Remote and Flexible Working Transforming the Workspace Session 3 This work, Remote and Flexible Working Workshop Materials by Reach Further Ltd., http://www.reachfurther.com, is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.
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Remote and Flexible WorkingTransforming the Workspace
Session 3
This work, Remote and Flexible Working Workshop Materials by Reach Further Ltd., http://www.reachfurther.com, is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.
Introducing remote workingWhat is meant by “remote working”?
Is it always home-working?
Location / time aspects?
Workers suited to remote working
Motivation Which groupsChildcare Parents, Grandparents
Care Adult carers – typically mid-late career
Empowerment to mange own time
All
Avoid rush-hour commute All
Ability to work remotely Particularly working parents, those with disabilities and individuals living in remote rural locations
Pros and cons of remote workingPROS CONS• Employees work from home or
• Work life balance for individual – reduces stress of the commute
• Requires strong management skills
• Isolation for the employee
• Additional Health and Safety checks may be required
What’s missing? Exercise
Form into small groupsConsider “what's missing” for remote-working employees and also project workers (cf. Charles Handy's clover-leaf model)What are the problems and issues associated with being a remote worker? Feed backSummarise
Photo by Justin Marty
Photo by Marco Gomes
Open source & social
Many needs can be met online
File storage & accessCommunicationManagement and monitoringCollaborationPastoral / social
Broadband internet accessVirtual Private Networks (VPN)Extranet (private website with customisable
permission levels eg Drupal)Document sharing – Microsoft Sharepoint (£), wikis
(eg wetpaint), Google DocsFile sharing: drop.io, dropbox
Communication tools
EmailVoice over IP (VoIP) eg SkypeOnline chat eg SkypeWebconferencing / virtual meetings eg Dim DimScreen-sharing Remote Control (for IT support) Twitter / Yammer / Instant MessagingVideo conferencing Remote conference access eg webcastingSmart phone numbers
Unified Communications The worker can select
their preferred method of communication depending on their location.
eg if at that point in the day they are best contacted only by email, Unified Comms systems will convert all IMs, texts and voicemails to emails for them to pick up as soon as they are able.
Sugar CRM Time management & tasks eg WrikeTo do lists eg Ta Da or Remember the milkJob scheduling eg Unfuddle
wrike.com
Collaboration
Project management eg BasecampCalendars eg Google calendar, Google Apps (covers
a range of services)Event scheduling eg Eventbrite, MeetomaticCollaborative workspace eg Zoho, Google Apps Online learning and training eg Moodle
Robin Good’s Mindmap of Best Online Collaboration Tools http://www.mindmeister.com/12213323
Community
Don’t neglect the pastoral and social aspect of workAvoid isolationFoster belongingKeep communication channels openBlogs, forums & social networks eg Ning or SocialGOLink with time management, file-sharing etc, with multi-purpose packages eg Google Wave (tba)
Choosing appsList your requirements (self-hosted open source software or SaaS?)Compare with package featuresTry before you buyStart smallAdd time for the learning curveRead reviews and ask around
Tools Directory from Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/
Case study (Micro or SME)
App Used for
Liquid
Accounts
Online accounts
Sugar CRM Collaborative calendars, to do lists, CRM
Drupal CMS Website, extranet, online learning, document repository, community
Google Docs Document sharing
Pull and push for flexible working
Employer needs
Employee needsCustomer needs
MAXIMUM DRIVER
FOR FLEXIBLE WORKING
What are the key issues in managing flexible teams?
Assessing an individual’s suitability for flexible workingManaging requests for flexible workingH&S and legal implicationsOperational management
Culture & attitudesService deliveryEnvironment
Performance management and career developmentCommunication and training
Remote Manager ExerciseSplit into groups
Write out the tasks of a manager in managing their team (see eg previous slide)
Feedback and SWAP
Discuss the main problems
Remote Manager ExercisePart 2
Each group passes their list of issues on to another group for the second half of the exercise
In the same groups, work on the list of issues given to you to come up with solutions using technology or other tools or techniques
Feedback and SummariseEach “consultancy” feeds back to their “clients” their recommendations.