BT Flexible Working Scheme

When it comes to providing the employees with flexible working hours and structure, BT (formerly British Telecom) is one of the best examples to emulate not only for employers in UK but also other regions including America, Asia and Africa.

While many companies have the doubt that the business operation will be compromised, the scale of success of BT’s flexible work system, called the ‘BT Workstyle’, deserves praises.

The telco giant presently provides the largest flexible working scheme in the Europe, accommodating over 70,000 staff, with more than 10,000 of them working from the comfort of their homes. Even more compelling, the employees can have a fulfilling career and can certainly enjoy the immense advantages of working on flexible arrangement.

The robust work culture has been implemented for more than a decade, and from the look of it, the trend will continue for a long time. It has saved the company millions of dollars and cut the need for space while at the same time increased the productivity and churned out positive results.

“We would certainly encourage employers across the UK to take full advantage of the great opportunities offered by smarter working. With the cost of transport continuing to rise there couldn’t be a better time for people and organizations to ask themselves whether they could work more flexibly.” – Mike Galvin, BT South East Regional Director.

Empowering the flexible working system requires a string of advanced technologies to be put in place which include Wifi, 3G access, Blackberry devices, VoIP and other interconnected traffic system and peripherals embedded with high-level encryption and security standard. For instance, employees working from home can gain access to the office network using the BT iDisk platform that requires the multi-tier remote access password and security approval.

But BT’s flexible work scheme is not only about working from home. Apart from having a home-based office, the employees can also choose other types of preferred working scheme which include being a ‘mobile worker’ or even based in office but with flexibility in job function, grade and location.

With changes in the way things work, BT’s flexible work culture could not come at a better time. There is a clear indication that the need for employers to provide such a scheme imperative. Recently, a survey conducted by O2 discovered that a big portion of small and medium companies in the UK have started to shift their office from commercial area to independent or home offices.

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Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.