Irish firms out in front on mobile working

Irish companies are ahead of their British and Dutch counterparts when it comes to recognising the benefits of mobile working.

According to a recent survey, two-thirds of Irish companies offer formal training for employees on how to work effectively and efficiently outside the office, compared with just under one-half in Britain and only one-third of companies in the Netherlands.

The study, commissioned by IT communications company Citrix, found that nine out of 10 medium and large Irish organisations believe that it is more productive to provide mobile workers with secure access to the right applications.

As proof of this, seven out of 10 Irish senior managers are currently able to access important company information from a remote location through the use of the internet.

Moreover, only 15 per cent of companies in Ireland, Britain and the Netherlands associate loss of control of corporate information with the increasing use of mobile devices. "In general, senior management in Ireland do see the value and importance of remote working and this is demonstrated by the high percentage of formal training given to them," said Richard Jackson, managing director of Citrix for Britain and Ireland. "However there is still a perceived lack of senior management support and this presents a barrier."

The survey found that more than half of Irish companies feel that staff would benefit from more communication about mobile working from the IT team - on a par with sentiment in Britain and the Netherlands.

Still, while most Irish companies believe flexible working is an important aspect of disaster recovery, the survey also found that not all companies would be prepared to continue working in the case of a disaster.

Only two out of 10 companies believe that all their staff would be able to continue working from another site in the event that their office became inaccessible - similar results to British companies.

The study, which questioned senior management in Ireland, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa, comes as the Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen this week published the first report of the National Workplace Strategy High Level Implementation Group.

The group, charged with implementing the Government's blueprint to transform Irish companies into so-called workplaces of the future, has, according to Killeen, made "significant" progress.

Since its introduction in March last year, the group has set up a new workplace innovation fund aimed at developing more innovative working practices; started a new initiative to promote leadership in Irish companies; more than tripled the money being spent on training; launched a wage subsidy scheme for people with disabilities, and has encouraged increased debate on the issue of work-life balance.

"While the challenges we face will not be resolved overnight, I am convinced that the work of this group has already added significant value to the efforts of Government and the social partners to stimulate greater levels of workplace innovation," the Minister said.