HR Industry News

New quality mark recognises smarter working

— 29 May 2007 —

The introduction of smarter working practices in UK businesses has been given a boost with the launch of a new quality mark.

Work Wise UK has launched the quality mark to provide a framework for organisations that want to build on existing improvements and those that are just realising the benefits and want to start reforming their working practices.

The quality mark will be assessed using the Work Wise UK standard, which has been developed in collaboration with the TUC, Transport for London, HBOS, NHS, BT and the Association for Commuter Transport.

According to Sir Digby Jones, UK Skills Envoy and former director general of the CBI, UK businesses need to understand that the nature of work is changing fundamentally and they need to adapt and evolve accordingly.

The introduction of new smarter working practices is gaining momentum not only to improve business productivity but also to enable firms to recruit and retain the staff needed to do business, he explained.

Those organisations which achieve the Work Wise quality mark will be well placed to attract the very best staff, as the labour market becomes ever more competitive and society becomes increasingly aware of the benefits of flexibility and new ways of working, added Sir Digby.

Assessment for the quality mark will require an organisation to demonstrate it has an understanding of smarter working techniques and uses them as a strategic planning tool whilst involving staff in the definition of future strategies.

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