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Location: Based in Galway city
Funding: 9,350
Description:
Pilot e-working project to facilitate initially 3 employees working from home with learning from pilot to assist in providing similar opportunities for other staff.
Number of employees:
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Total |
Male |
Female |
| Employed |
142 |
56 |
86 |
| Participated* |
3 |
2 |
1 |
*Gender breakdown of the 3 people who worked from home as part of the pilot project. Candidate selection was not based on gender but the need to reduce long hours at work for the various employees in order to manage their work life balance.
Achievements:
Initially 3 employees were facilitated in home-working using PCAnywhere software. A further 10 employees were also enabled to work from home using another software package (Cryptocard) which was a more secure system and will be used in future developments.
Obstacles:
The change in the company's ownership was the major challenge for the project. Because of this the organisation had to assess the systems used by Abbott (the new owners) and review the project so that it conformed to Abbott's standards. This led to some time delays.
Lessons:
- Remote working can be useful in other circumstances besides homeworking. For example people travelling can use the same technology to work while travelling which means they do not have to spend as much time catching up when they return to the office.
- Increasing flexibility within the company led to a greater sense of loyalty, a marked reduction in stress levels as communication is much freer, a lot of interest in remote working amongst employees and a happier work force.
- Key staff have been retained even though it was not possible for them to continue working on site at all times.
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