Northumberland County Council signs up to smarter working

NORTHUMBERLAND'S largest employer has become the latest major player to sign up to the innovative Work Wise North East campaign.

Northumberland County Council (NCC) is the first council to pledge its support to the smarter working initiative which aims to make the North East a cutting-edge location in which to work.

NCC, which employs 14,000 people, has strong credentials as a progressive authority having already pioneered a number of projects to create a more commercially-focussed public sector body. It is also taking giant strides to ensure its employees are among the happiest and most productive in the region with the help of its Project WorkWell concept.

Project WorkWell is a perfect complement to Work Wise North East as both initiatives are geared to providing maximum flexibility for employees.

Mark Henderson, NCC chief executive said: "Work Wise North East is a tremendous concept and one that we are keen to integrate with Project WorkWell. Combined, they will make NCC one of the most flexible employers around which we believe will make for a happier, healthier workforce.

"Project WorkWell will transform NCC, making better use of the resources we have, including more choice for staff about ways of working, and looking at better use of the buildings and facilities we have to deliver our services from.
"The project will look at the assets we have across the county, many of which are in poor condition, and look for opportunities to provide better working environments and better use of the space we have available by looking at more flexible working and different ways of delivering services.
"The project is still in its very early stages but we expect to trial new ways of working over the coming few months. By making innovative changes like this, we can continue to deliver a wide range of services while making better use of the resources available to the county council.
"If you add to this the ability for employees to access a raft of flexible working measures you can create the ideal working environment meeting the needs of many, if not all, individual circumstances.
"Northumberland County Council is delighted to be working closely with Work Wise North East and we can see many similarities between its key aims and our own new Project WorkWell.  We urge all local authorities in the North East to sign up to this campaign to make our region a much better place for employees".

Work Wise North East aims to consign nine-to-five, five-days-a-week working to history and the promotion of smarter working practices are important steps to creating 21st Century work places that are inclusive to people from all backgrounds and abilities.

Phil Flaxton, Work Wise chief executive, said: "Signing up Northumberland's largest employer is a real feather in the cap of the Work Wise North East campaign.

"We hope that other proactive authorities will see the very real benefits of the campaign and follow Northumberland's lead. The health, wealth and happiness benefits brought about by flexible working are impossible for employers to overlook."

Work Wise North East has attracted wide-ranging support from leading organisations in the region. Strategic partners include One NorthEast, Government Office North East, North East Chamber of Commerce, Onyx Group, EEF Northern, Workplace Travel Planning Company, Dickinson Dees and BT. Other supporters include the Journal, TUC, CBI, Federation of Small Businesses, Northern Business Forum and Women into the Network.

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For information about Work Wise North East, please contact:
Shelia Chapman, Sheila Chapman PR 07732 827 486 or scpr@btopenworld.com

For further information about the national Work Wise campaign, please contact: Roy Turner, Chelgate PR 020 7939 7939 or 07970 522232 or rt@chelgate.com

Notes to editors:

• A number of spokespersons are available for interview and comment. Please contact Sheila Chapman at contact details below
• Work Wise UK is organized by the IT Forum Foundation, a not-for-profit organization.
• Further information about Work Wise UK can be found on the website www.workwiseuk.org.
• A dedicated electronic media centre has been established for journalists to obtain further information, to download print-quality materials, and to register for media updates about Work Wise UK. This can be accessed either through the main website or directly at www.pressrooms.net/workwiseuk.