Chief information officers need to lead by example to overcome outdated working practices in the UK IT workforce, say experts.

Cultural changes such as the introduction of flexible and remote working will help dismantle the perception of IT as a ‘long hours’, male-dominated work culture and address continuing recruitment problems.

But transformation must come from the top, according to Roehampton University researcher Cornelia Wilson, co-author of a Royal Academy of Engineering
report published last week.

‘We need leaders to be seen to be working flexibly themselves,’ she said.

‘Attracting diverse IT professionals will not only create role models for women and other minorities but will also help to address the industry’s skills shortage.’

But employers will remain wary if flexible working is over-sold as a diversity issue, said Carrie Hartnell, programme manager of trade group Intellect.

‘As long as that image persists, flexible and home working will always carry negative connotations,’ she said.

Benefits include access to a larger talent pool and the ability to compete in global markets across different time zones, said Hartnell.

There is a reason the technology sector has been slow to respond to changing working practices, said John Eary, a senior consultant at IT services company NCC Group.

‘Flexibility is hard when there is pressure to complete projects and respond to major system failures, which are both typical scenarios in the IT industry,’ said Eary.

‘But we are moving away from a work culture in which people finish at set times, towards one which has to take account of domestic circumstances.’

Flexibility needs to come from management and staff, said Eary.

But employees are far more enthusiastic than their employers, according to the latest figures.

More than half of respondents to a survey by Orange Business Services and YouGov, published last week, were keen to work flexibly or remotely.

But 39 per cent said their companies did not have a flexible working policy.

And 32 per cent said that even if they did, pursuing it was either impractical or discouraged.