Unified Communications expert’s research reveals more still needs to be done to support mobile workforce.
With only 100 days to the London Olympics, research of 1,000 UK organisations by Siemens Enterprise Communications shows that many still have work to do to give employees the flexibility to work from home to avoid the potential disruption from the Games. With an increasingly mobile workforce, organisations need to provide staff with more flexible working tools during such high profile events and beyond – especially as travel congestion in Britain’s main cities intensifies year-on-year.
The research highlights that:
•Despite advanced warnings of potential disruption to business productivity, nearly half (43 per cent) of UK businesses haven’t issued a flexible working policy or specific travel guidelines during the period of potential travel disruption.
•Flexible working is becoming common business practice with more than half of UK office-based employees spending 60 per cent of their time away from the office.
•However, even with this increase, 39 per cent of employees only think they ‘sometimes’ have the right tools for flexible working.
•Manchester is one of the least concerned about the impact the Games will have on commuting despite the Northern city hosting several of the football games at Old Trafford during peak weekday travel hours.
The Siemens Enterprise Communications findings raise concerns that in a summer of globally-recognised events, such as the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee, Britain’s businesses still have further work to do to adequately prepare and optimise staff in order to avert travel disruption or worse. There is a need to address the longer term implications of an increasingly mobile workforce, using a variety of devices across multiple locations, ensuring staff productivity during the summer and beyond.
David Lindley, UK head of service delivery and support, Siemens Enterprise Communications – “It is encouraging that our recent study strongly suggests that UK organisations are finally adopting increasingly flexible technology to support an agile workforce. By investing in many of the collaborative tools, such as unified communications (UC) and enhancing customer responsiveness, businesses can maintain the delivery of core business functions responsibilities. However, some businesses are not supporting its staff in boosting their potential for more productive and flexible working with effective policies, training and technology.”