BT Workstyle Project
BT has adapted the way it manages people and the way they work to stay competitive and responsive. The company has what it believes to be one of the largest flexible working projects in Europe – the BT Workstyle project.
The BT Workstyle Project was implemented to promote the use of online working for employees and for external companies looking to change the way they work. The key aim; to find a more comfortable balance between work and leisure.
The objectives were to promote the technological benefits that can be unlocked by other business customers, drive down office costs, allow market agility and the ability to respond to change quickly and finally, to drive down CO2 emissions.
As well these objects, The Workstyle Project also made it their mission to find sustainable alternatives to travel, reducing not only the impact on their environment but also each employee’s attitude towards work. These alternatives include
- Home working
- Local working: relocating to BT premises nearer to home
- Job sharing
- Teleconferencing coupled with a business travel reduction policy
- Internal car sharing scheme and Staff shuttle from to Ipswich station
The benefits that resulted from the Workstyle Project were:
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Telephone conferencing eliminated 859,784 meetings per year, saving £135m in travel savings and £103 million per year in productivity gains. (May 2007)
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63% less sick leave among BT home workers than office-based counterparts
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Flexible working reduced absenteeism to 3.1% (national average = 8.5%)
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99% of women return after maternity leave (national average = 47%)
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Home based workers recorded 20% less absenteeism
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Commuting reduction among home workers resulted in over 7.5m kg of CO2emissions being avoided
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Reduction in office space between 1993 and 2006 saves BT nearly £614m/year
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11,600 home workers (2006) saved over £87m/year in accommodation costs, and were on average 20% more productive than office-based colleagues
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20% reduction in business travel during 2006 – 2008
Along with greater productivity, substantial cost savings and an enhanced pride in corporate social responsibility, the BT Workstyle project found that flexible working is key to keeping pace with competitors and motivating the workforce.