Flexible Working – Challenging, but the results are worth it.
> Andy Lake is a specialist in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for new ways of working and communicating. Activities in this field include implementation of new ways of working in large organisations, and leading research projects into the wider societal and environmental impacts of ICT. Research in this area has in particular focused on the field of “virtual mobility". Read more from this author
Once persuaded of the benefits of flexible working, organisations need to set about the practical task of implementing it. To achieve the full range of benefits means working across several disciplines – HR, Property, Facilities, IT and environmental policy.
It means developing a strategy, setting up a project team, and project managing an implementation that may incorporate audits of current working practices, consultations, developing the business case, moving or refurbishing property, workplace design, deploying new technologies, training, culture change and developing new policies and protocols.
That can be challenging. But partial approaches can be costly without delivering the benefits. For example, an implementation that introduces flexible working time options but not flexible place options may have work-life benefits, but not deliver cost savings or environmental benefits. Introducing homeworking and desk sharing without addressing workplace culture would probably be a disaster.
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