SME's urged to embrace flexible working

14:31 19th August 2008

A new report has urged small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to embrace flexible working practices and technologies.

The 'IT Skills for Flexible Working' report, researched by independent think tank, The centre for Future Studies, identified that while SMEs have adapted first generation flexible working practices, few are fully integrated to create a virtual office.

The report confirmed that 62 per cent of respondents said they lack the appropriate IT skills and training to exploit their existing technologies, which means that location independence is not available for many employees.

Bill Murphy, managing director of BT business, writing for smeweb.com said: "Given the current skills climate, it is crucial that businesses of all sizes work together to ensure that SMEs are equipped with the correct skills so that they can start to use technology to its full potential."

Earlier this week, BT also revealed that only half of UK firms offer workers broadband technology, compared to 85 per cent of Spanish companies.

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