Flexible working is all about giving people the ability to work where, when and how they want. It is about giving people more flexibility and providing the business with a workforce that is equipped to react quickly, to take advantage of opportunities and to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Whatever sector you are in ­ from retail to energy, from manufacturing to local government ­ it is getting tougher to operate. Enabling staff to work flexibly is central to increasing your business agility and speed to market.

Flexible working is no longer considered something that is nice to have; rather many corporates see flexible working giving them a business differentiator.

Enabling organisations to be more agile is now one of the most important contributions that corporate IT can make to the bottom line.

To take an example from my own experience, when we acquire a supermarket, we need to be able to strip and convert that shop into a Waitrose in 11 to 14 days. We need to move that quickly because every day we are closed, we are not paying back on the acquisition and are potentially losing customers to our competitors.

You do not achieve that kind of business agility with people tethered to their desks. People need the flexibility to communicate, stay informed and make decisions wherever they are.

Where it is right for the business, our partners ­ probably termed employees in other organisations ­ now have a pick-list of mobility options which they are able to choose from.

Such options give them the ability to opt for the working style that is right for them and for their role in our business.

We are trying to make the process as off-the-shelf and automated as possible, so that for each option, our IT teams can provide a swift packaged service ­ with the appropriate configuration, security, hardware and software to enable a user to hit the ground running.

Providing a level of commoditisation is vital to us as it will give us the speed and flexibility that the market requires and our business needs.

Of course, we are able to offer flexibility because mobile technologies have matured sufficiently and have become affordable.

Many of the security issues surrounding remote access have also been solved, or are on the way to being so, and the technologies now on the market are more reliable and more stable.

Aside from the pull factors, there is also an all-important push factor around flexible working that should not be overlooked.

Expectations are changing and people now expect their business to provide a selection of IT tools which allow them to properly balance their work and social life.
Many people ­ and especially younger generations ­ increasingly want the option of flexible working. They want to be able to work from the office, their home, on the move, at the gym or from the local coffee shop, just like they can with their own IT kit.

At the John Lewis Partnership, our aim is to be an employer of distinction and so we look on flexible working much more positively than most.

We want to keep our partners happy and achieving that means we can attract and retain the best. However, I know that it is not just my company that has recognised such a trend.

Many senior IT managers participating in The Corporate IT Forum user group come from organisations that take work/life balance issues seriously.

Flexible working will be critical to ensuring that people can make the most of their time ­ both at home and at work.

Society is becoming increasingly IT-savvy and people of all backgrounds have a more advanced relationship with technology than ever before.

IT’s move towards consumerisation means people are more proficient at using technology, partly because embedded IT is all-pervasive and has become part of individuals’ everyday lives, and partly because technology is far easier to use ­ you simply do not need specialist skills anymore to perform some pretty advanced operations.

In the future, all businesses are going to have to be prepared to flex regularly and react more quickly to changing economic and competitive conditions ­ and you are not going to achieve that if you impose one style of working on everyone.

Frank Cordrey is head of development support at retailer John Lewis