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Mobile working is a key weapon in the battle to attract and retain personnel in the modern workplace, according to an independent report.

The survey, which was conducted with 100 organisations to identify the drivers, inhibitors and benefits of mobile working, found that it had a significant impact on the ‘attractiveness’ of a company and the HR benefits realised exceeded expectations by up to 40%.

Fujitsu - who commissioned the study - have found that companies rarely implement mobile working in order to attract and retain staff. However, once the infrastructure had been implemented, the companies witnessed significant results. Only 26% of organisations expected mobile working to help retain personnel, yet after it was put into practice 56% of organisations claimed it was a success on this front. Furthermore, only 27% of organisations had high expectations of attracting personnel, but after implementation of mobile working, this rose to 67%.

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Maria Lorenz, end-user services manager at Fujitsu Services said: "Traditionally, organisations see mobile working as a way to increase productivity. The high expectations on this front are almost always met. However, the HR benefits of mobile working are regularly overlooked. The research proves that mobile working has a tangible effect on the attractiveness of an organisation and can reduce staff turnover. It is one of the less recognised advantages of mobile working, yet it has a significant impact on the running of a business."

Nigel Brocklehurst, HR director at Vodafone UK commented: "Increasingly, we are witnessing a growing interest among existing and prospective employees in the possibility of mobile working. Offering the option of mobile working to a benefits package makes a big impact on your ‘brand’ as an employer. It immediately makes a company more attractive and aids the recruitment process, as well as improving the morale of existing staff."

Statistics from Fujitsu’s research show that the percentage of companies surveyed engaged in mobile working by the end of 2004 will grow by 7%. However, over half of the remaining companies claim that lack of technological support is the main factor inhibiting them from putting mobile working into practice.

Maria Lorenz says: "Implementing a mobile working scheme is perceived by many organisations to be a complicated task due to the technical considerations involved. However, this need not be the case. Working alongside your IT department and rolling out pilot schemes in order to test the water will ensure that the implementation is smooth and the benefits to staff and the business are achieved quickly."

The research was conducted by NelsonHall, using a sample of 100 UK organisations from government, automotive, financial services, construction, and pharmaceuticals sectors.

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