flexibility.co.uk

Description

PLEASE NOTE: This book is NOT the latest book from Andy Lake.
(To order Beyond Hybrid Working (2024), go to the Routledge website. Further details about this latest book are here on Flexibility.co.uk)

Smart Flexibility: Moving Smart and Flexible Working from Theory to Practice (Routledge, 2016) is an engaging and practical management book to help organisations implement Smart Working, and takes a business-focused approach to flexibility.

Written for managers at the leading edge of change, Andy Lake takes a strategic, comprehensive and integrated approach to Smart and Flexible Working. The book sets out how to achieve measurable benefits across the Triple Bottom Line. Starting from the underlying principles and the compelling context for change, it takes a pragmatic approach to delivering change in each of the key areas of People (HR), Property and Technology. The book is designed to help professionals understand the vital connecting points across disciplines as well as innovations in their own fields.

There are also separate chapters that look at the real impacts for sustainability, the impacts for ’Smart Government’, how to manage the ’Anywhere Anytime Team’ and how to take people on the journey towards a Smart Flexibility organisational culture.

The book includes many insights based on the author’s experience and wide-ranging research, many practical techniques for implementing change plus ten case studies. Smart Flexibility is essential reading for anyone involved in workplace change and increasing the efficiency of organisations. It is aimed at managers who need to deliver change, and will be of great interest to consultants in the fields of workplace design, new technologies and HR/OD/Training.

About the author

A graduate of Cambridge University, Andy Lake is a specialist in Smart Working and founder of Flexibility.co.uk, the online journal of Smart Working. He has been involved in dozens of implementations of Smart Working, and conducted leading-edge research into its impacts. Previous publications include the Smart Working Handbook, Workhubs: Smart Workspace for the Low Carbon Economy and Can Homeworking Save the Planet? He also wrote the UK government guidance for Smart Working. Andy also coordinates the Smart Work Network (www.smart-work.net), a network of 200+ larger companies and public sector organisations that collaborate to develop flexible working.

Reviews

“… I like this book. I liked the author’s use of humour to get the point across. I liked the layout of the chapters and how the book’s gentle meadow-stream flow from one chapter to the next was perfect for people like me. I like the arguments that he presented, and I appreciated the effort put into excellent research with real-world examples …” Quality World

“A must-read for anyone interested in or embarking on workplace change. A combination of academic rigour, practical experience and case studies, it reflects Lake’s long-standing position as researcher and consultant in the field of smarter working.” Flexible Boss, September 2015

“This is a timely text aiming to provide managers with a guide to what Lake (editor of Flexibility) calls “smart flexibility” in their organization in a business-focused way … Smart Flexibility is a practical read, with the benefit of sound theoretical underpinning … This book really feels like an “ultimate” guide to flexible working … a thought-provoking read and one that I feel should be essential reading for any managers wishing to take flexible working seriously within their organization.” Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 34 No. 6