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Thoughts and articles from the JEC Professional Services Blog
22 Jan 2023, 16:30
Hybrid Working has become defined by work locations. The mantra ‘work is something you do, not somewhere you go’ was first coined 28 years ago by Woody Leonhard. However, whenever Hybrid Working crops up in a conversation, the first question people ask is how many days do you go into the office?
Hybrid Working is not the end point but should be regarded as a stepping stone to a better and more sustainable way of working where employees are given some discretion in where, when and even how they work.
3 Nov 2021, 11:30
What are the challenges to be considered and addressed before organisations commit to the adoption of Hybrid Working?
6 Nov 2021, 11:30
What are the challenges to considered and addressed before organisations commit to the adoption of Hybrid Working?
17 Jan 2021, 11:30
Videoconferencing is vexatious. This post suggests techniques to avoid the stress caused by excessive use of videoconferencing for virtual meetings including employer and employee led initiatives.
24 Mar 2020, 12:30
The sudden imposition of homeworking as a result of the Coronavirus without preparation is providing a number challenges to managers who have no previous experience of managing staff remotely. There is also the challenge of learning how to use communications and collaborative technologies to manage staff remotely.
24 Mar 2020, 12:30
It is important to understand and assess the Business Continuity Plans of your suppliers and service providers. Developing this understanding of your reliance on suppliers and service providers requires a Business Impact Analysis with risk assessments to be undertaken.
10 Mar 2019, 15:47
Collaboration tools enable people in different locations to work together however many employees are not using them effectively. However ensuring people are fully exploiting collaboration tools requires a culture change. Managers have a critical role in achieving this change.
1 Jan 2021, 10:16
A checklist of reasons for testing Business Continuity Plans and Crisis Management Plans with Business Continuity exercises
27 Apr 2021, 15:47
This blog reports reports the results of a recent survey we conducted to find out how often organisations test their Business Continuity Plans with a Business Continuity exercise. It also contains a checklist for running Business Continuity exercises effectively.
31 Jul 2017, 15:47
Although Business Continuity has been with us, many people still find the concept difficult to understand. And then there is a range of related terms, Business Impact Analysis, Organisational Resilience, Disaster Recovery, Crisis Management Plans etc. that add to the confusion, time to provide some clarity.
2 Jan 2018, 15:47
There remains much confusion in the terms used for new ways of working and limited recognition of the benefits of to be gained from their adoption. The Agile Working Progression Model seeks to provide a way of assessing how an organisation can progressing through six stages true Agile Working. The stages in the model reflect the chronology in the development of technological developments to support new ways of working.
1 Jan 2018, 15:47
The Ways of Working Progression Model shows how new ways of working have progressed through technology from the traditional office to the Digital Workplace.
27 Mar 2017, 15:47
Digital is in danger of becoming the most overused word of this decade, There is no shortage of digital tools to support Digital Working however only a small number of employees can currently be called digital natives. So what’s the problem?
24 Apr 2017, 15:47
We have reviewed a number of Business Continuity Plans recently that have fallen at the first hurdle because they are based on imagined scenarios and lack the rigour of a systematic Business Impact Analysis. Developing scenarios for Business Continuity Plans is time consuming and can be a distraction the real purpose of the plan. There are no shortcuts to developing effective Business Continuity Plans. So what is the right approach?
30 Oct 2016, 15:47
The business case is signed off, the Agile Working project has the backing of senior management, what could possibly go wrong? …well plenty, unfortunately. There are a number of common factors that cause Agile Working projects to fail. Fortunately there are two remedies available.
10 Dec 2021, 15:47
Embarking on a new way of working such as Agile Working, or Smart Working, is a major undertaking for an organisation and can be a daunting prospect. An organisation’s Agile Working readiness is critical to the successful implementation of Agile Working. In working with a range of clients we have identified five factors that are key indicators of Agile Working readiness of your organisation.
26 Oct 2015, 15:47
Most analyses of agile workers’ requirements are based on workstyles related to job roles e.g. office-based working, homeworking, mobile working etc. However the successful introduction of new ways of working relies on the willingness of the people occupying the job roles to embrace new ways of working - Agile Working needs to accommodate their personalities. However until now there has been little investigation of the needs of Agile Workers with different personality types beyond looking at the needs of extroverts and introverts.
5 Oct 2015, 15:47
Digital by Default has become the mantra for a large number of organisations, especially those in the public sector. Digital approaches have been applied to ‘front office’, transactional activities. However there are many opportunities to apply a digital approach to back office functions, digital working, and, importantly, lay the groundwork for Agile Working and Smart Working.
11 Aug 2015, 15:47
Workwrapping is an extension of work-life integration that redresses the work-life balance but in a more subtle and dynamic way. It exploits the opportunities provided by agile working practices that are being increasingly adopted by employing organisations. Workwrapping can be a win-win situation: employees can prioritise their time for social and family priorities and with the focus on clearly defined outputs employees can become more productive.
10 Dec 2021, 15:47
While interviewing employees of large public and private sector organisations for a major survey on Agile Working it became clear to me that many staff didn't really ‘get’ what Agile Working was about. With an increasing number of organisations introducing Agile Working initiatives surely they will stand a greater chance of success if their employees have grasped the concept of Agile Working. In this blog we define Agile Working and identify differences between Agile Working and Flexible Working.
1 Jan 2015, 15:47
Based on published research the future world of work is presented as a retrospective look back from 2025 at the changes in the world of work to show how developments in technology will drastically change the way we will work in the near future.
26 Mar 2017, 15:47
There remains much confusion in the terms used for new ways of working and limited recognition of the benefits of to be gained from their adoption. The Agile Working Progression Model seeks to provide a way of assessing how an organisation can progressing through six stages true Agile Working. The stages in the model reflect the chronology in the development of technological developments to support new ways of working.
2 Jun 2014, 15:47
The industry is full of jargon, BYOD, CYOD and even GWYG, for describing the use of devices in the workplace. While Bring Your Own Device has benefits for employers as well as employees there are also considerable concerns from employers and IT departments in particular. There are also a number of strategic considerations.
4 Nov 2014, 15:47
Coworking spaces have increased by 400 per cent in the last two years. For employers the use of coworking spaces reduces accommodation costs, while for employees travel to a nearby co-working space can reduce commuting and offers a solution to the problem of isolation while working at home or escape the distractions of home. Advocates of coworking claim it generates synergy from ideas generated from shared community of talented people working in the same space. But thee is a counterargument.
7 Apr 2014, 15:47
The awareness of project management theory is now widespread. Various studies have shown that more than a third of projects fail to meet their budgets, deadlines or deliverables. There are, of course, many reasons for these failures. However a practical, ‘real world’ approach to project governance is key success factor for all projects.
26 Mar 2017, 15:47
Agile Working, as a form of mobile working, introduces additional security threats to those arising from office based working. A number of recent surveys have highlighted security threats as being one of the greatest concerns for businesses adopting agile working especially those using personal devices. It is essential that the security risks of Agile Working are addressed.
10 Mar 2014, 15:47
While the alluring variety of mobile devices grabs the agile working technology headlines more important is how these devices are connected effectively to corporate information systems. There is a range of ways to provide IT Infrastructure to effectively support Agile Working.
9 Dec 2014, 15:47
One of the problems of discussing new ways of working is the number of terms used to describe it: Agile Working, Smart Working, Flexible Working Mobile Working, Remote Working etc. I present a personal glossary and a commentary on their use.
8 Jul 2014, 15:47
Agile Working is more challenging than Flexible Working, and most Business Transformation projects, in that it seeks behaviour change of staff beyond their (increasingly notional) 9-5 working hours and impacts, some would say threatens, the life component of their work-life balance. There are ten factors that to contribute to the successful launch of an Agile Working project.
25 Nov 2014, 15:47
There are many business benefits of adopting Agile Working but it will only happen if managers and staff feel they have the competence and confidence to adopt this new way working. So what skills do you need to be an Agile Worker? If you are a manager of Agile Workers you will need to have all the skills for Agile Working and also adopt a management skill that is appropriate for Agile Working. You will also need is the ability to manage a diversity of working styles.
23 Aug 2013, 15:47
‘Bring your Own Device’ (BYOD) is one of the most talked subjects in IT. With BYOD, employees are allowed to bring their own device (smart phone, tablet and laptops) and connect them to the corporate network and company services and use them for their work. Employees often feel more comfortable using their own devices, especially when they are superior to the equipment provided by their employer. To date the benefits of BYOD are mainly focussed on choice and convenience for employees and cost savings for employers but there are potentially much greater gains from introducing radical new ways of working that BYOD enables.
21 Oct 2014, 15:47
Taking an agile working approach to business continuity enables organisations to reduce costs and improve resilience. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conducted a survey of more than 1,000 employers and 2,000 employees on flexible working provision and its uptake. Just over half (52%) reported there is a positive impact flexible working on business continuity.
2 Jul 2021, 15:47
Flexible Working since the beginning of this millennium but the term essentially refers to working that covers all options of work-styles at times and place outside of traditional nine-to-five office-based tradition. Defining Agile Working involves the ability to improve processes within a flexible working style. It requires employers to empower their employees to work how and when they choose to maximise their productivity and provide service improvement. This promises to be a win-win situation. Organisations become more responsive and effective and their employees gain more control over the way they work.
6 Oct 2014, 15:47
My involvement started back in the year 2000 when the government launched the Work-Life Balance Challenge Fund to encourage employers to recognise the personal and family commitments of their staff. By doing so, it was argued, staff would be more productive. Despite the altruistic goals I, like others, found little tangible evidence of productivity gains. Now we have Agile Working and it could be argued that this is what Smart Working should have been about, staff working smarter. Agile Working provides the opportunity to achieve new significant benefits in improved customer service and cost reductions.