Coventry University Enterprises Ltd (CUE Ltd) is the
commercial trading arm of Coventry University and provides a range
of business and IT services to companies across the UK and Europe.
The company is taking a lead in promoting flexible working
practices and has introduced an initiative called
‘Location-Independent Working’ (LIW). The achievements of this
scheme have been publicly acknowledged with a DTI E-Commerce
award. The LIW scheme has led to the development of a formal
written flexible working policy that covers areas such as hours of
work, health and safety, insurance, travel arrangements, data
security, training and equipment. The policy sits alongside the
employment contract.
Location-Independent Working
The LIW initiative began in 2002. Between approx.10 people are
accepted into the scheme every three months, which allows employees
to trial flexible working and assess if it is suitable for them.
Within this scheme employees are encouraged to work ‘out of the
office’ between 40-60% of the time. Mobile technology plays an
important part in enabling this flexibility so CUE Ltd turned to
Orange and Microsoft for assistance in creating an easy to use
mobile working environment.
After three months, employees choose to either remain working
flexibly or return to a ‘fixed-desk’ environment. Since the scheme
commenced, 100% of the participants have chosen to work
flexibly.
“LIW allows you better use of time, both work and social,
getting ever closer to the ideal life/work balance so lacking in
90% of the workforce. If ever you need convincing that working hard
is not the same as working productively, try LIW,” says a LIW
participant
Managing Flexible Working
“Our line managers are an essential part of the process and are
really bought into the scheme and they encourage it as much as
possible. 99.0% percent of line managers themselves are flexible
workers, which helps in understanding the issues. It is essential
that they fully trust their staff to work efficiently whether they
are in or out of the office,” says Jane Rawlings- Purcell, New Ways
of Working Manager, Coventry University Enterprises Ltd.
Open communication channels help with the issue of trust –
teams are in constant contact via instant messenger, email and
phone, so there is no doubt that people are actually working.
Enabling Flexible Working
Flexible workers have to be equipped with the necessary
technology to do their jobs. Each flexible worker goes through a
‘needs assessment’ process that involves a three-way meeting with
an IT analyst and the new ways of working manager. Individuals are
then equipped with the appropriate technology dependent on their
individual needs including smartphones, laptops, PDAs, tablet PCs
and thin client computers. The Orange SPV C500, a smartphone that
enables the user to synchronise with their Outlook email, calendar
and contacts has been particularly popular. Users can respond to
emails in real time while on the move, leading to immediate
productivity gains.
“The Orange SPV C500 looks great, feels great, is very
lightweight and provides complete Microsoft Outlook integration at
a very affordable price. In time I’d like everyone in the company
to be using one,” says Matt Knowles, ICT analyst advisor, Coventry
University Enterprises Ltd
Orange SPV C500
The SPV C500 is the world’s smallest smartphone. Created in
partnership with Microsoft, the phone uses the Microsoft Windows
Mobile 2003 platform, which provides an experience that is similar
to using Windows PC. As well as standard voice and messaging
services, the SPV C500 includes, Pocket Outlook, Pocket Internet
Explorer and Windows Media Player.
Benefits of Flexible Working
Improved staff morale, work-life balance, staff retention rates
and productivity
Lower reported sickness absence and stress levels
Reduction in office space and associated costs – fixed desk
space has been cut by at least a third, resulting in a drastic
lowering of costs per employee. A ‘fixed’ office employee costs
CUE Ltd £6,000 in terms of overheads, whereas a flexible worker
costs £3,000
The reduction in desk space meant that CUE Ltd could vacate one
of their buildings and release it to tenant companies, generating a
revenue of £68,000
“In research with the London School of Economics we found the
biggest barrier to flexible working was a lack of trust from
managers. Coventry University Enterprises have overcome the
challenge and instilled a culture of trust for employees to work
flexibly. In doing so, they have gained huge benefits, both
monetary and social.”
Shaun Orpen, marketing director, Business Solutions, Orange
UK
For further information on mobile technology, please see
www.orange.co.uk/business