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Tube strike reveals importance of flexible working
The disruption brought to London's transport networks by this week's tube strike could remind businesses of the need to implement flexible and remote working.
A dispute between the Rail, Maritime and Transport union and London Underground over failed pay talks meant that staff staged a mass walk-out from Tuesday (June 9th) to Thursday evening, leaving many people in the capital facing huge delays to get to work.
Nigel Hawthorn, vice president of EMEA marketing at Blue Coat Systems, said that businesses which were slow to adapt to changing working practices will have been the worst-affected by the transport chaos.
"Every time there's an event like this the sales of remote working equipment increases [and] sadly that shows that some organisations still haven't invested in home working technology," he explained.
"We think that problems will not happen to us, but we should have plans to deal with business disruption."
Companies with continuity plans should have been able to minimise the disruption caused by the tube strike, as VoIP telephony and wide area networks can keep employees attached to the office while working from home or another remote site.
Michael Calvert, UK general manager at Aastra, explained how being prepared for flexible working can help employers to keep their businesses moving and maintain productivity in testing circumstances.
"Businesses that have had the foresight to put flexible communications infrastructure in place should be less affected, as employees can continue to be productive at home or wherever they are," he said.
"Technologies such as VoIP phones can make it possible for many people to work from home and can even reduce the cost of calls, while making team interaction more effective."
Although the tube strike should encourage more firms to use technology to implement flexible working strategies - particularly as the RMT has threatened further industrial action within the next two weeks - there is evidence that many businesses are still dragging their feet on this issue.
In March, a survey published by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Cabinet Office found that only 52 per cent of employees claimed their organisation had plans in place to cope with business disruption.
The study found that only 30 per cent were prepared for the enforced absence of staff, while 32 per cent of organisations have continuity plans that are never tested.
"Despite warnings...it seems that employers still have a long way to go before they can claim to be truly resilient," said Petra Wilton, director of policy and research at the CMI.
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