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 home
working and desk-sharing without addressing
workplace culture would probably be a disaster.
One organisation that has adopted an integrated
approach is Islington Council. Like many councils,
Islington has been under pressure to increase
efficiency over a number of years – delivering
better services, more sustainably, and with fewer
resources.
The Smart Working programme began there in 2005,
and has ramped up from departmental initiatives to
have an integrated framework that guides Smart
Working throughout the Council. 2,400 staff are now
set up to work more flexibly, working on a
desk-sharing basis.
Starting from a portfolio of around 40 office
buildings, the Council has now released 12 of them,
and refurbished 13 as Smart Working environments,
where the focus is on collaboration rather than
working at fixed desks. This has led to a 10%
reduction in accommodation running costs.
According to Paul Savage, Smart Programme Manager
at Islington,
“It’s been an interesting journey and we’ve
learned a lot along the way. In an organisation
like a Council, there is no one-size-fits-all
solution. So, while building up an integrated
framework for delivery, the roll-out of Smart
Working in each service has to take account of
the particular needs of that service, and where
they are starting from.”
Paul feels that Smart Working is more relevant
than ever in the current economic climate.
“After salaries, property and facilities are
the biggest costs to councils. We need the
people much more than we need desks, and the
more we can cut our overheads, the better we can
maintain our services.”
Because of the need for integration. flexible
work, or ‘smart working’, implementation is now
perhaps emerging as a discipline in itself, with
experts who can combine managing multi-faceted
projects with a strong understanding of the emerging
new ways of working.
According to Halbyn Rich, of flexible work
specialists Peoplespace, who worked on design and
implementation at Islington,
“A truly integrated approach saves so much
time and money. The return on investment period
is cut dramatically, and the ability to create
better working environments and flexibility for
staff is increased”.
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