New CIPD research released today lifts the lid on the future of the workplace, with almost all respondents (92%) reporting that a ìsmart workingî approach – where the work environment is managed to release employeesí energy and drive business performance – has a positive impact on business performance. The research forms part of a guide on how best employers can manage the transition to a smart workplace. 
Drawing on extensive case study evidence, the report Smart Working: How Smart is UK plc? concludes that ìsmart workingî represents a new approach to workplace organisation that can have a real impact on an organisationís effectiveness. The key is changing management mindsets from ìcommand and controlî to embrace a greater degree of freedom, flexibility and collaboration. Eighty-seven per cent of respondents see smart working as a thoroughly modern phenomenon and believe it has more relevance for organisations today than in the past, while almost all (97%) believe the concept will become more relevant in future.
Despite strong support for the philosophy of smart working, the research finds that it is still in its infancy as regards employer practice – the working lives of most employees are still a long way from being ìsmartî. It also finds that job design processes have not kept up with the aspiration to redesign organisations, and a majority of respondents are unconvinced that employers are deliberately designing roles that embrace smart working concepts.
The report finds that organisations are at different points on the smart working spectrum and comments that while organisations have an ambition to build autonomy and innovation formally into job roles, this is still an aspiration rather than a reality.
Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Adviser, says:
ìEverybody knows that work can be managed better. Jobs can be designed in a way that maximises individual motivation and organisational effectiveness. Our research shows smart working holds the key.
ìBut there is still a significant job of work to be done to clarify what is involved in smart working and to support those organisations that have set out on that journey. Smart working is about much more than implementing flexible working, hot-desking or new IT systems. Smart working is about a fundamental change to the assumptions that shape the working relationship.
ìOrganisations are beginning to provide their people with a greater level of autonomy, choice and freedom than we have seen before. Offering employees increased autonomy in job roles is one of the smart working interventions most frequently reported by respondents to our survey.î
The guide outlines four areas of focus or levers that organisations must apply to achieve smart working, referred to as the ëfour pillarsí of smart working:
- Management values
- High-performance work practices
- Physical working environment
- Enabling technology
Included in the guide are a number of case studies of companies, including Centrica, Allen and Overy and BT, that have embarked on smart working. Capgemini is also developing a toolkit for CIPD that will provide practical guidance to help member organisations implement smart working.
Smart working is still an aspiration rather than a reality in UK workplaces
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