members around the world
Principles of Membership

The following sets out the core principles of the Smart Work Network. By applying to join the Network, you accept these principles. So please do make sure you’re happy with them before joining!

Overview

The network is designed for representatives of British and European organisations with 100+ employees, who are involved in implementing Smart Working in their own organisation, to come together and share their collective experience. The aim of the Network is to raise greater awareness about Smart Working and to help practitioners put the ideas successfully into practice. Members will share experience, ideas, issues and solutions in an open and friendly environment at events and through the forum on the website.

We intend for the Network to be a friendly, welcoming and informal organisation where everyone’s voice can be heard and where members are inspired by the quality and diversity of views expressed. The membership terms and conditions have been created to create a forum where people feel they are in a safe and non-selling environment that encourages open discussion and meaningful examples to be shared.

Membership is provided free of charge for people in eligible organisations, i.e. organisations with c100+ employees, as the Network is intended as a not-for-profit volunteer-led group of interested individuals. An individual’s membership term is 12 months and will be automatically renewed assuming a member complies with expectations as set out in these terms and does not express the desire to leave the group at the end of the 12 month term.

Expectations of members

Becoming a member of the Smart Work Network means that you:

  1. Are committed to the philosophy behind Smart Working. You can see there are potential benefits in moving your organisation towards Smart Working methods in respect of buildings, technology, process and people management approaches.
  2. Are involved in implementing Smart Working or actively preparing to do so. It is interested individuals rather than organisations as a whole that join.
  3. Are approaching Smart Working with an open mind. While successful Smart Working incorporates best practice in modernising the way we work, there is no single ‘right-way’ to implement it and it’s important that our members value the alternative perspectives that others bring to the network.
  4. Are respectful towards others. We encourage people to share candid experiences in a supportive and welcoming environment. We request that where members disagree with one another they ask questions to seek to understand the reasoning and assumptions behind the alternative perspective. This is a respectful way to learn from each other where there are differing opinions.
  5. Are interested in learning from others as well as contributing. We do not mandate that members speak or share examples during sessions. However it is essential that our members are willing to listen to others and avoid dominating the group conversation/dialogue/debate in a way that is inappropriate and unbalanced
  6. Are aware of and willing to comply with British and EU law which bans workplace discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, disability, ethnic or racial origin, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. Discrimination, bullying or harassment will result in termination of Network membership and depending on the severity of the situation a warning may or not be given in advance of membership termination.
  7. Are willing to abide by the Chatham House Rule of confidentiality. This is a rule which originated at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) with the aim of encouraging openness of discussion and facilitating the sharing of information. When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
  8. Accept that the network is a non-selling environment, and one where members can be candid about what works well and what does not work so well, knowing that confidentiality will be protected under the Chatham House Rule.
  9. Members are free to terminate their membership at any time.

GDPR

Personal data, including but not limited to names, email addresses, job titles and employer details will be collected from prospective members by the Network for the purpose of contacting members with relevant information about events and the administration of their membership, by officials of the Network including appointed Country Leads. Basic information such as name, organisation and job title may also be shared with other members of the Network with implied consent from each member, but will not be publicly accessible. Members will have the option to share contact details with the wider group.

All individuals have the right to be informed about the collection and use of their personal data. Members will be informed of the purposes for processing their personal data by the Network, our retention periods for that personal data, and a commitment that their personal data (with the exception of name, organisation and job title) will not be shared without consent. If you do not want your name, organisation and job title to appear on the list of members, please inform the founders and all of your personal data will remain confidential.