Organisations should introduce flexible working to help
retain staff and cut costs, delegates at a Communications
Management Association (CMA) conference heard this
week.
Kieron Gavan, British Airways director of workstyle change, said
BA introduced flexible working two years ago.
"We found we needed a solid commercial business case, support
from the board, and a tight implementation team. But the challenge
was more about people and logistics rather than technical
problems."
The move towards flexible working came after the company
overhauled its corporate networks and IT infrastructure from 1998.
Flexible working allowed BA to save 20% on its property costs and
meant it could spend more in areas such as marketing, he said.
John Blackwell, chief executive of management consultants JB
Associates and a CMA member agreed, and said flexible working was
an answer to the increasing competition for staff and rising office
costs.
He challenged the idea that staff could not be trusted to work
flexibly, whether at home, at different office locations, or over
different hours. "An untrustworthy employee is untrustworthy,
whether you can see them or not," he said.