Home working to boost technology innovation, council believes
Home working to boost technology innovation, council believes
A London-based local authority has rolled out increased remote working opportunities for staff in a bid to lower costs and boost technology innovation across the organisation.
Brent Council believes that the introduction of flexible working for the vast majority of its employees will have a positive benefit on the body as a whole, cutting the cost of office space and improving productivity across the board.
The move towards flexible working first began two years ago when it was planned that the council’s 14 buildings would be condensed into one new civic centre. As part of plans to stop the financial drain of a multitude of unused desks, remote working was implemented ahead of the move to the new civic centre headquarters in summer 2013.
Brent's chief information officer, Stephan Conaway, told the Guardian newspaper that the idea of remote working would allow staff ranging from social workers and environmental officers – most of whom spend much of their time ‘on the road,’ to operate in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.
Technology such as cloud-based applications, mobile phones, laptops and tablets have enabled staff members to sign forms and carry out other administrative-based tasks, meaning that remote working makes more sense than ever. Brent Council has now issued all staff with a smartphone in order to allow them to communicate easily with office-based colleagues whilst working from home. Previously, just 25 per cent of staff had company smartphones.
Mr Conaway also said that the increased reliance on home working was encouraging a far greater technical understanding amongst staff, with many suggesting new innovations and apps that could enable them to work even more efficiently whilst out of the office.
Staff are allowed to choose whether to work from home, with Mr Conaway adding that the new technology “enables choices, rather than our concept being imposed on the user.”
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