Catering for an increasingly flexible workforce

During the current coronavirus pandemic, many staff – from many different disciplines and business types – have been working highly effectively remotely. Here, Stephen Edgar, director of Property, Donna Fitzpatrick, Project associate director, and Maeve Dunne, Programme associate director, at healthcare strategy and planning consultancy, ETL (formerly Essentia Trading), explore how Trusts can embrace the impacts of COVID-19 when it comes to flexible working.

The Naylor Report highlights how NHS Trusts should look to generate capital by reducing lettable and saleable assets to reinvest in patient care and improve existing estates. The process of transforming the way a Trust operates is likely to be accelerated by COVID-19, as changing working practices during the pandemic have clearly demonstrated that many people can in fact work flexibly and remotely while maintaining a full-speed approach.

In this article, among the topics we will focus on will be the money-saving opportunities that are available to Trusts by relocating and optimising office space in the right locations, to reduce journey times, improve staff wellbeing, and adapt to new ways of working, all while simultaneously improving connectivity and achieving sustainability targets. We will also delve into a recent ETL project to move the location of a high-profile Trust; it is estimated that the previous office space was significantly underutilised, with a utilisation rate of just under 55%.