Welcome to The Smart Work Network
The Smart Work Network brings together practitioners of Smart Working from large organisations across the UK and Europe. Members are people working in private, public and voluntary sector organisations to roll out substantial programmes of Smart Working.
Latest News
Ofcom’s future ways of working – and future workplace workshop
Join us at the June meeting of the UK Smart Work Network, to hear from Ofcom about their Agile Working initiative and their plans for
Activity-Based Working and the Future of Smart Working
Our Open Session for both Members and Non-Members on May 27th will examine what Activity-Based Working (ABW) is and its central contribution to smarter and
Virtual Reality at KLM – the future of smarter collaboration?
The March 2021 session of the European Smart Work Network included a fascinating case study presented by Henk Smeenk, Concept Owner Hybrid Workplace at KLM.
Leesman, Michelin, Coconat – our February meeting
The focus in our February European Smart Work Network session was on how work is experienced and supported in the new world of work, and
Challenges for Remote Working – Leadership, Customers and Home Workplaces
European Smart Work Network virtual meeting, 28 January 2021 January’s European Smart Work Network open meeting focused on 3 areas central to the new world of
“Hybrid Working” and “The New Normal” – don’t forget the transformation!
Andy Lake challenges the lack of ambition implicit in these new descriptions of working post-pandemic. And we need to rethink what “remote working” means if
Smart Working is a business-focused approach to flexibility and mobility that delivers more efficiency and effectiveness in work organisation, service delivery and organisational agility, as well as benefits for working people.
Find out about the core principles of the Smart Work Network. When you apply to join the Network, you accept these principles. So please do make sure you’re happy with them before joining!
There has been an upsurge in interest in smarter ways of working – in particular remote working – during the pandemic. But for many organisations, the response has been reactive and tactical rather than strategic.
What is Smart Working?
Smart Working is a business-focused approach to flexibility and mobility that delivers more efficiency and effectiveness in work organisation, service delivery and organisational agility, as well as benefits for working people.
Key features are management by results, a trust-based culture, high levels of autonomy, flexibility in the time and location of work, new tools and work environments, reduced reliance on physical resources and openness to continuing change.
Sharing Leading Practice In Smart Working
The Smart Work Network is a peer collaboration network for practitioners implementing Smart/Flexible Working within their organisations.
Our mission is to develop, share and promote best practice in implementing Smart Working, in order to maximise the benefits to individuals, organisations, society and the environment.
Benefits of Membership Include:
Learning
Members can meet and learn from each other about their Smart Working programmes – sharing experiences, ideas, challenges and solutions.
Resources
Members can access documents provide by other Network members, such as policy documents and presentations, and work together to produce new guidance.
Leading-Edge Practice
Members can find out about leading-edge practice in Smart workplace design, new technologies and ways to promote and embed culture change.
Joining The Network
Membership of the Network is free to people in organisations with 100+ employees in the UK and Europe who are helping their employing companies deliver flexible working.
We’re afraid it’s not a network for vendors and consultants, nor for small businesses which tend to have a different set of issues and context for implementation. However, there are other activities run by Flexibility.co.uk that are more appropriate for these groups.
To apply to join the Smart Work Network, click the ‘Join Now’ link for UK or Europe as appropriate, and follow the instructions.
About Us
A little bit of background on our organisation
What we do
The Smart Work Network operates as follows:
- It’s a network of people actively involved in developing Smart, Flexible and ‘Agile’ Working in their organisations, across all sectors
- The aim is to share information and experience, solve problems, etc
- It’s primarily for people setting up Smart Working in organisations, rather than consultants and vendors, etc
- The network has frequent meetings per year, showcasing what members have been doing, exchanging knowledge, and exploring agreed topics of interest. It is free to members to attend meetings
- Members also have access to a secure area in this website with discussion forum, special articles, etc, and receive periodic emails with news updates
History
The Smart Work Network was formed in 2007 in the UK.
From an initial launch at Reuters, it’s grown to have more than 200 members drawn from some 170 organisations.
The first virtual meeting was held in 2020.
In 2020 we are also launching Smart Work Europe, the European version of the Network.
Founders and Funders
The Smart Work Network is an initiative of Flexibility.co.uk Ltd
The Founders are:
- (UK and Europe) Andy Lake, Director of Flexibility.co.uk Ltd, author of numerous publications including Smart Flexibility and the Smart Working Handbook
- (Europe) Philip Vanhoutte, founder of Ozadi, former MD Europe and Africa, Plantronics and author of The Smarter Working Manifesto
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(Europe) Ben Hutchinson, Director of Change and Transformation at Thales UK, and specialist in change leadership and cultural change
Network activities are currently sponsored by Saint Gobain Ecophon.
Contact Us
We aim to reply to all messages within 24 hours.