
Flexible working rights
It is already the case that parents of children aged 16 or under, or of disabled children under the age of 18, have the right to ask their employer for a more flexible working arrangement – and the employer is obliged to reasonably consider all requests. However, from October 2014 the right to request to work flexibly will be granted to all employees who have been with their employer for 26 weeks or more.The technological nuts and bolts
If you choose to embrace flexible working then its success will depend on the availability of some up-to-date technology. After all, the above-mentioned increases in productivity can only happen if your employees are able to work efficiently when they’re away from the office – and the motivational benefits certainly won’t be derived if employees feel that the systems and devices they have to work with are a hindrance. Don’t worry – you don’t need to blow the next ten years’ budget on state of the art kit – but flexible working does require, as a minimum, a combination of decent mobile hardware, secure networking capabilities and smooth-running collaboration software.In our workshops for entrepreneurial businesses, we tend to focus on the following:
1. Devices
Oftentimes, a mobile device – such as a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop – is sufficient. With the roll out of 4G, UK businesses can now take advantage of faster connection speeds than ever before – making working efficiently from a mobile device a real possibility, and eliminating the need to head back to the office simply to catch up on correspondence or tie up loose ends.2. Apps
3. VPN
A Virtual Private Network enables remote access in to your corporate IT network securely, simply and reliably. We are all accustomed to checking our personal Gmail and Hotmail accounts wherever they may be and services such as Dropbox are fast becoming a consumer norm – why should your corporate IT network be any less accessible? With the right security measures in place, it doesn’t need to be.The value of good policies
Finally – once you have the right systems in place, it is vital that you provide solid management and usage policies that guide and smooth the application of these new technologies. These policies need not only to set some ground rules as to how devices should be used and by whom, but they should also facilitate routine maintenance, ensuring that devices and their applications remain up to date, in efficient working order and – most of all – compliant with ever-changing regulations.Three step flexibility plan
In conclusion, if you hope to increase your business’ agility this year – remember to take the three points discussed here into consideration: know your employees’ rights and how you will meet them; assess and procure the right technology to fit your needs; and then ensure you have guidance policies in place that keep everything – and everybody – working smoothly. Stick to this plan and you’ll boost so much more than agility – productivity, morale and even turnover will all get a lift! Martin Flick is Chief Executive of Olive Communications. Image sourceShare this story