Summary: Flexible working is a topic that attracts much debate, particularly in a downturn. With the extension to the Right to Request Flexible Workingnbsp;happening in April, an additional 2 million public sector employees will become eligible under the new rules. To listen to the podcast, click the grey arrow below. The first part of thisnbsp;month's show, explores what this will mean for public sector employers. We then take a fascinatingnbsp;look at the workplacesnbsp;of the future. My first guest in Andy Lake who is Editor of the on-line business journal, Flexibility. Andy believes that this extension, which will now include parents with children under the age of 16, is quite limited and is in fact, discriminatory. He also thinks that it is of no help to people who are out of work. Andy's experiencenbsp;shows that organisations tend to respond to flexible working at three levels and these are: GETTING A POLICY IN PLACE TO DEAL WITH THE RIGHT TO REQUEST - this reactive approach tends to be used by most public sector organisations TAKING A MORE STRATEGIC APPROACH - moving away from seeing flexible work as exceptional and treating it as more normal MOVING BEYOND THE FAMILY FRIENDLY APPROACH - thinking how flexible working can make organisations work and use their resources much better His advice to HR Practitioners is: ADOPT A CAN-DO POLICY - be proactive rather than reactive and promote flexible working as a good way of working ALIGN FLEXIBLE WORKING WITH OTHER NEEDS - e.g. working hours with when customers actually want to talk to you LOOK AT THE TASKS IN PEOPLE'S WORK - can they be done more flexibly and efficiently GET TOGETHER WITH COLLEAGUES FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS -nbsp; to develop a comprehensive approach to 'smart' working LOOK CLOSELY AT RECRUITMENT POLICIES - when people apply, consider how an applicant can suggest more flexible ways of working without that scuppering their application TAKE FLEXIBLE WORKING AWAY FROM THE 'MUMMY' TRACK - so that it applies to all people You can find out more about flexible working at www.flexibility.co.uknbsp;or you can contact Andy directly, on 01223 304792 or email him at andy.lake@flexibility.co.uknbsp;where he can also put you in touch with the Smart Work Network Bridget Hardy is my next guest. Bridget works for the Government Estates Division of the Office of Government Commerce,nbsp;which is part of HM Treasury. Her job is to make the government's estates more efficient, effective and sustainable and as part of this role, she has co-authorednbsp;a book - 'Working Beyond Walls'. Interestingly, the book explores the role of the workplace as an agent for change and describes the vision for the workplaces of the future. It also presents the issues people are going to have to tackle when they're thinking about changes within their own organisations. These include: PEOPLE WORKING IN DIFFERENT WAYS INNOVATIVE USE OF WORKSPACES FLEXIBLE AND MOBILE WORKING PRACTICES MUCH MORE REGIONALLY DISTRIBUTED WORKPLACES CLUSTERING OF DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT BRANCHES, USING SPACE MORE FLEXIBLY Keynbsp;lessons that came out of the study,nbsp;which formed part of the research for the book, highlighted the need for a senior strategic workplace manager to lead the changes and ensure they are properly embedded. It also emphasised the importance of a change management process, when dealing with people. Bridget's advice to HR Professionals is: INTERGRATE MORE WITH PEOPLE DEALING WITH FACILITIES, ICT AND THE BUSINESS - have a regular dialogue and get involved in understanding what you can do together to support the workforce GO TO CONFERENCES -nbsp; to learn more about things other than the HR profession UNDERTAKE STAFF SURVEYS -nbsp; to establish what makes people choose an employer VOLUNTEER TO PILOT A CHANGE LIKE THIS - if the opportunity arises ...
