Remote flexworking session3

Editor's Notes

• #3: Facilitator asks what is meant by “remote working” and establishes that this can mean never being part of the work place. The flexible part of flexible working may mean that project members never meet face to face, or may only meet very few times. So the Facilitator then leads the delegates into an exercise on what is missing for these remote workers if they don't have a traditional workspace.
• #4: Can delegates think of any more? Childcare 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
• #5: Return to Pros & Cons Remote working pros Employees work from home or remotely Proven to increase productivity Cost savings on premises Environmental - Reduces traffic carbon emissions Work life balance for individual – reduces stress of the commute cons Requires strong management skills Isolation for the employee Additional Health and Safety checks may be required
• #6: Facilitator splits the delegates into smaller groups totalling up to 4 groups. Challenges them to spend 10 minutes working on “what's missing” for these remote-working employees and project workers (as per Handy's cloverleaf model see below). They are given flipcharts and pens to summarise their ideas. Delegates feedback their thoughts on problems, and issues associated with being a remote worker. If there are no positives facilitator should challenge to find some positives. The shamrock organisation is based around three “cloverleaf” clusters: A core of experienced and well-qualified professionals, technical support and project managers who provide organisational continuity. Their management structure is a flat one usually with four layers of rank or less. In a sense, the core is a downsized organisation that will not go through recurrent cycles of redundancy that can result in lower staff motivation and productivity. Contracted specialists who contribute their expertise to the organisation as and when required and quite often on a project basis. They are paid for their output, manage their own time and workload and can be “portfolio” workers with more than one contract. The third cluster are seasonal, temporary workers and part time workers who perform specific roles but are still crucial to the organisation. In today’s economy many of these workers would probably be outsourced.
• #8: Some, especially bigger, companies will provide a complete Virtual Private Network (VPN) to the internal IT network and all its applications and programs For smaller companies and distributed teams, web-based applications may be appropriate Note – none of the apps on the next slides are definitely recommended, they are merely examples of what is out there. It is recommended that each company establish its own priorities and whether the app is appropriate (see later slide)
• #9: Sharepoint is the “big-company” proprietary solution – but there are alternatives
• #10: Screenshot from Drop.io
• #11: Skype free, Dim Dim free / SaaS Twitter & Yammer free Skype or Dim Dim can also be used for video conferencing Dim Dim for screen sharing
• #12: Screenshot from Yammer
• #13: Probably only for larger companies. Advising larger companies on technology is outside the scope of this presentation.
• #14: Liquid Accounts – web hosted, no free level Sugar CRM – self hosted open source Wrike Ta Da, Remember the milk, Unfuddle - basic free, SaaS
• #15: Screenshot from Wrike showing a task list for a course development project
• #17: Screenshot from Eventbrite Note – none of these apps are definitely recommended, they are merely examples of what is out there. It is recommended that each company establish its own priorities and whether the app is appropriate (see later slide)
• #18: Ask for other ideas… Community is absolutely vital to give the workers a sense of belonging, to ensure retention. Anecdote “ When workers arrive at the office they make a coffee and say hello and catch up with last night’s TV. That’s what we used our forum for.” Google Wave is a brand new collaboration and community space that hasn’t even been launched yet…
• #19: Many of a company’s requirements may be met by a small number of multi-purpose packages
• #20: Typical SME solution
• #21: We talked at length this morning about the business case for flexible working. Where there is a Push force for employers to implement flexible working (because of cost benefits, recruitment retention, customer needs) and a PULL force from employees and other stakeholders then this is acting as a strong driver for businesses to implement flexible working. So how do we actually go about implementing flexible working and what do we need to consider in practical terms.
• #23: 8a REMOTE MANAGER EXERCISE part 1.   Facilitator splits delegates into groups of 3 or 4 people, and asks them to write out the tasks of a manage in managing their team, e.g. communication, leadership, delegation, monitoring, pastoral care. Using flipcharts and pens.   8b Feedback and SWAP   Facilitator brings group back together, and asks them what were the main problems they came up with. Then introduces part 2. Asking each group to pass their issues on to another group for the second half of the exercise.   8c REMOTE MANAGER EXERCISE part 2.   In the same groups, delegates work on the list of issues given to them by the other group, to come up with solutions using technology or other tools or techniques, using flipcharts and pens
• #25: Each “consultancy” feeds back to their “clients” their recommendations. Facilitator summarises