Despite all the bank holidays, this month seems to be all about working – smarter, flexible working. 

With the launch of the new Work Wise UK Quality Mark, flexible working awareness week from 16 to 22 May, and the publication of the British Chamber of Commerce’s Work and Life: How business is striking the right balance report earlier in the month, it looks like businesses up and down the country are finally understanding the necessity of flexible working.

UK plc is finally catching on that adopting smarter working practices can significantly improve productivity and employee relations. 

Great as these benefits are to business, supporting remote working arrangements can place quite a strain on IT departments. IT needs to spend time considering the enabling systems it deploys. 

Initially this just looks like 'put in broadband and some security', but if staff working remotely are to be effective, the remit needs to be somewhat wider. 

Consider arrangements such as:

Telephony:  An IP-enabled switch at head office will allow you to give IP phones to remote staff.  This means that business calls made from remote sites can be at the more advantageous rates you have negotiated with your telecoms provider.  For UK calls, this can be the difference between paying less than 1p per minute and paying 4p or 5p.  For calls out to mobiles or overseas, the savings can be much greater. 

ISP or non-ISP broadband:  Many companies don't even realise that you can get broadband which connects straight back to the office, not via an ISP. The ISP portion of broadband monthly rental is usually over half the cost. Why pay for an ISP service for remote workers when they can use your office ISP connection remotely? A non-ISP approach also covers the extension of internet use and email policies into the remote office.

Printing: Support, printing and consumables costs can be very high if printing (and copying, faxing and scanning) is provided on an ad-hoc basis.

The physical working environment: Companies definitely have some responsibilities for the health and safety of remote workers, so the provision of suitable desks, chairs, and even lighting can't just be ignored.  At the very least, companies need to set out standards and probably provide some cash for setting up home offices.

Security: Security is of course critical and needs to protect not just the office network, but also the remote PC. 

Businesses can’t afford to have an ad hoc approach to flexible working as it leads to employees putting in place their own DIY systems, leaving the network vulnerable and wide open to attack.

A small pilot scheme is a good lead-in to the development of a full remote working solution. The technical enthusiasts in the company will be willing participants and will also evangelise about the benefits of remote working. This will help to inform IT, HR and departmental managers about what parameters, policies and expectations should be set and enable them to roll out a secure flexible working structure on a much wider scale.