BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service

The BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service enables organisations to understand how best to provide a flexible working environment for their employees. This is typically driven by the need to attract and retain talented employees, increase productivity, reduce costs, make the best use of office space and to offer greater freedom to employees to work when and where they are most effective, whether in the office, at home or on the move.

By engaging in a collaborative process with BT, a recognised leader in flexible working, organisations can rapidly assess how their current infrastructure, property portfolio, HR processes and culture supports flexible working, and discover which best practices and technology options will help make a flexible workforce a reality.

Significantly, BT understands that new working practices require a shift in behavioural and cultural attitudes. Not only have we successfully managed this transformation ourselves, but we have also worked with many public and private sector organisations to help them manage these changes. BT can help you transition to a new style of working, uncovering clear benefits for your organisation, your people and ultimately the customers you serve.

The big pictureTo optimise the benefits of flexible working, technology must take a back seat. Our previous experience and research suggests that the best implementations of flexible working solutions start with a clear understanding of the needs of a business, its employees and its customers. Information and communications technology plays a supporting rather than a defining role – delivering intelligent solutions that allow companies to work optimally, pursue their strategic objectives, and serve their customers efficiently and profitably.

The BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service uses a consultative approach, which provides a thorough understanding of your organisation and accurately calculates the cost and benefit of the options available to you, based on our findings and recommendations.

The drivers for Work Anywhere Attracting and retaining talent Flexible working increases the attractiveness of an employer and improves employee retention. Increasingly, employees are looking for the option to work flexibly and new legislation gives them the right to request it (1). A recent survey of graduates revealed that an ability to work flexibly is a key consideration when selecting an employer (2). Additionally, there are potential savings to be made not only in recruitment and reduced retraining costs but also in reduced losses from absenteeism.

Increasing productivityEmployees waste time travelling to and from work, between client offices, and to different locations for meetings. The ability to work flexibly can help reduce this wasted time, allowing people to make better use of the working day and stay in touch more effectively when they are on the move.

But it isn’t just about reduced travel time. BT has also found that giving employees the freedom to work from home makes them more productive. Work Anywhere solutions also provide support for more collaborative working and information sharing.

Improving customer satisfactionOrganisations are exploring ways of empowering employees to spend more time with customers and devoting less time to administrative tasks. Giving employees clear objectives, the tools to work remotely rather than simply rewarding attendance and access to the right customer information at the right time is the key to achieving great results, leading to a happier, more productive workforce, delivering better service to the end customer.

About the BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service

“Deploying a flexible working solution didn’t change our company’s objectives. It just added another set of tools to help us achieve those objectives. So at the start of the process, we focused on what we needed to improve – not what solutions or technologies were available.”Telecoms Equipment Vendor, USA

(1) Working Family Flexibilty Act, USA; UK government extending the right to request flexible working hours to parents of older children, likely to come into force in April 2009. (2) Source: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Flexible_working/Employers/p!eFjpaLm

Controlling costsBT recognises that there is increasing pressure on capital expenditure and that investments need to release real cashable savings. BT has saved over €750 million a year on property over the last six years through its flexible working initiatives. Often, older office buildings are poorly equipped, high maintenance and unable to support modern working styles. This only adds weight to the financial argument for a comprehensive reassessment of property use. Significant cost savings can also be gained from rationalising communications, infrastructure and access services and by reducing travel through the use of video and web conferencing.

Planning for sustainabilityIt is becoming increasingly important for all organisations to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, not least because of rising levels of legislation. Our Work Anywhere approach looks not only at the scope for reducing carbon emissions, but also at how changing the way an organisation works can support social, economic and workforce sustainability. Research undertaken in 2005, suggested our strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) credentials had had a positive impact and influence on bids and proposals tendered for. The ability to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability has now become a clear business differentiator.

Improving resilience and securityHaving people working remotely provides greater organisational resilience against unexpected natural and man-made events, such as flooding, transport problems and security incidents. However, as part of the Work Anywhere agenda it is also important to consider how the implementation of new working practices and technology impacts on information management and security. Security is frequently cited as the greatest source of concern relating to flexible working. BT is an industry recognised security expert; we work with organisations to understand their business and ensure continuity plans and security systems are robust now and in the future.

“BT is one of the early movers in the area of climate change and its track record is excellent. BT is one of the very few companies to have reduced its overall emissions while growing the business. It has adopted a positive approach and is looking for solutions for itself and for customers. If everyone was doing what BT is doing, we’d be on our way to solving the climate problem.”Jorgen Randers, Norwegian School of Management, Oslo, 2005

Flex, Spain’s largest manufacturer of specialist bedding products, chose a managed, highly secure remote access solution to underpin its international expansion.

“Without a fast, secure and reliable way of accessing and working with critical business information, our international teams would be unable to operate efficiently. In terms of our global strategy, it is a prerequisite to our success.” Beatriz Nogueras, Marketing Manager, Flex

“E-working is an important area of Government policy that we are striving to achieve - employees are fully contactable through BT Workstyle services and they can respond more quickly to events and access the information they need to make effective decisions. I have been working flexibly for four months and it has already reduced my costs, increased my productivity and allowed a much improved work-life balance. I’m pleased DCSA and MOD are recognising the possibilities for retention and recruitment that flexible working offers.”Lt Cdr Nick Chamberlain, Ministry of Defence, UK

Please see The outcome for further info on BT Workstyle Managed Services.

A strategy for success

Many organisations are aware of the benefits of flexible working, but often struggle to develop a business case that satisfies all stakeholders. The relevant technologies are evolving rapidly, there are a host of solutions on offer from different vendors, and industry best practice and benchmark figures are not easily determined.

So, while the potential to improve business efficiency and better meet customer needs is understood, senior managers can struggle to evaluate flexible working solutions accurately, and frequently decide not to trial or adopt new styles of working and new technologies.

Our BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service involves the relevant stakeholders from the start, including HR, IT, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and CxO representatives, and uses a structured approach that will help you gain control of the key organisational, cultural, technical and property factors necessary for successful implementation. In particular, you will be able to:

• Ensure project sponsors and stakeholders agree the reasons for change and commit to the process of change

• Give project sponsors the tools to communicate the need for change successfully

• Identify and address the root causes of existing problems

• Approach implementation with the confidence that benefits will be seen across the business

• Drive implementation by using the best combination of processes, people, technology and property

“Hot-desking wasn’t a priority two or three years ago, but it is today. Two pilot wireless LAN programmes have demonstrated huge benefits in terms of greater flexibility to optimise our use of valuable space and to help employees remain productive wherever they are. Importantly, our security concerns have been met and a company-wide rollout has now been recommended.”Dharam Korde, Prudential

For the employer:• Flexible working can help give organisations an edge over

competitors when recruiting top candidates

• Improved productivity and overall efficiency

• Reduced absenteeism

• Improved staff retention

• Improved customer service

• Possible reduction of office space, with associated cost reductions

• Cost-effective connectivity

• Full management control over secure remote access, including billing

• Increased ability to respond quickly to customer demand in a 24x7 global environment

• Suppliers, channel partners and contractors can access the internet and their own networks while visiting your facilities

• Lower carbon footprint while reducing fuel and travel costs

For the employee:• Opportunity to work flexibly and increased job satisfaction

• A more favourable work-life balance

• Improved productivity; employees can connect remotely wherever they are and minimise downtime

• Straightforward connectivity, whether at home or on the road

• Not tied to typical office hours

• Reduced personal carbon footprint due to reduced travel

The benefits of flexible working

“From a strong field, we selected BT because it had first hand experience of implementing flexible working internally and had already helped other organisations succeed. In short, the BT offer was not only the best but also the most credible”Alan Kirkham, City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, UK

SABMiller Plc, a global brewing company, needed to relocate its UK headquarters. The move provided the opportunity to maximise the benefits from technology, both for the people that work in the building and for the company as a whole. As well as a single network to converge their voice and data services, a key requirement was a secure wireless network that offered both employees and guest access.

As a result of this solution, SABMiller’s employees are not fixed to working positions, they can roam seamlessly between wired and wireless infrastructures. Additionally, a new unified messaging function means voicemail can now be accessed and managed through email.

“Working with BT was a breeze – quite simply there have been no major problems or hiccups at all. BT has demonstrated that its people know IP technology and they can support it end-to-end. In addition, we believe that BT will be able to help us going forward as the technology evolves.”Roger Chappé de Leonval, IT Manager, SABMiller

Status checklistTo get the Quick Start service underway, we ask our customers to complete a simple checklist. This allows us to assess your current situation and consider any progress you have already made in terms of preparing for flexible working.

Although the checklist does not require a large amount of technical input, it should be completed by a senior employee who is aware of current flexible working policies and infrastructure. With this insight, we can work with you to decide whether your organisation will benefit most from a Workshop or an Assessment.

While both of these engagements address key issues and requirements, they differ in their level of detail and purpose. Depending on the option you choose, it will typically take either 2-3 days or 2-3 weeks to complete.

Level one: Quick Start WorkshopThe Quick Start Workshop provides a high-level introduction to the Work Anywhere portfolio. It aims to expand and validate your current understanding of the benefits of flexible working practices, and demonstrates how these can be applied to your organisation.

Level 1 (2-3 days)

The process

Inputs Activities Outcomes

• Agreement of scope and terms of reference with customer CEO or equivalent

• Data gathering and scoping with service heads and functional managers

• Information for final report and recommendations

• Information from data gathering

• Workshop with service heads and functional managers

• Common understand-ing of flexible working benefits

• Assessment of strategic objectives

• Identification of priorities

• Analysis of key information

• Presentation of high level recommendations to key stakeholders

• Final report and recommendations

Report which includes:• An understanding of flexible working benefits for your organisation• Identification of priorities• Assessment of strategic objectives and actions for the future

Key deliverables

Level 2 Quick Start Assessment

Level two: Quick Start AssessmentEvery day organisations undertake new business initiatives and change programmes. When their attempts to change processes fail, it is usually because there is no comprehensive action plan capturing the full scope of the change required.

The BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Assessment involves a more in-depth assessment of current flexible working practices, develops a cost / benefit analysis of change, and culminates in key findings and recommended next steps. It helps organisations to develop an action plan for the future and ensure that the business has a clear picture of the roles, responsibilities and benefits that the successful implementation of flexible working can bring.

Inputs Activities Outcomes

• Agreement of scope and terms of reference with customer CEO or equivalent

• Launch with service heads and functional managers

• Common understanding of scope

• Assessment of strategic objectives

• Prioritisation of activities

• Structured questions• Work Anywhere assessment

– property, people, technology, readiness for change

• Service dialogues – one per functional area

• Information to populate high level business case

• Evaluation of Work Anywhere mix and readiness for change

• ROI data• Analysis of Work Anywhere

assessment

• Presentation of high level business case to senior stakeholders

• Final report and recommendations

Report which includes:• Assessment of strategic objectives• Identification of priorities• Appraisal of strategic and operational benefits of

implementing a Work Anywhere solution• Key costs and challenges associated with implementing

flexible working• Recommended next steps

Key deliverables

The outcome

Having completed the BT Work Anywhere Quick Start Service, you will be able to identify and prioritise areas of improvement, and those which will bring clear business benefits. Above all, you will have a framework on which to base the deployment of flexible working solutions.

There are differing approaches that can be chosen to best meet your organisation’s requirements, depending on your situation and the results gleaned from the Quick Start process. However, they could include:

BT Workstyle Managed ServicesBT Workstyle Managed Services exist because flexible working means much more than the implementation of a technology solution. Many other elements need consideration if flexible working is to be meaningful within an organisation. BT Workstyle Managed Services offers a portfolio of services which address the Property, People and Process needs of your business. These managed services complement our technology expertise to provide a fully rounded managed flexible working solution with outsourced administration which delivers tangible benefit for our clients.

BT MobileXpressBT MobileXpress is a global secure remote access solution that helps organisations with their flexible working policies by offering a reliable, easy, secure and competitively priced solution for mobile, wireless and broadband data access to users who are working remotely, from home or on the move.

Benefits• Global coverage – mobile employees

can rely on the same access to corporate information they would expect from within the office environment

• Improved productivity through knowledge sharing and collaboration across departmental boundaries and geographically diverse teams

• Increased responsiveness through real-time access to information

• Cost-effective access through a range of Wi-Fi, dial-up and broadband options

• Greater control over IT costs with everyone accessing information in a consistent manner

• A range of security and authentication options to ensure compliance with your security policies

• Icon-based interface that is intuitive, easy-to-use and requires minimal training

BT Corporate FusionBT Corporate Fusion is a fixed-mobile convergence solution for large organisations. It helps organisations improve productivity by giving employees a single device for communicating inside and outside of the office. Employees can use one business number and one voicemail wherever they are – making them easier to contact, reducing the time spent playing ‘telephone tag’ with voicemail systems, and reducing the time an organisation has to spend managing multiple fixed and mobile communication technologies.

BT Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC)BT UCC solutions can enable users to take part in almost any kind of communication to anyone at any time, by linking voice, mobile and data services with desktop and mobile devices. This enables individuals or workgroups to work together via voice, e-mail, instant messaging, presence-enabled applications, audio, video and web conferencing, file sharing, applications sharing, records management or online discussions groups.

BT ConferencingBT Conferencing offers a complete portfolio encompassing a wide range of audio, video and web solutions, and enables employees, business partners, customers and suppliers the flexibility to meet and collaborate remotely. The benefits of BT Conferencing include:• Reduced travelling costs• Lowered carbon footprint• Improved employee productivity• Better online and virtual training• Clearer corporate communication• Convenient access to senior management• Reduced need for face-to-face meetings

BT Secure Wireless LANBT Secure Wireless LAN solutions enable enterprises to use wireless networking to create a flexible working environment and implement mobility applications that increase business agility, while ensuring the integrity and security of corporate data. Whether you want to set up a new wireless LAN as your core network infrastructure, extend your current LAN to include roaming users and guest access, or have concerns about the security of an existing network, our approach ensures you have your wireless network estate where you want it – secure and under control.

BT Openzone (UK & Ireland only)BT Openzone is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading public access wireless broadband providers. Our vision is to make Wi-Fi access similar to the cash point system – where anyone can use Wi-Fi at any of thousands of hotspots. With our convenient, cost-efficient and easy-to-use broadband internet access service, using wireless technology (Wi-Fi) couldn’t be simpler, giving your employees access to the web, email and other enterprise applications when they are travelling.

Long-term savingsBT has worked with:• Surrey County Council, UK on deploying

a flexible working scheme that has saved the authority £28 million in reduced space requirements.

• The AA breakdown service to introduce remote call centre working, which has increased productivity by 34%, including significant savings on space utilisation.

• NHS 24, improving productivity by 20% within just seven months.

Status checklist

1. Organisational awareness and commitmentDoes senior management recognise the benefits of flexible working?Yes Partially No

Do your employees and potential recruits demand the option to work flexibly?Yes Partially No

Do you have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or sustainability initiatives?Yes Partially No

If no, do you hope or plan to have a CSR or sustainability initiative in the future?Yes Partially No

Have you made investments to improve operational processes and efficiency for remote and mobile employees?Yes Partially No

Are you currently looking for ways to reduce escalating business travel costs?Yes Partially No

2. Current flexible working effectivenessDo you have multiple sites and buildings and the desire to make more effective use of them?Yes Partially No

Do you do business in more than one country or have people who frequently need to travel for work e.g. salespeople, project managers, senior executives?Yes Partially No

Do you have a process for your employees to securely access corporate data and applications remotely?Yes Partially No

Are visitors and guests able to work effectively and get internet access when they visit your offices?Yes Partially No

Do you have a requirement to improve efficiency relating to customer service?Yes Partially No

3. Current & planned flexible working initiativesDo you currently have people working remotely/ flexibly/from home on a regular basis?Yes Partially No

Do you use Audio Conferencing, Web Conferencing or Video Conferencing?Yes Partially No

Do you use wireless networking in your offices or other facilities? Yes Partially No

Do you have contingency plans in the event of a disaster scenario where access to offices is restricted and large numbers of employees would need to work from home or temporary offices?Yes Partially No

4. Secure flexible workingDo you have any security concerns regarding remote access to your corporate assets and information?Yes Partially No

Do you currently have security in place for remote and fixed employees? (Personal firewalls, VPN. antivirus, etc.)Yes Partially No

The following questions will help determine the most effective starting point for a BT Work Anywhere Quick Start engagement with your organisation. Please answer ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Partially’ by checking the appropriate box. You can then total your answers in the summary section, which will give you an indication of your current status.

Yes Partially No1. Organisational awareness

and commitment

2. Current flexible working effectiveness

3. Current & planned flexible working initiatives

4. Secure flexible working

5. Summary

Why BT?Scalable from local networks to global enterprises, our solutions enable organisations to start on a very small scale and can increase over time, as experience and confidence grows.

BT itself is renowned as a pioneer in flexible working transformation and is internationally recognised as a leader in flexible working practices. In the UK, BT has 73,000 flexible employees – 69% of the total workforce – ranging from senior managers through to contact centre employees. Additionally, over 13,700 employees are contracted to work from home, saving more than €750 million in property management costs each year (3).

At BT, flexible working policies have reduced overall absenteeism to 3.1%, compared to a national average of 8.5%; and 99% of women return after maternity leave, compared to the UK national average of 47% (4).

Flexible working practices have also enabled BT to save 12 million litres of fuel and 54,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, in the UK.

Simplicity and integrated collaborationBT provides integrated communication, messaging and collaboration solutions to enable employees to work more productively wherever they are.• BT manages more than 25 million email

messages each day, and over 1.5 million customer email accounts

• We support over 6,000 audio conferences every day, globally – more than two million minutes a day

• We support over 1,000 video conferences each week, globally

• BT hosts and manages Microsoft’s LiveMeeting Web conferencing platform

• BT has key associate relationships with industry-leaders like Microsoft and Cisco

More efficient use of property, reducing overheads.Working with BT and its strategic property associates you can be assured of expert advice and insight into the broader set of business issues when embarking on a Work Anywhere journey.

BT future proofs solutionsAll of our solutions are designed to be sustainable and scalable in anticipation of our customers’ future needs.

Leader on security and authenticationWith an ever increasing amount of corporate data now being stored on mobile devices, the security and integrity of sensitive corporate information is a growing concern. An estimated 63% of companies indicate that employees carry sensitive customer data on their mobile devices and 28% indicate that company mobile devices are used to access corporate financial data (5).BT has extensive experience in secure remote access and secure networking and mobility - across all market sectors. BT has one of the largest dedicated security and business continuity practices in the world, with over 1,300 full-time specialists. This means our offering is one of the strongest managed security solutions on the market.

(3) Source: BT Workstyle case study, 2006 (4) Source: The BT Story case study, 2007

(5) Source: Strategy Analytics, 2008

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About the BT Quick Start SeriesThe BT Quick Starts are concise, service-led engagements focused on key services and technologies that are of critical importance to organisations within the digital networked economy. These services and technologies combine to form a wider infrastructure model, each representing significant advances and long-term efficiency for the organisation deploying them.

The BT Quick Starts can be used as an integral part of an organisation’s development roadmap. They enable customers to assess, test, plan and establish the validity of each service or technology in manageable parts. Each Quick Start comprises clearly defined stages and outcomes that will provide the information necessary both to deploy a solution and to commercially justify any required change in infrastructure, network or in any other area.

What next?We can take you through the benefits and implications that would directly affect your organisation. In addition, we can help to build tangible examples that are more valuable to your business stakeholders. Contact your BT Account Manager to arrange a meeting and discuss collaborative working in more detail.