Firms should introduce flexible working to retain staff
and cut costs, delegates at a Communications Management Association
conference heard last week.
Kieron Gavan, British Airways director of workstyle change, said
the airline introduced flexible working two years ago.
Flexible working allowed BA to save 20% on its property costs and
meant it could spend more in areas such as marketing.
"We found we needed a solid commercial business case and support
from the board. But the challenge was more about people and
logistics rather than technical problems," he said.
The move towards flexible working came after the company overhauled
its corporate networks and IT infrastructure from 1998 onwards,
said Gavan.
John Blackwell, chief executive of management consultancy JB
Associates and a Communications Management Association member, said
flexible working was an answer to the increasing competition for
staff and rising office costs.
He also challenged the idea that staff could not be trusted. "An
untrustworthy employee is untrustworthy, whether you can see them
or not," he said.
Planning a working model
- Start by assessing how the workforce fits into work patterns -
there will be different scenarios for various groups of staff,
whether they are single men or married women with children, for
instance
- Measure what hardware and systems functionality will be needed
by each member of staff
- Consider modelling your workforce within various work patterns
to enable detailed costing
- Plan a case for action to the board including figures of costs
and savings. This must be on top of the accepted advantage of
producing a better work/life balance.Source: JB Associates &
Henley Management College