Smarter working tips from Work Wise Week

The eighth annual Work Wise Week kicked off yesterday, aiming to encourage UK businesses to work ‘smarter’ by adopting practices such as flexible, remote and mobile working, as well as working from home.

The week will culminate with National Work from Home Day on Friday 17 May 2013.

Organised by Work Wise UK, a national not-for-profit initiative, the awareness week is backed by the TUC, CBI, RAC Foundation and British Chambers of Commerce.

Innovative ways of working

David Lennan, founding director of StaffShare, a Work Wise UK strategic partner, commented: “There are a range of innovative business management practices that have emerged which have changed the way we work. Smarter working practices have developed as a result of technological advancement and enable a far better use of limited resources and time.

“Secondment and skill sharing is another innovative business practice which is just emerging. During these difficult times, this new smarter way of managing staff is proving an effective alternative to redundancy in many cases, and provides the flexibility to allow organisations to react when the upturn comes.”

Practical advice

This year’s Work Wise Week is focusing on giving businesses practical advice on five key themes:

• Smarter travel
• Mobile working
• Virtual meetings
• Working remotely
• National Work From Home Day

Boosting productivity

David Lennan also argues that flexible working can increase staff productivity.  He says: “Employers who have changed their working practices to measure outputs not inputs, have been well rewarded and are now breaking away from their competitors. They realised that it really isn’t about how hard people work, where they work or how loyal and dedicated the staff are, it’s what’s produced and the outputs achieved that really matters.

“This is what productivity is all about. You have to change what people do and how they do it to meet market changes and stay ahead of the game. To stay ahead in business you have to keep pushing the boundaries, developing resources and creating a truly 21st century workplace.”

Flexible services

Bizspace offers a wide range of services to enable any business to adopt smart working practices. Our serviced offices  in locations throughout the country mean staff can have access to high quality furnished office space, complete with telecoms and IT to suit your company’s requirements.

Many of our business centres offer meeting rooms and training rooms which are available to hire by the hour.  These can be an ideal solution to host meetings with clients or colleagues away from your main office, or if you normally work from home.  A wide range of our business centres also offer 24-hour access, so that staff can choose flexible working hours to best suit their lifestyles.

Search online to find your nearest Bizspace business centre.

 Do you have any innovative, smarter ways of working you’d like to share? Tweet us your tips.