The eight-strong AKFP Group staff left their office in Lisburn, a city south-west of Belfast, on 30 June to work from their locations of choice.
As a result, they “reaped the benefits of being able to change venues, eradicate long commutes into the office and above all, increase the happiness of employees”, the firm said.
Cloud power
Potential setbacks to the workflow were minimised due to a cloud-based project management system that aided the effectiveness of remote working, the firm explained, as staffers were able to access everything required from the cloud to service clients as normal.
Calls into the office were shared and diverted to an allocated mobile and clients were made aware so that face-to-face appointments were scheduled the month prior as part of a planning phase.
“All of our clients and the whole team were really supportive of the initiative,” AKFP Group director Roger Kennedy said.
“All client queries were dealt with efficiently and in line with our service levels. Working remotely enabled my team to spend more time with their loved ones and get out on a summer’s day, providing they had completed their task list.”
Annual recurrence
The firm says it is planning to roll out the one-month remote working initiative again next year as the morale of the team was lifted.
“I was able to spend more time with my family, which as a result gave me an increased drive to deliver for clients and complete my daily tasks,” James Gordon, the firm’s technical manager, said.
“There is a high level of trust in the office and it’s a great feeling to be given the flexibility to do this. We did have to visit the office occasionally to review post, but that wasn’t a problem.”
