Civil Service Live 2014: Exploring a day of smarter working -- Phase 5: Being flexible in the field

Microsoft’s presence at Civil Service Live 2014 is all about how flexible working is transforming the day of the modern civil servant. We’ve shown you how with the right tools – and the right attitude – you can be more productive than ever, no matter where you are, no matter what device you’re using.

We’ve shown you how you can be your most productive self at home, on a train, in the office and in meetings. But there’s still one important element of civil service life remaining: the field visit.

Whether your field visit takes you to a school, a hospital, a community centre or an actual field, working out of the office can dramatically increase your productivity. You get to meet the people your job affects directly, see the fruits of your labour and assess problems first hand. But you also can’t be sure you’ll have ready access to power, WiFi or even a place to sit down.

Getting the most out of a field visit requires 2 things.

First, you need tools that are fit for purpose. A traditional laptop is powerful, but it may be hard to use on the go. A tablet is flexible, but it may not have all the programs you need to do your job. Phones are great for taking pictures, but they’re lousy for writing down notes. You need to know which device makes the most sense for your work in that environment. You’ll also need access to cloud tools that keep you in the loop with your colleagues back at the office.

Second, you need to be able to prioritise your work for that environment. Use your time in the field to do work that you can’t do anywhere else. The field isn’t a great place to type up lengthy reports – but it is a great place to take photos, record data and write notes that you can use to create reports later on.  On a device like the Dell Venue 8 Pro, you can do all of that and rest assured that the data is secure on the device.

For too long, flexible working has been treated as perk for the employee. But it’s so much more than that. Flexible working is an ethos. It’s about being as productive as possible, no matter what. The days when you could do 100% of your job from a cubicle are long gone. And good riddance – because you can actually do more by moving throughout the day than you ever could being stuck in one place. You just need the right attitude and the right tools to get you there.

Want to learn more? The Microsoft Smarter Working Experience will be ready to welcome you at Civil Service Live London on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th July at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. Along with SMART Technologies and furniture provider Flexiform, we look forward to showing you how the modern civil servant gets more done wherever they are. You’ll be able to take a mini tour of a ‘day in the life’ of the modern civil servant. This 20-minute tour is a fun way to learn how civil servants can get more done by working where they’re most productive. See you there!

 Learn more about the event and e-mail ukps@microsoft.com if you’d like to arrange a meeting.