How to makeflexible workingwork for you

We know it works. Because we’ve done it.In February 2012, we started our flexible working journey. We closed our HQ and 2500 people worked away for the day.

In one day that meant:

A saving of 3000 commuting hours

A cut in CO2 emissions of 25,000 tonnes 

1/3 of our people reporting they were more productive

And we’re still benefiting

As more and more of our people are now working flexibly:

•We saved more than £3.8 million a year because

we now need 500 fewer desks

•We expect to spend 30% less on paper

•We expect to save £600,000 a year on travel costsand 1272 days in travel time

Make it work for your peopleYou’ll need to change the way you work, not just your technology and policies.

…because your people come in two flavours

Desk huggers – who must have their own desk

Desk hoppers – who are happy to move around

So an early thing you can do is identify how many of each you have in your organisation.

…so help them by

Running training sessions for collaboration tools like Microsoft Lync

Publishing a quick FAQ guide, to save your helpdesk getting jammed up

Not expecting behaviours to change overnight, but being ready for when they do

Keeping them updated through your intranet, email or social media

Inviting questions and answering them quickly

…and trust them

So don’t clock watchThey’re not machines

And measure outcomes, not attendanceYour people don’t need to be at the office late to get the work done

64% of our employees say they’re more productive

Prepare your technology…… so your network has the bandwidth for peak times

… so everyone has a connection at home or elsewhere

… so the devices you use are secure

Follow your leaders Change is successful when it comes from the top...

... So turn your department heads into flexible working advocates

Make it work for the environment

In one month alone, we saved 100,000 commuter miles.

In one day, we cut CO2 emissions by 25,000 tonnes 

Happier people, healthier environment

business travel

office-bound workers

office overheads

Since February 2012 we’ve had over 4000 flexible working

days, resulting in 250-300 fewer cars at the office.

Seeing is believingHere’s what we did and why we did it . . .

It’s not just about machinesand policies

Things to consider...

It’s about changing the way you work

Help your people with trainingand information

Trust your people to dothe right thing

Prepare your technology

Get your leadership to drive flexible working

If you want to discover more visit o2.co.uk/enterprise or follow us @O2BusinessUK