Anytime Anywhere - mobile and flexible working

Mobile and flexible working has been introduced to help you strike a better work/life balance by enabling you to work anytime, anywhere - from home, a different council location, a cafe.

Research also highlights that giving you access to the right technology to work in a mobile way - and trusting you to work flexibly - can make you happier, more creative and more innovative.

We understand not all Council jobs lend themselves to this way of working, due to the nature of the services being delivered, however, a large percentage of employees are office based and should be encouraged to work mobile and flexibly.

That's why 'what you do, not where you do it' is at the heart of the Council of the Future Anytime Anywhere project, which aims to ensure you have access to the right tools, technology and support to work this way.

If you currently work from an office and don’t yet have access to a Council laptop, smart phone and/or tablet to help you work this way please speak to your manager.

  1. Table of contents

The benefits

We all know the traditional 9-5 job that comes with a fixed desk will shortly be confined to the history books because people want careers that:

  • allow them to incorporate work around their changing lifestyles
  • make it easy to collaborate with a wide range of people to solve problems and spark new ideas
  • help them live a greener life, cutting out the emissions from the daily commute and working in buildings that are more energy efficient ie their home

Mobile and flexible

The key ways we can work mobile and flexibly are:

  • from home or from locations such as a coffee shop with good 4G or Wi-Fi
  • with our customers and service users out in the community
  • hot desking – this means you aren’t tied to a single desk. You can sit wherever you want to do your job each day, and that brings opportunity to:
    • share skills, information and expertise with colleagues
    • create connections and make contacts across teams, divisions and services
    • easily collaborate on projects
    • learn how others work and tackle problems together

Keep it clean

To get the most benefit out of hot desking we need you to organise regular clear out days with your colleagues and follow these simple steps to CLEAN UP the work environment:

  • Clean team spaces
  • Let go of what you don't need
  • Every desk clutter free
  • Always remember to recycle
  • No excess printing
  • Use your space wisely
  • Personal items taken home

We also need managers to focus on outputs rather than micromanage presence because the simplest, easiest and most effective way to bring about change is to trust people to get the job done wherever they are.

eLearning

Anytime Anywhere eLearning for managers – practical advice and guidance on how to move to mobile flexible working.

Anytime Anywhere eLearning for employees – advice and guidance on what to expect from mobile and flexible working.

Olle (eLearning) login

Guidance for Managers

Part 1 provides practical guidance to managers on the workstyles and changing behaviours and culture that is needed. It also provides a draft project plan to support managers through the process and get them to think about actions that need to be progressed.

Part 2 is coming soon. If you are replacing furniture and redecorating, then the practical guidance provides the furniture specification and some advice and guidance on what you need to think about.

Furniture Spec Appendix
DOCX file, 3.3 MB
Purchase points
DOCX file, 16.3 KB
Furniture disposal draft policy
DOCX file, 33.7 KB

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