Increasing flexible working, including working from home, has saved Scottish Water £350,000 a year in business travel costs alone.
The change along with increased use of technology to bring people together means around 200,000 fewer business miles are travelled, reducing the company’s carbon footprint too. This move, along with a range of other flexible and family friendly measures has earned at Scottish Water a Scottish Top Employer award from Family Friendly Working Scotland.
Scottish Water won the Best Public Sector Employer category in the annual awards run by the work life balance charity. The awards celebrate forward-thinking employers that understand how flexibility is good for people as well as business growth.
Nikki Slowey, co-director of Family Friendly Working Scotland, said: "The timing of our awards this year makes our message even more crucial. The impact of coronavirus means more people than ever are working from home, and for some this is a very new and different way to work, or have their staff working.
“While the current situation presents its own set of challenges, we hope that sharing some of the success stories of our award winners will show more organisations how flexible working, including remote working, can be good for business as well as individuals. All our award winners offer remote and home working of some sort and are reaping the benefits of a happier and more productive workforce."
Lucy MacLennon, people consultant at Scottish Water, said: “We have agile working practices firmly embedded throughout our business, enabling our employees to carry out their role effectively regardless of their location. Through agile working we can help our people achieve a more balanced approach to work and home life, in turn providing health and wellbeing benefits and retaining talent in our workforce. This approach has also helped us to significantly reduce business travel - saving time and money, and supporting our ambition for net-zero emissions.”
Research by Family Friendly Scotland shows 87% of Scottish business leaders who offer flexible working say it has had a positive impact on their business.
The awards were due to take place at WEST Brewery but because of the impact of coronavirus, winners were announced during a digital ceremony via Twitter, during which short films from key note speakers and sponsors were shared. The winners embraced many forms of flexible working including part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, remote working, term-time working and/or more ad-hoc arrangements that help members of staff to balance their home and work lives.
The full list of winners named yesterday:
Best Small Employer : Formedix - Glasgow firm providing pharmaceutical software
Best Medium Employer : Warmworks Scotland – Edinburgh organisation delivering energy efficiency projects to reduce fuel poverty
Best Large Employer : Hymans Robertson - Edinburgh/Glasgow financial and professional services firm
Best Public Sector Employer : Scottish Water, head office in Dunfermline
Best Third Sector Employer : Scouts Scotland, Dunfermline. Also Bike for Good (highly commended) – Glasgow cycling charity
Best for Mental Health & Wellbeing : Edinburgh Airport
Best for Flexible Recruitment : Incremental Group – Edinburgh-based IT services firm
