IBM powers up flexible working arrangements

Teaching an AS level module on Employing People? Then you’ll find this information from IBM extremely useful!

IBM has significantly increased flexible working in order to boost the success of its globalised business.

Seventy per cent of the software firm’s employees now work from home at some point in their working week, while 75 per cent of managers have some remote staff.

Investment in managers’ training has been tripled in the past year “in acknowledgement of the complexities of managing a remote workforce effectively”.

Part-time working, job-sharing, and compressed weeks are all part of the company’s concept of ‘the new world of work’, says the firm.

Alison Gregory, senior managing consultant at IBM, works part time. She says it allows her to “to stay in a job where my skills are valued and I can still pick the kids up from school”.

“Flexible working often means we need to work slightly differently in teams because we are a global business. For example, colleagues could take part in a conference call at 10pm because it’s across different time zones but then trade this time for a later start the next day. It allows us to run global teams.

“It’s about having the right people in the right place at the right time for the business. The only issue is to make sure that the person working flexibly is not working too hard. They need to adjust and if they aren’t, managers need to challenge them about it.”

IBM says flexible options benefit the business by attracting, motivating and retaining employees, helping them manage the demands of their jobs and personal lives.