As many workplaces begin to close due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), many leaders and managers are starting to ask how they can best manage remote teams and home workers.

The answer, in part, lies in the acronym DCCST or Does Corona Create Stronger Teams?

Direction

In times of uncertainty people look to their leaders and managers for direction.

As our teams start to work from home, for the first time in some cases, and as the impact of COVID-19 changes day by day, we must provide direction in a number of key areas:

• Specific Priorities – in an ever-changing world, where should our teams be focusing their efforts day by day and week by week.
• Bigger Picture – in what direction is the organisation heading and how is it responding in terms of employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.
• Ways of Working – we must take the lead on establishing some team ground rules for home-working. For example, start and finish times, expected speed of response, daily check-ins, set periods to be off-line and working in a focused manner on key pieces of work, etc.

Communication

Simply put, communication must increase as our teams become remote.

However, we must pay particular attention to choosing the right communication channels and ensuring that people have the same information, at the same time.

Email is just one of many tools at our disposal, but an over-reliance on it will simply add to the stress and pressure felt by our colleagues and team mates.

As well as increasing the frequency of our communication, we must also increase the quality.

Sticking with email, our aspiration should be ‘one-shot emails’. Emails that are so explicitly clear that our teams do not need to reply with questions and can deliver what we are asking for, to the right standard, at the right time.

To achieve this, we simply need to pause before hitting send on every email and ask ourselves: “Where and how could this email be misunderstood?” and then make the necessary changes. In my experience, every first draft email can be improved.

As leaders we must force ourselves to pick up the phone and use the various video-conferencing tools that are at our disposal, many of which are free. Which leads us to…

Connection

We are social animals and connection is vital for our wellbeing and work performance. The visual contact gained from face-to-face communication is also key, which is why we cannot simply rely on email communication.

Some that we lead will be happy working from home, by themselves. It is likely to be an easier transition for the introverts within your team; but they too need that social connection.

Prolonged periods of homeworking are likely to be more of a challenge for the extroverts within your team, as their energy generally comes from other people.

As leaders guiding our teams through the Coronavirus pandemic, we must apply John Adair’s Functional Approach to leadership. We must constantly be thinking about the needs of the individuals, the team, and the task.

In practical terms, this means regularly checking in with our team one-on-one, and creating set times to come together as a team, virtually. And these virtual meetings must focus on the task, as well as allowing people to simply connect.

Support

People within our teams will have very different viewpoints of the COVID-19 out-break that will be driven by their values, beliefs, background, family circumstances etc, etc.

Some will be very optimistic. Others will be much more nervous and unsettled.

Now, more than ever, it is critically important that we realise every person we lead is a human being and that they are the most important person in the world to someone else.

They themselves may have children or elderly parents for whom they are responsible. They may have family members who are unwell or at risk of contracting Coronavirus. They may have children who cannot go to school, meaning they are desperately trying to juggle work and family commitments.

What this means in practice is that we must dial-up our support and empathy. Our teams need us to be leaders, not managers.

Trust

Trust is key.

A lack of trust, or perceived lack of trust, could be the un-doing of many leaders.

Not being sat next to those that we lead could push some leaders to micro-management. Constantly wanting to know what our teams are working on, getting status updates, knowing what time they started work and wondering if they’re at their machine or putting a load of washing on.

We must resist the urge to micro-manage our team and we must trust them.

And, if we’ve provided clear direction, if we’re communicating frequently and keeping everyone connected, and if we’re providing the right levels of support… we will be able to trust them.

We’ll be able to trust them because they will know that we care about them on a human level, and they’ll want to reciprocate the trust that we’ve placed in them.

Does Corona Create Stronger Teams?

This isn’t just a random acronym.

Whilst I do believe we have several difficult months ahead; I also believe that many teams will emerge out of the COVID-19 pandemic in a much stronger position.

I believe that new and better ways of working and communicating will emerge.

And if we, as leaders, focus on reviewing what’s working well, optimising the good stuff and building it into the culture of our teams, these benefits will long out-live Coronavirus.

Many great teams, and team practices, are forged in the crucible of a crisis.

Take Pixar for example. When the team presented what they thought was the final version of Toy Story to Disney, they were told that it was terrible and that they were pulling the plug on the project.

Ed Catmull and John Lassiter begged Disney for a second chance and were given two weeks to effectively re-create the entire movie. During that period, two new ways of working emerged: The Dailies and the Brain Trust.

These were both critical elements that enabled the team to create an entirely new movie, the likes of which the world had never seen before. As far as the film goes, the rest is history, as they say.

But the Dailies and Brain Trusts are anything but history. They remain a core part of Pixar’s culture today.

With that in mind, hold firm, stay focused and #LeadOn.

Read more:
How to lead a remote team

Everything from the iPhone completely transforming the world’s idea of what a mobile phone is and what it can do to Wi-Fi helping make us the mobile society that we are today. Something Ofcom recently confirmed with its research revealing 75% of adults use the internet ‘on the go’ on a smartphone, portable computer or handheld device and this rose to 97% for those aged 16 to 24.

It’s safe to say that all technology has evolved beyond what was initially expected of it and this is predominantly down to the fact that we as business owners, consumers and employees are evolving too. We want to do more, faster and better and the breakthroughs of the past decade all show a growing demand for enhanced, more flexible and transparent experiences.

Many of today’s workforces may not even remember the days when a mobile phone was just a phone yet more and more people spend the majority of their time online via their mobile than any other device. This all means that organisations have a growing opportunity not only to connect with their customers and users in a more meaningful way for example through data-driven insight, but can also reach out to new potential customers more effectively.

This is digital disruption and life/work -style evolution. Innovation has and will continue to be constant and it is driven by people and enabled by technology.

Wired founder and author of “What Technology Wants,” Kevin Kelly, summed up the demands this evolution is driving very well, saying: “Technology wants what life wants: Increasing efficiency; Increasing opportunity; Increasing emergence; Increasing complexity; Increasing diversity; Increasing specialisation; Increasing ubiquity; Increasing freedom; Increasing mutualism; Increasing beauty; Increasing sentience; Increasing structure; Increasing evolvability.” This is what’s driving the evolution of business and its environment. People and technology are now intrinsically linked in terms of experience and objective and if they don’t work intuitively together, they won’t work at all.

The problem with tech evolution is that it’s under our control and, unfortunately it’s completely driven by what we want as opposed to what’s adaptive. Tech evolution is driven by what companies decide to sell us based on what they believe we’ll pay for. This is why I believe it’s more important than ever for businesses to understand how and why people, industry and markets are evolving and developing to be able to provide complete outcome focused mobile-led digital services.

The technology industry has a duty to cater to every aspect of our lives rather than just work or personal needs. It has the means to deliver something far more compelling than “ease” and the past few decades of technical evolution have shown a growing trend for increased control with greater flexibility and a decentralised business ethos. Underpinning all of this is connectivity and flexibility. We cannot support tomorrow’s business environment without these essential capabilities.

Without flexible connectivity business evolution is not possible – technology should not be used to do what we’ve always done but instead evolve how we do things and what we do and change our mind-set, much like the way Bitcoin turned the traditional concept of currency on its head. The financial system, free from banks and governments highlights the value in decentralised systems in terms of increased productivity and efficiency, something that today’s businesses are very much aware is central to their longevity.

At the core of this decentralised concept is flexibility and connectivity. Businesses have to be able to change direction and realign to new markets instantly. Traditional ways of doing business are just too slow and too expensive for an increasingly fast paced and digitised world. Because of this, all organisations, big and small, public and private have to be designed specifically for regular change and evolving customer demands. This is the new normal. Those that are flexible and open minded will be able to compete and lead in this new normality where technology is used for new ways of working as opposed to simply putting traditional analogue processes into a digital infrastructure.

All of this reaffirms the importance of digital transformation and its vital role in business evolution. An expert understanding of what people and businesses need to succeed in these challenging times is essential right now. And because our heritage is mobile and our expertise is customer service, we have a valuable understanding of the challenges mobilisation presents for our customers and we can make the digital transformation easier and more effective for them. Digital confidence and competence is fundamental to the success of the UK economy.

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Technology: the future is now

We spoke to senior managers and employees from UK businesses to fully understand those benefits. We found that embracing smarter working can save companies 6.6 million hours and £1.6 billion per week. You can’t argue with numbers like that.

But we also found that less than half of Britain’s businesses have integrated digital into their strategy. That means the majority of businesses are missing out on those benefits. So can more businesses of all sizes make the move from analogue to digital ways of working to grow?

Firstly, give your employees the tools to work from wherever they are.

In practical terms, this means giving employees the digital tools they need, including laptops, smartphones or tablets, to work smarter. It doesn’t mean employees should be accessible 24/7; it means giving people the option to work in a way that suits them in order to drive maximum productivity. So for example, enabling parents to work from home around child care commitments or helping commuters to make the most of their journey into work, reducing extra time spent at their desks. Take inspiration from the Ministry of Justice’s move to create commuter hubs, which give staff a viable option halfway between commuting and working from home.

It might sound simple but it can drive efficiency, staff satisfaction and client service. In fact, we found over two thirds of senior managers in large businesses think breaking the nine to five work pattern has helped their company achieve greater business success. At the same time over two thirds of Britain’s business employees think technology has a positive impact on their productivity at work.

Secondly, consider investing in a web-based data storage service, which allows employees to simultaneously work on a document from wherever they are. As well as fuelling flexible working it encourages employee collaboration, making better use of expertise and resources.

Finally, true smarter working goes beyond making the physical changes. Employees need to feel that it’s part of the culture and actively encouraged. Back in 2012 we conducted the UK’s largest-ever flexible working pilot by asking the entire 2,500 strong workforce based at our Slough headquarters to work away from the office for the day.

The results didn’t just meet our expectations but exceeded them. The initiative transformed the way we work together, whether that’s in the office or remotely. All O2 offices are now set up for flexible and smarter working, and O2 employees are provided with the connectivity, applications and hardware to work from wherever they need to.

Creating a culture that enables smarter working was the biggest challenge we faced, and it took a bit of time, but as we’ve grown more confident working with our colleagues no matter where they happen to be based, we’ve found that we’re happier, more productive people, with the statistics to back it up.

So as we reflect on Work Wise Week, it’s time for more businesses to get wise to smarter working – so that employees, businesses and the economy can thrive.

Read more:
Working from home shouldn’t be restricted to one day a year

The one constant we can be sure of amidst this uncertainty is that connectivity is critical to our economic prosperity. In fact, the digital economy currently accounts for over a third of overall GDP – and it is predicted to grow to over £764bn by 2020.

But dig a bit deeper and there remains significant, untapped potential within the digital economy – potential that could and should be unlocked with relatively simple action from government and business. Research from Development Economics estimates that Britain’s economy could be boosted by £1.5bn by 2020 if as few as 30 towns across Britain are given access to better digital infrastructure, technology and skills training. That’s growth a mature economy like the UK should be grabbing with both hands.

The forecast is based on a pilot O2 delivered with St Helens Council. It tested the extent to which a relatively short programme of digital engagement could make a difference to a predominantly analogue community grappling with modern day challenges – from poor productivity to unemployment and funding cuts to local services.

In just ten weeks the testbed showed that improving connectivity, through new wifi hotspots and more access to tablets and smartphones, increased peoples’ access to local services and boosted young peoples’ confidence.

But it created more than just a feel-good factor. It also enhanced the performance of local businesses, improving profitability and therefore their ability to invest and grow. It showed how connectivity can help sustain the future growth of our economy. So how can we turn that forecast into reality? What are the relatively simple steps that should be taken to ensure that more businesses and communities can use connectivity to prosper?

First, we must improve Britain’s digital infrastructure. Currently, access to connectivity – whether broadband or mobile networks – is under urgent review. The reform of planning laws and the Electronic Communications Code – the rules by which telecoms companies can build and maintain networks – is underway, which is a good step in the right direction because without change, the digital economy will suffer both locally and nationally.

Second, businesses of all sizes need better access to the tools and guidance to grow. Over two thirds of British businesses told us digital technology has had a positive impact on their productivity and efficiency. But less than half of businesses have a digital strategy. That needs to change.

I’m not talking about an entire business overhaul. It can be as simple as giving employees smartphones or tablets so they can work in a way that suits them and to save time. As part of the pilot we gave a local healthcare provider access to tablets, laptops and a mobile printer. It streamlined admin time from 2 hours to 30 minutes and means the company can deliver better quality care to more people.

It is evident that digital opportunities for growth are no longer the preserve of tech start-ups. Businesses in any sector can embed digital tools in their processes to improve service delivery, get closer to their customers, and reduce administration time and cost. By doing so they can improve revenues and profitability, unlock cash and resources to invest in growth and help drive local economic sustainability.

Finally, once you have the tools and guidance, you need people within the business who are digitally competent and capable of maximising the technology available. If the skills don’t already exist within the business, look to bring them in. That often means looking to young people, our digital natives, who have the skills and ambition to harness the potential of technology. But it’s often hard for businesses, especially those on the smaller end of the scale to tap into that talent pool. We need better collaboration between businesses, schools and colleges to ensure local young people and business can make the most of the opportunities on their doorstep.

Now is the time to ensure that no matter where you live or run your business, you can make the most of digital technology and its benefits. We have shown that when communities put digital at their heart they prosper. Now we need collective effort from business and government to inspire more towns to follow in St Helens’ footsteps to help build a thriving Digital Britain.

Read the full report, ‘Rebalancing Britain: Inspiring thriving Digital Communities’, here.

Read more:
Rebalancing the digital economy for sustained economic success

The productivity of people in the UK is nearly a third less than their G7 counterparts: the average German worker now produces nearly a quarter more output per hour than their British peers and a US worker as much as a third more, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  It’s clear that if we are to sustain the UK’s economic growth, we need to tackle the nation’s productivity problems.

Osborne’s Fixing the Foundations report, designed to focus attention on and investment in the issue, is a step in the right direction. But just last week the Institute for Public Policy Research, called on the government to think more carefully about how its spending can help to boost productivity in retail and hospitality sectors of the economy. Government intervention and investment alone aren’t the answer. Businesses of all sizes need to take simple and immediate steps to help boost the productivity within their organisations.

We spoke to senior managers and employees from businesses to better understand their ways of working.  Our research uncovered a real opportunity for organisations up and down the country to better harness the potential of digital technology to drive increased productivity.

The figures speak for themselves. Over two thirds of British businesses said digital technology has had a positive impact on their productivity and nearly half of senior managers already using it said increases efficiency.  But those taking advantage are in the minority: less than half of Britain’s businesses have integrated digital into their strategy.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t about making people work harder or for longer hours.  It’s about giving people the tools they need to work smarter.

So what can your organisation do? The answer lies in adopting an “Anywhere Office”.

Allow your people to work flexibly – in terms of both time and location. It’s not just a faddy trend; it can have a real impact on the bottom line. In fact, we found over two thirds of senior managers in large businesses think breaking the nine to five work pattern has helped their company achieve greater business success.

In practical terms, it means giving employees smartphones or tablets so they can work in a way that suits them, and to save time in their working week. So for example, parents can work from home around child care commitments or helping commuters to make the most of their journey into work, reducing extra time spent at their desks. It might sound simple but it can drive efficiency, staff satisfaction and client service.

Embrace a collaborative culture.  Armed with the right equipment colleagues can work collaboratively, regardless of location.  Two thirds of the businesses we spoke to are using white boarding portals, idea sharing forums, instant messaging and video conferencing because it leads to greater business efficiency and improved sharing of resources.

The opportunity is clear: digital technology can power savings worth 6.6million hours and £1.6 billion a week – that’s among businesses alone.  Regardless of the size or sector of your business, now is the time to harness the digital technology at your fingertips to boost productivity – not just for the benefit of your business but to help sustain economic growth.

Read more:
An “Anywhere Office” can help solve the UK’s productivity problems

As customers become more technologically savvy, businesses need to be equipped with solutions to engage with them digitally and in a meaningful way. In order to attract and retain customers, connectivity must underpin any digital solution.

Recent research from O2 has found that Britain’s consumers are expecting ever more personalised services but a huge number of customers are frustrated by the lack of personalised communication and services from retailers. In fact, over two thirds of consumers believe companies need to invest more in personalising customer communications and that digital is the best way to do this.

At the moment, over four fifths of consumers feel frustrated by the effects of not being able to personalise the customer service experience, such as constantly having to update details or speak to many different people to receive the service they need.

However, the majority of Britain’s biggest businesses believe they are doing enough to meet customer expectations, with half believing their personalised customer communications have increased engagement, satisfaction, brand warmth and advocacy.

This disparity in businesses’ perception around how they are performing versus consumers’ frustrations highlights the need to improve customer service through better digital communications. There is an opportunity for UK retailers to be empowered to better serve customers in digital Britain, by integrating smart, connected technology into the heart of their business strategy.

Of course, retailers are at the heart of many of Britain’s high streets. The Digital High Street 2020 Report published by the Digital High Street Advisory Board earlier this year highlights some recommendations on the revitalisation of our high streets in the digitally dominated world. It suggests that by working together, the members of a local high street community, and communities across the UK, can create the necessary economies of scale to build and share leading digital capabilities.

An interesting tool that retailers should consider is Wifi. After a one-off registration, customers accessing Wifi in a store – on any device and any mobile network – can be greeted by the business’s welcome page with personalised offers and messages. Unsurprisingly, retailer studies have found that customers who use their smartphones while shopping, stay longer.

As well as providing a more personalised and meaningful experience for the customer, Wifi can also help businesses understand their customer better. It can be used to access reports and anonymised data on Wifi detailing who, how and when people are connecting to Wifi in their venues. This data can in turn be used to design targeted and relevant offers to build customer loyalty.

There is a brilliant opportunity for businesses to overcome the disconnect between retailer and customer and engage and interact with consumers in a meaningful way. Through wifi in stores, the tools at retailers’ disposal have the potential to transform how people shop, encouraging customer loyalty and dwell time. Brands can improve customer engagement, targeting their customers with the right message, in the right place, at the right time and as a result, stand out from the competition by exceeding customer expectations.

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Differentiating yourself in a digital environment

An increasing number of people in the UK now consider digital policies when deciding on their vote, reinforcing the need for all parties to shore up confidence with a prudent response that recognises the positive impact digital investment has on growth.

There’s no doubt that positive moves have been made, but we must also acknowledge that the government could do more about the country’s digital strategy. In the run up to the election this year, the major political parties must ensure that their digital policies are robust and have the full potential to be realised. Paying lip-service to digital will not stand up against the public vote.

So of those announced so far, what digital policies should businesses take note of?

In December’s Autumn Statement the government committed to the creation of a “Northern Powerhouse” with a £7 billion infrastructure investment in the North. This includes a £40 million extension to the SME broadband Voucher Scheme and will provide a much-needed boost to businesses and communities in the areas where the investment is planned. In addition, Nick Clegg’s announcement of the launch of TechNorth, a scheme to co-ordinate digital expertise in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle to create a technology hub that rivals London’s Tech City, will promote innovation and create opportunities for young people in the region.

I take heart from these proposals not only because they have the potential to unlock new opportunities, but also because they include the vital digital element that should underpin public investment. Digital infrastructure is now a key part of the economy and plans to create a Northern cousin to rival East London’s Tech City should be welcomed wholeheartedly given the success of London’s technology cluster.

Both major political parties have also outlined strategies to develop the UK’s ability to deliver digital public services – and this is extremely encouraging. While Osborne pledged to build on the success of the Coalition’s Digital by Default strategy by increasing uptake of digital public services by 10 per cent, Labour’s Making Digital Government Work for Everyone report called for a 25 per cent reduction in the number of people without access to the internet. Having supported digital transformation within businesses across the country throughout my career, it is heartening to see that the gap between digital investment among public and private sectors is being addressed.

Moving away from party policies, improving digital connectivity has been recognised by the London Enterprise Panel as one way of ensuring London remains a centre for business and technology innovation – a growth driver for the city and the UK as a whole. 4G holds the key to connectivity improvements with the ability to unlock the services that will propel Britain forward. As 98 per cent of the UK population is due to gain access to 4G technology by 2017, the infrastructure that underpins digital growth is already rapidly taking shape.

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that digital has a huge role to play in driving the UK forward, whether you’re a private business or a public institution – the Boston Consulting Group recently forecast that the digital sector will contribute £225 billion to the economy by 2016. With both main political parties already offering promising digital policies for the next parliament, I am confident that the next four years will allow this impressive projection to be realised.

Read more:
Ahead of the Election: The role for digital infrastructure in the economy

Given that digital is an area where the UK enjoys a significant advantage over our G7 peers, with the UK’s online retail surplus of £720 million, for example, greater than that of the US and Germany combined, promoting a digital growth must be a priority for the next Government.

Admittedly, in many respects the UK’s major political parties do recognise the important role that digital plays in driving efficiency gains across both the private and public sectors. The flexible working reforms introduced by the Coalition Government, for example, were forward-thinking and will go a long way towards raising awareness of the benefits of flexible working among large and small businesses and their employees. More recently, Labour’s Number One in Digital report outlined a comprehensive range of digitally-focused public and private sector reforms, demonstrating that the party’s thinking is heading in the right direction.

However, the scale of the digital opportunity facing Britain means that there is still more that can be done. Recent figures from the ONS show that UK productivity languishes nearly 27% below its G7 peers and 5% lower than pre-recession levels. Tackling latent inefficiencies, therefore, could have a huge impact on UK competitiveness.

Recent research we conducted with the CEBR shows that making better use of connected technology in particular could solve these disadvantages, potentially boosting our economy by £30 billion per year in the process. From giving staff the tools that allow them to work as they would at a desk, no matter where they are; to cutting overheads by downsizing the office in favour of remote working; there are ample opportunities for companies to work smarter.

At O2, we’re now offering the insights we have learned from our smarter working policies to public sector organisations too; as investment in technology can drive productivity gains and improve efficiency in any organisation. For example, last year we launched the Local Government Digital Fund, giving local authorities across the UK the opportunity to win O2 funding, technology and technical support to develop innovative technology solutions to local problems.

Given that 74 per cent of UK citizens own a smartphone, 50 per cent own a tablet, and 98% of the population will have access to 4G by 2017, businesses and government alike must recognise the opportunities digital presents. By outlining policies that emphasise this fact, politicians can create an environment in which digital truly becomes default across the economy. With the Autumn Statement fast approaching it’s essential that companies capitalise on the cost and productivity benefits that can be attributed to connected technology. Even small improvements, such as using smartphones, mobile apps, and cloud computing services, will help drive business and public sector productivity gains, restoring the UK’s competitiveness in Europe and beyond.

Image: Technology via Shutterstock

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Digital politics: what next?

But although 2014 has been a stellar year for the economy in some respects – with unemployment down, investment confidence up and the IMF predicting that GDP growth will reach 3.2 per cent before the end of the year – few businesses can afford to take their foot off the accelerator.

On the surface we’re seeing signs of a sustainable recovery, but there are still opportunities for improvement. Data such as the Bank of England’s Summary of Business Conditions confirm that productivity growth is still 5% off its pre-crisis peak and 16 per cent off where it would have been had it continued on its pre-crisis trend.

The good news is that no business is powerless. In the face of anaemic productivity growth, relatively simple changes go a long way. Research we conducted with the CEBR, for example, showed that workers are 44 per cent as productive when working from remote locations as they are in the office, but that introducing new communication and information tools can boost productivity by 10 per cent.

The bad news is that we still have a long way to go. Despite many organisations endorsing the benefits of smart, connected technology, 80 per cent admit that staff still don’t have access to apps and instant messaging tools that allow them to work away from the office effectively.

This ‘connectivity deficit’ caused by companies merely paying lip service to digital transformation costs the UK economy £30bn a year. Unless businesses up and down the country make the most of the technology on offer, it will continue to be a major obstacle between us and increased productivity.

It won’t come as a surprise that O2 advocates investing in connected technology to boost your bottom line. But, in 2012, we set out to quantify the impact that truly flexible working would have on our business by getting all 2500 Head Office staff to work away from the office for the day. Having carried the lessons from the pilot forward, the return we’ve made on our investment tells you all you need to know.

88% of staff said that they were at least as productive when working away from the office as on a normal day, with 36% claiming to have been more productive. In a similar vein, absenteeism has fallen, the number of staff returning from maternity leave is increasing, and everyone who works flexibly reports that their work/life balance has improved it costs.

Giving staff better access to information and tools that allow them to work away from the office offers a simple way for us all to make better use of our time. Whether it’s engineers on a construction site or a sales force on the road, by making the most of the technology available, businesses can reduce inefficiency and concentrate on maximising growth.

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Maximising productivity after the summer break

It’s no secret that London has earned a reputation as one of Europe’s foremost hotspots for tech start-ups – and that’s not just hype. Over the next ten years, London’s digital tech sector is predicted to generate £12 billion in additional economic activity, creating up to 46,000 new jobs. When the research hubs of the South East and the East of England – including Oxford and Cambridge – are factored in, this ‘tech triangle’ is set to grow faster than California .

These impressive stats reflect the fact that this country boasts some of the world’s most creative digital talent, as demonstrated by the success of companies such as Rockstar North, makers of the hit Grand Theft Auto series, and Mind Candy, which is behind Moshi Monsters.

But worryingly, these figures also highlight the opportunities that we aren’t taking as a nation. Right across the UK, I hear that businesses are struggling to make the most of the talent and cutting edge technology that they have available to them. Research we conducted at O2 recently found that British businesses are losing out on £30 billion each year due to a failure to make the most of connectivity technology that can help us all work smarter. This research also revealed that the economy will need an extra 745,000 digitally skilled workers by 2017, a fifth of which could be captured by people under 25, people entering the workforce for the first time, or those retraining from other roles.

These are serious problems. Despite a promising economic recovery, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high and UK productivity levels remain far below our G7 peers. Thankfully, there are some steps which businesses of all sizes can take now to help solve these problems and get a leg up on their competitors:

Big businesses should act more like small ones – not just by using technology to become more agile but by emulating start-ups to become more responsive. As new technologies emerge, small businesses are constantly given fresh opportunities to thrive, whereas businesses with strategies based on scale rather than speed get left behind. At O2, we run a technology accelerator, Wayra, to utilise the energy inherent to start-ups by providing funding, training and easy access to customers in exchange for first dibs on new ideas. This keeps us close to the most promising minds and companies of tomorrow.

And businesses of all sizes should make use of the technology to enable them to work smarter instead of harder. Steps as simple as choosing laptops over desktops are a start, and combining those with smartphones and 4G dongles makes an enormous difference, because then you can be connected no matter where you are. Cloud office software like Google Docs and Microsoft 365, as well as video conferencing tools like Skype and Google Hangout, mean that teams can work from anywhere too. Small businesses that embed these practices will have the edge on their competitors as they grow, and they’ll be contributing to the future of the British economy in the process.

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Learning from London Technology Week – how we can all be a little more start-up

Last month was the annual World Creativity and Innovation Week, a celebration of new ideas and new ways of working. I would argue that weeks such as this are no bad thing. They serve as a useful reminder to us all that we should pause from time to time to consider how we can be more creative and more innovative in business.

There are many ways to accomplish this, of course, but some stand out above others. I believe, for instance, that we would all gain from more interaction between big and small business. The truth is that each has a lot to learn from the other.

As I’ve often said, for a number of years it has been the small, agile players in the market who set the pace of innovation in the UK. Given that the pace at which the UK creates and adopts new technologies plays right into the hands of those businesses quickest to react, many have worried that big businesses are losing ground to their smaller counterparts.

My advice to them: if you can’t beat them, join them.

The shrewdest corporates are structuring themselves like a small business so that they can take advantage of the creativity of a start-up, capturing new ideas in their infancy and applying them to the wider business. For example, our own Wayra Academy harnesses the energy inherent in start-ups by providing funding, training and access to customers in exchange for first refusal on new technologies and ideas. O2 has also worked to create the best of both worlds by establishing an in-house start-up, The Lab, which operates free from many of the constraints of the rest of the business, giving it greater freedom to pursue new ideas.

Similarly, small businesses stand to gain from looking at the way big businesses handle the challenges that come with growth. Increasingly, Britain’s leading large enterprises are adopting smarter working practices to make it easier and more efficient for employees to work wherever they are, ultimately giving a big boost to productivity. From deploying 4G-enabled phones, tablets and laptops to ensuring critical business applications – whether word processing and email or sales systems and databases – live in the cloud instead of the office, we know that cost-effective technologies can ease the burden of size.

Mobile and flexible working means that a physical office may not be as crucial as we typically think, and taking a smaller space will generate savings that can be put back into the business. Moreover, building smarter working practices into the heart of a business when it’s small will ease the growing pains that may well come later.

So let the lesson of World Creativity and Innovation Week be that businesses of every size have a lot to learn from their larger and smaller counterparts. Those that can take advantage of this opportunity have everything to gain. Those that don’t risk no less than being left behind.

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Spring cleaning – what businesses of all sizes can learn from each other

For a number of years now, it has been the small, quick-to-move players in the tech sector setting the pace of innovation in the UK. While start-ups and other small businesses have the benefit of dynamism and agility, recent findings by O2 and the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) confirmed the cost that Britain’s biggest businesses are facing as they struggle under the weight of inefficiencies that come with size, particularly when it comes to adopting new productivity and connectivity technologies. As a result of this connectivity deficit, the report estimates that the UK economy is missing out on growth to the tune of £30bn.

That is a staggering figure – one that should give big businesses reason to pause and ask what we can learn from Britain’s dynamic tech sector to tackle inefficiency and deliver multi-billion pound productivity gains to UK PLC in a period of crucial economic growth. I believe businesses of all sizes can start to work smarter and more productively in 2014 with three key measures:

1. Equip employees to work from anywhere. It sounds basic, but the fact is that 80 per cent of businesses report that employees do not have full access to the key business systems that would make their working lives easier and more efficient, including the technology to work away from the office. Without those tools, employees are tethered to an office environment, and productivity suffers as a result.

2. Make journeys more efficient. Businesses of all sizes spend too much time and money on travel that they don’t always need, whether it’s between home and the office or between multiple corporate locations around the UK. And when journeys are necessary, they’re often nevertheless unproductive. Simple measures like investing in remote working technology, from webmail to 4G connectivity for laptops, could save employees 127 hours per year.

3. Collaborate from everywhere. Less than 30 per cent of teams in British businesses have access to ‘read and share’ collaborative document viewing and editing services, such as Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365, which stifles productivity on team projects. Collaboration technology, which is now widely available, makes it possible to work together without physically being together.

These are great ways for big businesses to give an instant boost to their productivity. Of course it’s not only big businesses that are affected by inefficiency. Recent data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that the British economy on the whole is in the midst of the worst productivity gap in more than 20 years, with rates now nearly 5 per cent lower than pre-recession levels – and falling. As such, and with SMEs accounting for nearly half of total business turnover, businesses of all sizes in all sectors need to take heed of the connectivity deficit and ensure that they’re proactively building smarter working practices right into the heart of their businesses as they grow.

The reality is that too many businesses pay lip service to the benefits that technology brings without adopting it in earnest. 2014 needs to be the year we hear the wakeup call – every employer, whether private or public sector, must understand its own connectivity deficit and take measures to close it. Even small improvements, such as using smartphones, mobile apps, and cloud computing services, will help drive business productivity and restore the UK’s competitiveness within Europe and beyond.

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Firing up Britain’s productivity

British businesses face the challenge of how to embrace this evolving landscape; welcoming, rather than fearing the continuous change that characterises our business community today in order to succeed.

As such, 2014 is the year in which capitalising on our connections with those around us will be more important than ever and I believe there are two key things that businesses can do to achieve this.

Invest time in building relationships with other businesses
Firstly, it’s about building connections with other businesses. The UK economy is showing signs of tentative recovery. But in order to sustain this positive momentum, and for businesses to take advantage of the greater financial recovery expected this year, I believe more must be done to build and nurture relationships between big and small business communities.

In 2014, we need to see a concerted effort from big businesses to play a greater role in helping small businesses finding themselves in need of support in order to reach their full potential. In the UK, we’re incredibly lucky to play home to 4.8 million of the world’s most dynamic SMEs, and by applying our assets we can improve their chance of success – funding, mentoring, skills training or even something as simple as free office space can all provide invaluable support to helping a small business grow.

But it’s not just a one way street. Big businesses too can reap the rewards from building intelligent relationships with smaller players. As new technologies surface, small businesses are constantly being given new opportunities to thrive, their size enabling them to adopt early and swiftly. Big business should take inspiration from the agility of the small business or start-up, perhaps adopting elements of their culture in order to harness a similar ethos. Dedicating resource to innovation and forming small teams dedicated to capturing ideas in their infancy can both be extremely useful in helping big business feel as energetic and vibrant as the start-up. And initiatives such as the Government’s recent Business Exchange are creating further momentum in helping British businesses of all shapes and sizes gain the most value out of one another.

Make the most of technology
The second is about how we use technology to connect our organisation. As a nation, we have never been better equipped than we are today when it comes to our digital infrastructure. Superfast broadband, 4G, smart devices and investment in connecting our physical infrastructure such as the railways means there’s never been a better time for businesses to stay connected.

So this year, it’s vital that we capitalise on the UK’s technological infrastructure to help our businesses continue on the road to growth. This could be as simple as giving staff access to 4G on their mobiles to allow them to work as efficiently as possible if out of the office.

With the right technology in place, instilling a smarter culture in your workplace has never been easier; allowing staff the freedom to shape their own working days and equipping them with the tools that will enable them to do this. Such an investment can not only prove itself valuable through the enhanced productivity of the existing workforce, but it also gives businesses the freedom to look beyond geographical borders when it comes to new talent. A company based in London for instance can easily employ people located in Edinburgh or Newcastle, with the right approach to smarter working policies. In this way, businesses can build bespoke teams of people more easily than ever before.

Staying connected holds the key for the year ahead. Whether that involves a coffee with a start-up, building a crack team of in-house innovators, upgrading to 4G or just allowing staff to work from home once a week, it’s incredibly important. If all businesses make staying connected one of their priorities for 2014, I believe there’s a real chance that we can turn tentative economic progress into tangible economic recovery.

Read more:
How British businesses can succeed in digital Britain in 2014