than re-couping costs

It’s great that these industries can now be protected for office/ building closure in this way, however for those industries such as service and finance there is always the option for employees to work from home or another remote office or location and I believe that these types of organisations should be focusing their attention far more on continuing to operate effectively as a business, rather than relying on insurance policies to cover any unexpected costs as a result of a building closure. After all, who wants to pay out twice or three times following a disruption? First for an insurance policy, then for the costs which are not covered by the policy, and finally for a more effective strategy which enables employees to continue working through a disruption whereby your costs are limited from the start.

If organisations had a seamless way of working, regardless of whether their premises could be accessed or not, there would be no need for reliance on such insurance policies to cover unexpected costs.

Times Online has produced ‘The 10 best ways to cut petrol costs’ in a bid to help drivers make their fuel go further which includes tips such as; pumping up your tyres, turning off the air-conditioning, driving smoothly and changing oil regularly.

Although there is no doubt that these tips can make some difference (and actually I adhere to many of them myself already) there is no substitute to reducing fuel expenditure by being in a position to drive less!

Not only are drivers being taxed more in a poor economic climate, London commuters are going to see a rise in the congestion charge to £10 and those taking the TUBE, train or bus will also experience rises in fares (as bus fares are to go up by 12.7% and TUBE fares by 3.9%).

As we are all aware, unemployment rates are at their highest for years and as a result people who are in employment are working twice as hard to keep their jobs and are gritting their teeth against the cost and inconvenience of long commutes until such time that they can choose where they want to work.

My head therefore turns to the employers – how do they keep their employees, who have remained loyal through the recession, once the recovery brings more employment options to the suitably qualified?

Homeworking is the key to employee retention

Incorporating home or remote working practices for roles which are able to be performed outside the office environment has a multitude of benefits, so I have whittled down my top ten:

1. Home working tackles the rising costs of commuting for employees making them less resentful and more keen to stay with your organisation
2. It also tackles the extra costs associated with working in an office e.g. work clothes, make up, shoes etc.
3. It introduces a better work/life balance by reducing commuting times and leads to happier, more productive employees
4. Home working will increase employee loyalty once the recovery and employment choice increases
5. It saves organisations costs in terms of heating, lighting and equipment as well as less need for office space
6. For employees there is no need to buy expensive lunches or feel you have to go out for lunch with colleagues for birthday’s etc.
7. Co-workers can only judge you on what you get done rather than when you arrive at or leave the office
8. Employees don’t need to take time off work to be able to let the gas man or repair man in
9. When people decide to bring their flu and bugs into the office you can avoid getting sick
10. It’s been shown that people who work from home take fewer sick days

If you are a home worker and have experienced these or any other benefits I’d be interested to hear your point of view…or indeed you think that home working simply isn’t an option for you because your organisational culture would not embrace it.

Really?

I find these statistics extremely hard to believe in the current economic climate, however I’m hesitant to dismiss it completely as it does indicate that changing employee attitudes could have an effect on recruitment in the future. As the economy recovers and jobseekers once again find them themselves in a position to be able to choose between organisations to work for, what will be their decision criteria?

Money (nearly always the top consideration) , career development, location, availability of flexible working practices, company ethos (including carbon emissions?).

Many organisations, particularly the multinationals have entire departments designated to Corporate Social Responsibility. As defined by the EU CSR is “A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis”.

Voluntary is a key phrase here but what would be the cost for an organisation who chooses not to join the club? Environmental concern is something that has become a necessity for an organisation to embrace rather than a differentiator, and with the CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) scheme starting in April 2010, organisations who used over 6,000 MegaWatt Hours in 2008 will have to participate, requiring them to trade carbon allowances and to cut carbon emissions.

Can you afford to be left behind?

If the trend therefore is moving towards ‘carbon reducing’ organisations, then you are either going to be ahead of the game , or a market follower and experience says that being ahead of the game makes you much more attractive to jobseekers, for example I wonder how many IT graduates are clammering these days to work for Apple, rather than Microsoft ?

How do you take the lead?

So, if carbon footprint does become much more of a key decision criteria, how will companies ensure they are attractive to high calibre, environmentally conscious jobseekers? Well other than the obvious (recycling policies, using renewable energy wherever possible and sourcing supplies from the UK rather than abroad)  flexible working practices are vital and should include the use of conferencing facilities to combat commuting pollution and reducing the number buildings an organisation requires to heat, light and power in order to save energy.

For those job roles that can accomodate remote working, organisations can tick both the work/life balance box as well as the carbon reduction box. We shouldn’t under estimate these drivers in the months and years to come.

On Radio 4′s Today programme ysterday Andrea Murray (Acting Group Director of Strategy) from the Equality and Human Rights Commission reported that fathers in the UK are working longer hours (no big surprise there) and are struggling to balance work and family.

A report she quoted claimed that four in every ten fathers say that they spend too little time with their children although most would love to have a more active role in caring for their children. Two in five men fear that if they requested flexible working arrangements it would negatively impact their career development and would result in their commitment being questioned.

Does your work demand too much of your time?

My husband is one of the few guys at his work who puts his foot down when it comes to leaving the office to be able to get home for our children’s bedtime. His boss hates it. The weekends are still punctated by trips to the study to respond to emails which come in at ridiculous times of the morning or evening and are expected to be read and actioned there and then.

There is a constant tension between work demands and demands on family life. As my husband and I both work full time we can easily get caught up in our jobs, and family time just gets squeezed out if we are not careful. But why should my husband be stuck in this tug of war between manager and family? Well it certainly isn’t a rare occurance these days…

What works best – carrot or stick?

In my opinion men who enjoy their work are focused in achieving their targets and objectives regardless of whether or not a boss is cracking the whip. Those who aren’t, get easily exposed through lack of productivity – not through lack of time spent working!

Flexible working practices should be offered by all organisations who want to see an increase in productivity and output. Give these guys a carrot not a stick and the results will speak for themselves as numerous reports over the past few years will substantiate.

Children need their fathers for emotional and intellectual growth

Work is a thing you do, not a place you go, or indeed a time you do it. Yes there are certain boundaries which should not be crossed – we still have an economy to mend after all but happier workers lead to happier businesses and surely it will benefit the next generation of  employees? Children with strong father figures in their lives (particulalry girls) generally have better self esteem, self worth and therefore tend to do better educationally and in the workplace - it’s a fact. Tell me if you think I’m wrong…

Allowing workers the freedom, where the job role is appropriate, to work remotely and around certain family responsibilities should be the right of every person, whether male or female. The technology is available, the culture is not.

Innovative Customer Service:

Graham Chick, CEO at GemaTech had 28 half hour meetings over 2 days with individuals who were looking to find new, innovative ways to improve customer service. An enthusiasm for embracing technology enabling companies to target their customers effectively through many types of media was very evident. Many companies across sectors such as Travel and Tourism and the public entertainment sectors now have established loyalty databases which they are keen to leverage.

Routes to Market:

It was encouraging to find that many companies are widening their vision in terms of their marketing and customer service strategies to embrace evolving communication methods such as using Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels to add value and to increase customer retention. GemaTech has been promoting this relatively untapped route to market through its Rapid Call Out solution and the market is responding positively to such developments.

Ownership Costs:

The applications for a system which can target market segments quickly and cost-effectively came across clearly from delegates who saw the benefits of being able to target their markets any way they wanted, e.g. to under 25’s, those who repeat purchase certain products or services, and indeed even companies who want to be able to contact their suppliers or distributors with promotional information. What impressed them also was the low annual cost of being able to communicate with their customers, suppliers or even employees through multiple channels.

Finding the most effective way of reacting to target market demands is often seen as looking for gold dust, yet from what we are hearing, companies know what they want and are actively looking for flexible, cost-effective and targeted solutions offering more than just SMS text capabilities.

Unlike call recovery trucks (provided by telecoms carriers like BT) the PRU gets your calls re-routed quickly and your organisation back up and running fast. The PRU is a unique and affordable emergency call recovery solution that helps you maximise the limited time and financial resources at your disposal to deliver trusted telecoms resilience to your organisation.

Although the Portable Recovery Unit is only activated when you need it, because all your call plans are held securely in GemaTech’s data centres we provide you with the ability to constantly amend and test your call re-routing plans without disrupting your normal incoming calls.

To find out more about the PRU visit our dedicated site at: http://www.gematech.com/pru/

As Gold Sponsor GemaTech’s CEO Graham Chick presented alongside other industry experts, focusing on the subject of Flexible Working as the only reliable solution for business continuity, including case studies on how telecoms recovery technology has proved successful for a number of financial institutions.

Other speakers included; Richard Maddison, Deputy Head of Business Continuity at the Financial Services Authority, Martin Jordan, Principal Advisor of IT Security at KPMG and Steve Clements, Head of Crisis and Business Continuity Management for the Lloyds Banking Group.

Read my critique of the event and what I really thought of the presentations and conference on my blog.

Author: Karen Jones

The show is aimed at anyone with a role in business continuity management, risk management and emergency planning across any market sector.

If you are coming to the show be sure to let us know or have a chat with us at our stand. If you are not already registered and would like to attend you can sign up here:

http://www.bcm2009.com/

The survey found that 45% of respondents (out of over 600 CIOs from multinational organisations) said that ‘multiple communication channels cause severe delays in the response time from colleagues which can negatively impact business processes and productivity.’

35% also stated that ‘uncoordinated or ineffective contact with colleagues’ hampers the ability to meet deadlines on time. Apparently this has led to lost sales, lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction.

The answer, many organisations are finding is to move towards unified communication strategies. My personal opinion is that this is indeed the right way to go, but that the emphasis should most definitely be on the person you are trying to get hold of rather than the communication method. For example, how many people know all the mobile phone numbers of their friends? I would suggest that very few do, the reason being that we store our friend’s and colleague’s numbers under their ‘name’ in a contact list. Surely when we click on that person’s name, it is irrelevant how contact with that person is made (pricing models dependent of course), it should be up to them how they want to be contacted - whether that call is received via landline, office phone, fax number, email or mobile number, we just need to know that we will be able to get through to them when we click on their name.

It all comes down to how people like to work at the end of the day, some like to be at their office desks, taking calls on their desk phones, others like to receive their calls on their mobile phones. I remember in one office I used to work in, a particular guy could think and talk better on his feet, tending to walk around the office with his mobile phone connected to an ear piece, so even though people called his desk phone as the number was published in the company directory, he was in a position to take the call in his own way.

Communication technology should be there to make life easier, but often coordination is so lacking that it soon becomes confusing and hindering. Making it easy to use and seamless for the person trying to contact you is the only way this strategy can work!

Of course, if people do not want to be contacted then there is very little anyone can do to get hold of them!

Author: Karen Jones