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Launched April 2007 was theWork and Families Act requiring organizations to provide ﬂexible working options to anyone with a ‘caring responsibility’. Those with young families or ﬁrst time mums look at ﬂexible working as a means for ﬂexible hours or days. However, directors, management and staff within a company can see it as a solution to staying connected with customers and colleagues; accessing voice and data communications on the move. By allowing employees to work from home or on location, the Samsung solution reduces the need for employees to return to the ofﬁce, therefore reducing the carbon footprint needed to make this so.

Flexibility and mobility mean one thing – keeping in touch while on the move.

Findings from the Human Resources FlexibleWorking Survey 2007 found that 94 per cent of respondents felt that ﬂexible working was relevant to their business, with the exception of the manufacturing industry. As manufacturing involves so much hands-on work, many ﬁrms believe that ﬂexible working is not a viable option. However, this is not the case, by breaking down the beneﬁts of ﬂexible working to both the company, the customer and the individual shows how ﬂexible working can add to an organisation.

Flexible working can mean ﬂexible locations; workers are available within warehouse, factory and production sites etc rather than being conﬁned to a single area of operations (i.e. the ofﬁce). As people in manufacturing are constantly on the move or in different locations, it makes it particularly important for them to be contactable, at any time and place. This not only makes them much more efﬁcient, but also gives a good impression to

customers; they don’t leave messages to call Technology is also an issue; Purchases for mobile technology previously took place o individual or departme

now a company-wide decision. Vendors are responding to this by offering bundles and plans for ﬂexible solutions at lower costs, taking the headache out of the buying process. Major vendors in the market are all contributing to introduce IP technologies that give the ability to take and make calls from any location on the premises using an ofﬁce extension number as if the user is sat at their desk. In addition to this DECT telephone handsets can be integrated within the general phone system, allowing users to be on an extension of the PBX. Another option is OfﬁceServ Connect which enables businesses integrate mobile phones or other phones as extensions to the ofﬁce system. Allowing calls to be routed from desk extensions to mobile phones and reduces overall costs. Wiﬁ allows cordless phones and PC’s to be on the main network and be used anywhere around the host and Computer Telephony Integration allows a worker to be on the network anywhere and still make and receive

calls as if they were made at the desk by utilising a PC soft phone, all allowing companies to work more ‘ﬂexibly’. Beneﬁts to the customer include

us connection. This he company to be more as well as helping them new business, by being reachable and not y potential leads. orking leads to an edge petition; by setting up an nd re-programming the ne system, business can be conducted from global ofﬁces whose day is just beginning.When one location shuts down he night, the other is just n to take-over, providing a 24-hour service for customers. There is no doubt that the right ﬂexible solutions improve both accessibility and communication and consequently are worth the investment. Samsung believes that with the right offerings, services and training, manufacturers will be able to reap the business beneﬁts possible through a truly ﬂexible workforce. An Example of Samsung’s successes

within this area comes from the company Bartholdi, who have been based at the same industrial park near Heathrow for a number of years, but recently expanded to new ofﬁces opposite. Samsung installed a 100mb laser link to create an IP network between the sites. Maurice Stephenson, IT Manager, Bartholdi, commented: “The laser link is great.We have a complete network between the sites and are able to communicate in the same way we would if we were all in one ofﬁce. We felt conﬁdent in buying the Samsung name.”

Samsung’s commitment to increasing sustainability is outlined within their ﬁrs Environmental Guidelines, adopted in 1992. Their mission statement to this day, over 15 years later, is to focus on minimizing environmental impacts both in Samsung factories and as the outcome of their products life cycles, from the design phase through to manufacturing, use and end of life.

This Environmental guideline notes that Samsung ‘plays a leading role in creating a sustainable society by recognizing and implementing the environment, safety and health as crucial

factors in all their business endeavors’; one of these important sustainable movements is the continual research into products which facilitate ‘ﬂexible working’.

Samsung also scored highly on the recent Greenpeace spectrum of the world’s major technology manufacturers and the Samsung solution has been deployed by the Carbon Neutral Company.