The project issues
The London Borough of Bromley wanted to examine the potential efficiency benefits of implementing a mobile and flexible working policy, with a focus on its potential impact on the Council’s accommodation strategy. Socitm Consulting was asked to produce a corporate business case for flexible and mobile working with a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.

The Socitm Consulting solution
We began by interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, including the project sponsors, the ICT infrastructure team leaders and the ICT representatives for key departments.  Two of Bromley’s software suppliers were also interviewed to establish their current and planned solutions for mobile working. We also reviewed the Council’s ICT, Property, HR and Customer Access strategies and identified those staff groups with the greatest potential requirement for mobile and flexible working and the key technological requirements for its implementation.

We then produced a report that included the following recommendations:

• Mobile and flexible working facilities should be incorporated into the planning stage of the accommodation strategy, including the use of hot-desking
• Secure mobile access points should be strategically placed at key locations within the campus, enabling users to access network resources without the need for fixed network links and the associated office space
• The Council’s thin client infrastructure be endorsed as the preferred platform for flexible workers and its development should take into account mobile and flexible working requirements
• The costs and implications of implementing VOIP should be investigated and documented so they can be included in the business cases for service areas
• The ICT and Social Care services should work together to produce a joint statement on the future strategy for flexible and mobile working and existing HR polices on home working should be reviewed and extended

We also produced a Business Case Calculator, which enables service departments to calculate the staff productivity gains required to justify the investment in mobile and flexible working and potential savings. We recommended its adoption as a common method of documenting and assessing mobile and flexible working opportunities.

The benefits to the client
By delivering a comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits associated with the implementation of a mobile and flexible working policy, we assisted the Council in developing a secure Business Case for the potential efficiency gains of introducing greater mobile and flexible working. We analysed the implications of introducing mobile working for the Council’s ICT, accommodation and human resources strategies, enabling it to develop an integrated, corporate approach to mobile and flexible working which will maximise efficiency and effectiveness gains now and in the future.

Project identification
Client organisation: London Borough of Bromley
Client contact: Jim Haslam, Assistant Director Business Solutions and ICT, 0208 313 4743, jim.haslam@bromley.gov.uk
Lead consultant: paul.fleming@socitm.gov.uk
Project no: 5765