14th March 2017 Smartworking Summit precis

Download a precis of the day here.

The full-day programme at the stunning 43/44 Crutched Friars, London venue offered peerless opportunities throughout the morning to network with seven prominent executive speakers, including;

• Anthony Douglas CBE, CEO, Cafcass
• Ralph Tribe, Director of People, Sky
• Mark Malcomson CBE, CEO, CityLit
• Michael Roper, Vice President, Global Property & Facilities Management, SAP
• Andy O’Donnell, EMEIA Real Estate Leader, EY
• Jane Swift, Director of Operations, BT

The afternoon offered a deeper dive into business-critical issues through four intimate round table sessions.  Attracting 250 c-suite executives keen to explore workplace challenges and address the rapidly changing nature of work, everyone left with distinct and clear takeaways.

As we raced towards the third decade of the 21^st Century, we have at our hands everything necessary to fundamentally transform the entire nature of the way we work.  So, what’s holding organisations back?  Over the last 15 years or so, the media, researchers, industry analysts, et al have succeeded in demystifying the complexities of work and that technology is no more complex than a tablet with a simple on-off switch.

Key themes from the day were:

• Round table one: Exploring the employee lifecycle journey.  Work is a complex ecosystem.  Changes in one area, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, affect the whole in significant ways. This round table generated eight original concepts to immediately transform the employee lifecycle journey
• Round table two: Creating productive workplaces.  There’s an overwhelming myth that productivity cannot be measured!  The truth is each of us intuitively knows at the close of the day whether we’ve had a productive day or not.  This round table generated 14 superb concepts immediately applicable for enhancing productivity
• Round table three: Workplace technologies: an enabler for change?  Quality of ‘big data’ is now driving faster decision-making.  But are we in control of the data?  Technology is just part of the jigsaw, the way it is used is the complicated part, yet trying to engage & interpret customer need is difficult because as users we don’t know what we don’t know
• Round table four: Work: a place where tech & nature combine.  Sustainability is transforming business and the way we work.  Well-being, happiness, & productivity are fundamentally interrelated and one of the basic human needs is to be in touch with nature.