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MMM Business Media – Smart Mobility Management n°3 – Quarterly periodic newsletter September 2011 – Deposit office Luxembourg-Gare

International Integrated Corporate Mobility Solutions

I New

World of Work : How the NWOW impacts mobility management I Case

Studies : Dexia Bank, Orange and Getronics

privileged partners :

edito MOBILITY MANAGEMENT Moving fast, moving slow

T

he New World of Work (NWOW) is a concept that will radically change the way business is done. ‘Business as usual’ will change, become more flexible. The focus will shift from time spent working to results achieved. The office will become less a traditional workplace, more a communications centre. The main business of this centre will be to share knowledge and news, and maintain the relationship between the organisation and its employees. The NWOW presents great opportunities, but obviously also great challenges - for businesses, users and suppliers alike. The million-dollar question: Who will take the lead?

The car fleet industry is getting organised. We’re seeing car leasing companies extend the services on offer and integrator expertise. We’re also seeing car manufacturers adapt the products on offer to the new, mobile world, and develop programmes that focus on usage instead of ownership. And we’re seeing the IT and telecom sectors propose integration and new communications platforms.

On the client side, we’re observing the first adoptions of the Smart Mobility Management concept organising themselves to manage fleet, travel and telcom in a central department (see the Orange case study). We’re observing multinationals create new job opportunities for Mobility Managers.

Caroline THONNON cthonnon@mmm.be

All in all, we’re detecting a lot of change. But also, in spite of the great number of innovating initiatives already underway, we’re seeing all this change move at a very slow pace. Early adopters are embracing new ideas and new technology, and trying out new programmes before their peers do. By exploring untested options, they are learning by failing and succeeding. What they learn, will give them a competitive advantage in their field.

So don’t lag behind! Step into the New World of Work with Smart Mobility Management.

Stay tuned, read our magazine, interact on our website and social media… And register for our very first ‘Move to Integrated Mobility’ in March 2012 in Brussels!

Caroline THONNON Editorial & Business Development Director

Move to Integrated Mobility Smart Mobility Management is proud to announce its first international conference, to be held on 15-16 March 2012 in Brussels.

Our key areas of focus this year: the rapidly-emerging role of Integrated Mobility in multinational corporations, optimal mobility strategies and policies, and especially the increasingly diverse world of new-mobility-related solutions, services, providers and devices. > Forum Get access to quality information, acquire new original ideas and share best practices with key achievers from the respective industries. > Networking dinner Get in touch personally with leaders achieving excellence in their field and generate new professional relationships in a warm atmosphere.

leader familiarising the community with your name and get recognition for your achievements and innovations. > Register Join our Smart Mobility Meeting and register on

www.smart-mobilitymanagement.com.

With the support of

> Think tank & workshop Use peers as sounding boards, emerge as a pioneer and

smart mobility management - n°3 I 3

Content 8

34

DOSSIER

strategy

THE NEW WORLD OF WORK

6 Smart Mobility Management

8 Introduction London calling for NWOW

12 The NWOW Its impact on mobility management

16 Companies who introduced the NWOW

International Integrated Corporate Mobility Solutions

7-45

Privileged partners

07 Thalys 11 Alphabet 25 Athlon Car Lease 29 Peugeot 45 Europcar

Aastra, BMW Group, Deloitte, DHL Express and Genesys

31 Car Manufacturers

19 The new office

32 IT & Telecommunications

Becoming a meeting place

21 Essential steps

36

case studies 36 Orange Hélène Billon “Mobility challenges our human nature”

38 Dexia Bank Bernard Dehaye Innovative mobility

50

industry 42 News News from the industry suppliers

46 Getronics & Athlon Car Lease “Changing the corporate culture is our biggest challenge”

50 Air Travel Finnair to launch Singapore route

CEOs shape our future mobility

Managing Mobility through IT

Editorial Team

Getronics and Microsoft give advice

34 Mobile Applications Study

Editorial Director: Caroline Thonnon (cthonnon@mmm.be) Final editor: Stijn Phlix - Team: Tim Harrup , Steven Schoefs

22 Fleet Suppliers

Mobile Solutions impact Travel Managers’ job

Sales & Marketing Team

Focus on smart mobility services

24 Smart Work Centers Cisco gets the ball rolling

Business Development Director: Caroline Thonnon - Project Manager: Annick Nemetz and Consultants: Filip Van Mullem and Melchior Wathelet

26 Regus The master example of NWOW

PRODUCTION

28 News

Sales Director: Marleen Neukermans Sales Manager: David Baudeweyns Assistants: Romina De Gregorio and Patricia Lavergne Marketing Manager: Kathleen Hubert

Head: Sonia Counet

Facts & trends

editor Managing Director: Thierry Degives Publication Director: Jean-Marie Becker

issue n°4 The fourth issue of Smart Mobility Management will be published in December 2011.

Reproduction rights (texts, advertisements, pictures) reserved for all countries.

Received documents will not be returned. By submitting them, the author implicitly authorizes their publication.

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smart mobility management - n°3 I 5

strategy

Our project

Smart Mobility Management International Integrated Corporate Mobility Solutions

S

mart Mobility Management is a unique media platform: it helps the business world understand, select and manage the smartest connectivitiy and mobility solutions.

It does so with a focus on integration, optimising employee efficiency and overall mobility-related costs.

a better work/life balance, a sustainable society and a greener planet. The crucial question, more than ever, is: To travel or not to travel? If the answer is no, then what are the smartest tools and locations? Some of the answers are: video-audio conferencing,

From the year 2000 onwards, broadband innovations have changed the way people now connect and communicate. And from about 2006, fuel, traffic and pollution problems on a planetary scale have increased the need for more environmental engagement. Since 2008, the impact of the financial crisis has accelerated the general quest for strategies for global mobility and a better work/life balance.

telepresence and Smart Work Centres.

If the answer is yes, then what is the smartest way to travel? And this on an urban, regional, or international level - considering the impact of mobility on the environment, safety, comfort, speed, and cost. All of this implies a central role for the information and communications technologies, facilitating the integration of different solutions, and ultimately streamlining the decision-making process.

Media platform As International Media Platform for Smart Mobility Management links decision makers (buyers, CFO, CEO, CIO, fleet and travel managers) with academics, researchers, manufacturers and service providers from the Fleet, Travel, Conferencing and Technology industries, all invited to pool their knowledge and efforts in order to make Smart Mobility even smarter...

To travel or not to travel?

Smart connectivity tools and smart mobility schemes are fundamental for our ambitions to create

Filip VAN MULLEM

DIGITAL

PRINT 10,000 copies 3 magazines per year 1 suppliers’ directory

> 37,000 readers > Website > E-magazine > E-newsletters > Social networking > Mobile & tablet version

EVENT > Forum > Conference > Networking > Training

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Thalys sets standards for the business travel of tomorrow Operating at the centre of an economic hub taking in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Thalys has a unique overview of the expectations of business travellers.

We question Franck Gervais, the new CEO of Thalys International.

Franck Gervais, new CEO of Thalys International.

“Optimising the use of travelling time is of constant concern to travel and mobility managers, and it is to this concern that we wished to respond.”

Business travellers represent 50% of your clients.

What makes them different in your eyes?

First and foremost, their demands in terms of the fundamentals, which have to be beyond reproach: speed, regularity, quality of welcome, comfort and information. Along with this is their interest in services enabling them to optimise their trips.

And what, precisely, are the fundamentals of Thalys?

The rapidity and frequency of our connections, with 25 round trips a day between Paris and Brussels in just 1 hour 22 minutes. We also have 10 daily return trips to Amsterdam in 3 hours 18 minutes, and 5 daily returns from Paris to Cologne in 3 hours 14 minutes. From September, this service will be extended to Düsseldorf and Essen.

You have renewed 100% of your fleet. Your trains have a new design.

What were the major principles behind this?

Functionality with, in particular, electric sockets for every seat. But also accessibility accompanied by a revolution, with on-board Wi-fi. Optimising the use of travelling time is of constant concern to travel and mobility managers, and it is to this concern that we wished to respond.

When you introduced ‘ Le Salon’ for private use last December, you were actually promoting the notion of added value journeys: why?

On board of a Thalys train, everything is done to optimise the journey time of our clients.

Creating ‘Le Salon ’ fits in this concept. They can be for private use, with four seats, Wi-fi and a meeting table, so they offer the possibility of organising a totally confidential meeting with all Thalys services (such as meals served at the seat…).

Are added value and flexibility compatible?

Absolutely! To our way of thinking these form part of the same approach. And we actually diversified our subscription programmes at the end of the year. ThePass Business has succeeded the Lys card, and provides more flexibility: the tickets are exchangeable and reimbursable up to one hour before the trip. ThePass Premium offers total flexibility between Paris and Brussels: it genuinely enables you to ‘jump onto the first Thalys’. Business people are mobile people and we wish to provide them with the most suitable solutions possible.

What programmes do you offer frequent B2B clients?

Our ‘TheCard’ loyalty programme offers a great number of advantages to those travelling more or less frequently. The subscription offers of ThePass are adapted to business travellers. And then we address ourselves to travel managers via our B2B Advantage programme, according to their volume of trips. Personalised sales relations, case by case negotiation according to trips, free unlimited access to on-line reporting…

To conclude, what will be the next innovation at Thalys?

This will be Mobile Ticketing, which will come into general operation in September. It already exists, as it is offered to all holders of Thalys TheCard. It represents a revolution in terms of mobility and accessibility because it is only necessary to have a mobile telephone with internet connection in order to board the train.

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8/09/11 15:55

DOSSIER

The New World of Work

London calling for NWOW Sustained investment in London’s Transportation network coupled with “A New Way to Work” initiative sees London lead the way in Smarter Working Practices. The TfL Corporate initiative has now closed, with over 600 companies receiving advice from the team, and over 150 in receipt of the funding to implement the measures in their travel plans.

G

lobal Mega-trends, and the emergence of location based services and telecommunications technology in particular, have seen the rise of Smart Mobility Management technologies, and the emergence of the importance of Mobility Integrators in the Smart cities of tomorrow.

This is leading to organizations providing single solutions from transport providers, online booking & payment systems, telecommunications, and application developers. The significance of these developments is that these cities are starting to become connected, offering truly inter modal transportation solutions in particular, where travelers are fully informed of all options available to allow them to make informed travel choices.

However, this is not a trend that is occurring purely as a side effect of urbanization and technology developments, at least not in London. There is great disparity between travel patterns in different parts of the UK; recent data from the Office of National Statistics

smart mobility management - n°3 I 8

London has embraced the wealth of technology available in achieving significant results across more than just the 600 engaged as part of TfL’s A New Way to Work programme.

(ONS) shows that over 16% of workers in London travel more than 1 hour to reach their normal workplace, and that over 50% of travelling to work in London is done so using public transport. Whilst the constantly increasing use of public transport systems in London is lauded as a success for the environment and in providing mass transportation networks,

it is recognised that many commuter services are overcrowded, can suffer from long delays in peak times, yet be near empty just an hour or so later.

TfL Corporate Since Transport for London (TfL) took operational control of London’s transport network in 2000, significant

7 stage process diagram 1 Raise awareness with all staff

2 Establish key needs

3 Define target

4 Determine costs and benefits

5

6

Define priorities

Action plan

7 Reviw

Source : Transport for London Corporate

for infrastructure) to firms to implement quick wins to improve the transport offering for their employees, in return for the development and upkeep of a travel plan.

Smarter working One of the key elements of the programme was smarter working, ranging from simple small scale initiatives to full organisation-wide workflow reviews, and considering flexible and remote working practices, significantly aided by improved technology, particularly broadband internet connectivity, and video/teleconferencing facilities enabling much more effective remote working practices, allowing firms to realise significant reductions in travel costs where used effectively. Figure 1 above shows the process for planning and adopting Smarter Working that TfL employed when liaising with organisations.

resources (over 22,000 staff and a budget of £9.6bn in 2010) have been committed to the continued improvement of transportation infrastructure in the UK capital. In 2008, a dedicated programme at TfL (TfL Corporate) was set up to work with large employers to understand their specific business travel needs in London, and even providing up to £20,000 of assistance (in the form of independent consultants and a grant

A New Way to Work The TfL Corporate initiative and “A New Way to Work” marketing that was associated with it are a prime example of effective private and public sector partnership working that was delivered for the common goal of improving the transportation offering to London’s working population. With London’s population expected to grow around 800,000 over the next 20 years, continued increased capacity of the transport network will be required, but also more effective management and promoting ways to spread the demand loading are of key interest to TfL, thus the benefit of running this programme was to both gauge corporate interest and spread

the message on what technologies and practices can be adopted to achieve common business goals. The travel plans delivered detailed site audits of premises in London, staff surveys to understand existing and prospective travel patterns, and identified current fleet operations and delivery/servicing plans. This allowed organisations to almost tailor the advice from TfL to suit their operational goals, whether it be reduced emissions, cost savings, or just better access to the site or management of transport facilities.

The benefits The business case for smarter working is a compelling one; if used effectively, some of the benefits to businesses can include reduced costs of premises, access to a wider employment market, lower business travel costs, better productivity, improved Corporate & Social Responsibility (CSR), and less absenteeism. However, interestingly, research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development also found that staff retention, motivation, recruitment, and teamwork were also positively affected, in addition to customer service and response. For example, the British Airports Authority (BAA) achieved a £400k cost saving on property through hot desking in 2002/3, and a video conferencing system paid for itself within a year (£150k) in saved staff travel costs. Likewise, optimising fleet operations improves asset management, and can reduce costs by removing excess capacity where it is not used/required, or cheaper alternatives are available.

Improved management of delivery & servicing plans can reduce congestion

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

“The benefits to businesses can include reduced costs of premises, access to a wider employment market, lower business travel costs, better productivity,...”

at peak times, but more importantly reduce emissions where better coordination of deliveries results in less deliveries being made.

The benefits to employees of such smarter working practices primarily involve reducing long working hours. It is estimated that London workers spend 8 hours a week commuting, on average, which is longer than anywhere else in Europe and equivalent to an additional 52 working days a year. By not travelling, or travelling outside peak hours, employees can reduce stress, congestion, and emissions, and personal costs.

Also, achieving a good work life balance plays an important role in staff retention and satisfaction.

Therefore the benefits of implementing a new way to work can be substantial to firms that adopt such practices. The challenges to be overcome revolve not just around the initial capital costs of some of the technology available to achieve such benefits, but the behavioural change that is required to achieve the true benefits of initiatives such as hot desking, remote working, and the use of video conferencing facilities. In delivering TfL Corporate, consultancy firms assisted employers in undertaking large scale staff surveys to understand the rationale, interest, and likely take up of such practices; this is essential to achieving buy in from employees, as engagement is likely to raise more interest and identify practical issues.

Over 16% of workers in London travel more than 1 hour to reach their normal workplace, and over 50% of travelling to work in London is done so using public transport.

200 firms to sign up London has embraced the wealth of technology available in achieving significant results across more than just the 600 engaged as part of TfL’s.

A New Way to Work programme, and this programme has been used as a prelude to the Travel Advice to Business initiative to reduce background travel demand in London during the 2012 Olympic Games. This initiative has seen over 200 firms sign up to receive such advice (July 2011), representing over 370,000 employees in London, with the key message being to take full

advantage of smarter working practices during games time. However, the intervention of the public sector may not always be required in smart cities going forward. More recent economic challenges faced by cost reduction pressures in particular have been enough to see the rise in the importance of smarter working practices without the aid of the public sector.

Frost & Sullivan see this as a key future growth model for businesses, where short term benefits can be realised by minimal investment and dissemination of good practices.

Expertise Center For information regarding Smarter Working Practices, and Urban Mobility, please contact the author, Martyn Briggs, Consultant, Automotive & Transportation, Frost & Sullivan: martyn.briggs@frost.com

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Enterprise solution for everyone Ecology and increasingly stringent regulations especially in cities are creating the need for new approaches to mobility. In Paris, Alphabet International joined forces with the technology consulting firm Accenture to develop AlphaCity, a prize-winning car-sharing solution that complements corporate fleets. Stéphane Crasnier, CEO of Alphabet France, talked about the project.

AlphaCity is a car-sharing solution, but what makes it special?

Stéphane Crasnier, CEO of Alphabet France “AlphaCity is a carsharing solution designed for enterprises, which each have their own needs, culture, and employees.”

Car-sharing is just the basis, but it is a solution designed for enterprises, which each have their own needs, culture, and employees. So personalisation was important, be that in the choice of the cars, the way the service is administered, or access by members. Once the company determines who will be using the service, we can design the solution. All the parameters of this solution can be personalised by the customer, and that is the cornerstone of the service.

How does the system work?

In concrete terms: users are given a badge and access to an IT platform. You log into the system and reserve a car, which shouldn’t take more than one minute. You can do this 15 minutes or six months before using the vehicle. An email or a text message is sent to tell you where to pick up the car and to supply any codes for entering parking lots.

How did this solution come about?

Clients were often discussing their need for greater efficiency. We realised that the fleet budgets were a part of the company’s mobility budget, but that all the other components, like mobility costs, taxis, short trips, mileage compensation, public transport, were not well defined. Plus, the internet could be used to great advantage. So we thought of offering mobility service to all employees of a company.

What are the advantages for the customers?

In the first decade of the new century, there was talk of a “green attitude”. This has been taken a step further, integrating the idea of ecological responsibility. Furthermore, no-one talks about costs, but rather about the benefit. Today, corporate car sharing gets the customer thinking about the real costs of mobility using other modes of transport besides the fleet. This is a car-sharing solution that maximises the use of the vehicle and combines economy and ecology in one.

Where is AlphaCity going from here?

We have done some pioneer work here and taken risks.

On the way, we dreamt up many new directions in which to evolve. We would like to see the community grow, so we are thinking of expanding into other markets, of deploying the solution on a large scale. Then there is the issue of utilisation.

Right now we have a pure B2B system that operates during the daytime, Monday to Friday. We thought we could also offer the cars for evenings and weekends.

And, finally, there are a host of services we are considering as plug-ins. In the final analysis, we have to be capable of supporting companies in their cost considerations. In the long run, we aim to create an ecosystem with the company and its employees, the car and the driver.

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8/09/11 15:55

DOSSIER

The New World of Work

NWOW: Impact on mobility management The NWOW dramatically changes work related patterns and the need for physical mobility decreases thanks to the mobility of data. Smart Mobility Management has interviewed mobility consultants in order to describe the real benefits and challenges, and also the savings that can be realized in fleet and travel management. Finally, we see the NWOW also impacting travel and company cars, and of course the environment and CSR policy.

T

he NWOW is a new, adapted way of more flexible working in a changing globalised world, supported by new technologies. Both employers and employees are more flexible with regards to when, where and how to work. Internet is playing a central role as tools, contacts and content are available anywhere and anytime. The NWOW is all about stimulating people to the maximum and about cooperation with others. Managers become more like leaders. Employees are judged on output, not on presence, within a clear framework.

Benefits For many experts today, the NWOW offers clear benefits for companies’ activities. First, corporations can concentrate more on the end result and can reduce some of the facility aspects of running an organization. Secondly, the time spent in traffic and traffic jams can significantly been reduced as employees are more free to choose the best moment to drive. “Probably,” says Bart Desmedt, “the NWOW will decrease the number of work related kilometers and can at the same time increase the attractiveness of good collective transport means. Train services and stations equipped with the technical facilities to make NWOW possible will be more frequently used for longer trips.”

Ghislain Vanfraechem adds: ”The NWOW means increased effectiveness and productivity for employees because people feel better. They feel ‘empowered’, have greater responsibilities and it is therefore an excellent career driver. In general, it creates more effective working.”

According to Kees Froeling , the NWOW also means less travel, so lower costs and less CO2 emissions.

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Challenges If the NWOW clearly offers substantial opportunities for both employers and employees, there are also some challenges that need to be considered. The most important one is to transform the traditional management style into real leadership and to trust people to make the right decisions and remain disciplined in their work in this new environment.

Ronald van Lankveld adds: “We see more and more companies moving to the NWOW, but there is one major obstacle… And this is not related to the IT and communication technology as one might imagine. It is all about the change in management culture! Therefore, a step by step approach is absolutely recommended.”

Savings in fleet and travel How is the NWOW impacting fleet and travel management costs? “The NWOW decreases work related mileage, but there is a risk of increased leisure time use of company cars,” says Bart Desmedt. “I don’t believe it will impact the number of company cars in a fleet, but the car could be seen less as a work instrument, and more as a benefit for the employee. And in addition, it clearly decreases the need for travel.”

“The savings on fleet management costs are mainly achieved thanks to the reduction in kilometers driven and less fuel consumption,” states Ghislain Vanfraechem. The implementation of our Green Mobility Policy resulted in a 15% savings on TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of the fleet (see box for details).

On top of this, travel management costs could be reduced by +/- 30%.”

1. W ork whenever you want. The ‘9-5 office presence

2. W ork wherever you want: home, business centers, smart

3. T he NWOW is motivating people. It gives freedom and

4. T he NWOW offers a lot of flexibility and the office

5. A voiding time loss in traffic is important to be efficient and

6. F ocusing on the goal and the outcome of the work is really

requirement is outdated’.

responsibility, but excellent leadership and coaching is necessary.

lead a balanced life.

centers… Optimising contacts and collaboration is crucial, as is using the right technologies, tools,…

becomes an important meeting place.

motivating for a lot of employees.

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

“The NWOW decreases the total number of driven kilometers between home and the office.”

Ronald van Lankveld agrees that the NWOW decreases mobility costs. “But it is important to make a difference between those who need a company car for their core business and those who are not entitled to one. My experience tells me that the real mobility costs benefits can be realized with employees without company cars. For them especially, the implementation of tele- and videoconferencing has an interesting effect on the company’s costs. Fleet management costs can also be reduced, although this will probably not involve huge sums. A cost reduction of 5 or 10% seems to be realistic.”

Impact on company cars “Probably, the NWOW will impact the number of company cars,” says Ghislain Vanfraechem, “But not in the short term.

We believe that offering a broad range of mobility solutions to each employee is key to a sustainable mobility and fleet policy. We strive for example for the implementation of a ‘Mobility Budget’, flexible to the mobility needs of our employees by offering a wide range of mobility solutions: a Railease train pass, use of the public transport systems, the use of an electric vehicle (EV) or foldable bike for short distances in and around cities… With a mobility budget, the employee can choose himself which mobility solution is best for the type of travel. By offering EVs to our employees already, we want to support this transformation that in the long run will bring more effective working and mobility conditions. We also believe this will encourage certain people not to have a fixed company car, but a customized one. A vehicle that fits the travel needs, business or private.”

Bart Desmedt also states that the NWOW will not necessarily reduce the number of company cars, as they are still in many cases both a work instrument and a salary benefit. “On

the other hand, the impact on travel needs will probably be impacted”. “One of the key aspects of the NWOW is the use of new technologies,” says Ghislain Vanfraechem. “We already see an increase in the number of conference calls or videoconferencing compared to before. Face to face meetings are now possible without travelling.”

Mobility budget Alongside the NWOW, the concept of introducing a mobility budget is also a solution. “With this concept,” explains Ronald Van Lankveld, “the company car driver chooses himself the most convenient mobility solutions, and this is gaining in popularity in the Netherlands. But these formulas are not always successful, especially when the mobility budget is too low to allow drivers to use the most optimal transport mode. And aditionnaly, it can increase administrative follow-up for the driver, which can be time-consuming.”

Caroline THONNON

Green Mobility Policy at Ernst & Young The Green Mobility Policy implemented at E&Y resulted so far in the following benefits: > CO2 emissions are 20% lower than the average in Belgium >A verage CO2 emissions for the fleet are 120 g/km > 84% of the fleet emits less than 145 g/km CO2 > Reduction of fuel consumption by 10% > Around 20% less parking space needed > Overall reduction of +/- 15% of TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) in 2010 compared to 2006

Expertise Center - Bart Desmedt, Delegate Manager, Traject Mobility Management - Ghislain Vanfraechem, Director Facilities department, Ernst & Young - Ronald Van Lankveld, Director, Fleet & Mobility Consultancy - Kees Froeling, Solution Manager, Conclusion

smart mobility management - n°3 I 14

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Nothing but advantages A new concept is sweeping across corporate Europe. It is called: the New World of Working. It is a conglomerate of methods and measures like teleworking, homeworking, shared offices, and videoconferencing. And it is beneficial to both employers and their employees. Consider these 5 testimonials…

Belgium: Aastra

Benelux: DHL Express

With or without a company car

“Productivity is up by 15%”

Being itself a supplier of teleworking solutions, Aastra is bound to provide a good example. “Within the framework of our ‘Act Green’ programme, we’ve introduced teleworking for our Belgian employees,” says Albano Masino, Marketing Manager for Aastra Belgium.

In November of 2009, a single location in Antwerp opened up”, says Jan Verwer, Senior Customs Clearance Manager for the Benelux at DHL Express.

“Our two main goals are to reduce the ecological footprint of our company, and to increase our employees’ quality of life.”

Aastra’s commercial department has recently started working from home, while all eight R&D personnel have chosen to share one day per week teleworking. Aastra claims the R&D team’s teleworking alone is saving up to 3,3 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

“And rising fuel prices make it ever more interesting to switch to teleworking,” says Albano Masino. “We’ve calculated that Belgian companies this year will have to spend an average of 419 euros extra on fuel per employee with company car.”

For commuters without a company car, teleworking is also a lucrative proposition. “According to our calculations, they could save up to 460 euros per year on fuel if they worked from home one day per week.”

“Rising fuel prices make it ever more interesting to switch to teleworking”, says Aastra’s Albano Masino.

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“Simultaneously, the circa 60 employees involved were provided with the option of working from home. Having insured that technical preconditions such as IT infrastructure were met, the result is that at present, the employees involved work at home four days per week.

For reasons of social and corporate interaction, they come into the Antwerp office one day per week.”

DHL Express is counting the advantages, says Jan Verwer: “Our savings in office space alone amount to 200.000 euros. Absenteeism is down from 4,5% to 0,9%, and productivity is up by 15%.”

The work-from-home programme was a pilot scheme that has now been successfully concluded. DHL Express is now considering whether other departments in other parts of its global operations will be up for a bit of homework…

Jan Verwer, DHL Express: “Our savings in office space alone amount to 200,000 euros.”

Germany: BMW Group

Ireland: Genesys

A pioneer in teleworking

“Employees nowadays have to be agile”

Videoconferencing, shared offices and teleworking all have long been part of the working environment at car manufacturer BMW. “We have a long tradition in this field”, says Marc Grönninger and Laura Holzhauer of the BMW Group.

Not just big companies are shifting to the New World of Work. Take Genesys Financial Systems, an Ireland-based company, whose 8 employees provide global localisation support for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

“Back in 1995, BMW was already offering its employees the opportunity to work from home. At that time, the initiative was taken in tandem with the Bavarian state government. One of our goals was to portray ourselves as an attractive employer but also to provide answers to the growing problem of pollution and the requirements of balancing work and life in an international context. As a result of, 20,000 of our employees - one in four - today are able to work for BMW from outside of the company.”

“Since our inception 8 years ago, all employees have worked from home, hotels, trains, customer sites and even from the side of the road”, says Ian Stewart at Genesys.“Everyone has a home server, laptop, smartphone, high speed broadband (with mobile broadband FOB as a backup and for when we are traveling) as well as a Skype account allowing unlimited worldwide landline and mobile calls, group calls and video conferencing. We also share an online repository that continually synchronises local folders. On top of that, we are using Microsoft Office Groove for collaboration.”

In consultation with management, BMW employees can opt for the formula that best suits their requirements. “We facilitate working from home for employees who are often away on business, and for those who live a long way from the office.

These categories of employees might benefit from teleworking one or two days per week.” Laura Holzhauer sees a trend in teleworking over the past years. “Unlike before, employees today have the opportunity to connect to the Corporate Network wherever they are, be it on a business trip, at home or elsewhere. This makes teleworking a very practical option. That is why BMW has gone to great lengths to grant its employees better access to BMW’s digital network than ever before.” Marc Grönninger adds: “The BMW employee has got the office in his or her pocket, so to speak. Whether it’s at home or at an internet hotspot, we bring all the fixtures and fittings of the traditional workplace together in a ‘portable office’ which gives you the same opportunity.” Meanwhile, BMW continues to develop teleworking for its employees. Videoconferences are increasing in frequency via the ever cheaper internet, and are slowly replacing the simple telephone call.

“One in four BMW Group employees is involved in teleworking”, says Laura Holzhauer of the BMW Group.

One of the reasons that Genesys is shifting to the New World of Work is that the company strongly believes in the ‘single point of contact’ principle. Ian Stewart: “This is one person that manages the entire relationship with the customer: from making initial contact to the final account management. The only way this can be achieved is to constantly share the information, which only can be achieved electronically. The fact that we are all remote from each other only reinforces this.”

Apart from a better work/life balance and less time wasted traveling, Ian Stewart believes that the main benefit for the employees of this new way of working is the fact that it makes them more agile. “Employees have to be agile be in order to manage their time. Agility is the name of the game for organisations now.”

Among the benefits for the company are the fact that no management time is involved in running a centralized location and no investment needed in management layers. This is because employees are being judged on performance and nothing else.

One of the reasons that Genesys is shifting to the New World of Work is that the company strongly believes in the ‘single point of contact’ principle.

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

OUR COMMUNITY ON

Belgium: Deloitte As technology advances, work becomes more flexible Consultancy and auditing firm Deloitte Belgium employs about 2,500 people, divided between the HQ in Diegem, near Brussels, and 9 other offices across the country. Most of these are consultants.

ABOUT NWOW

Quentin Grégoire, Senior Consultant at Getronics Consulting “As an employee of Getronics, I can confirm that this is a great plus in terms of work/life balance and brings more efficiency to the organisation. Getronics consulting offers a complete approach to your NWOW projects, based on our own experience and unique skills.”

Richard Lovelock, Head of Sales & Supplier Management at Citybase Apartments “At Citybase Apartments, our Sales team are all based at home. Conference calls and mobile communications are key, linking us with clients and each other. Home working enables us to reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce both travel stress and travel time.”

Samantha Sheridan, UK Sales Manager at CitizenM Hotels “At CitizenM, the whole team pretty much are ‘mobile citizens’, travelling frequently and often throughout Europe, the USA and beyond. As we expand the brand, this mobility is vital, as fixed working spaces and even fixed working hours do not fit with our business model of operating with a small team. In addition, we felt that there was a need and a demand for this. Hence, we recently launched a business club concept, SocietyM, which has been designed to provide flexible and creative working space for today’s business nomad... coming soon to London.”

Deloitte Belgium is using modern technology to allow its staff to work as flexibly as possible. One tool is wifi, available in all of Deloitte’s offices throughout Belgium.

“They spend less than half of their working hours at our locations, being out to clients the rest of the time. For them, it would be more efficient to work from home or from the nearest office after visiting a client”, says Mark Torfs, COO at Deloitte Belgium. “This is why our offices are equipped with amenities like so-called ‘free seats’, internet connections and a badgeactivated access system, turning them into de facto ‘shared offices’. Thus, by the very nature of our work, we already have a long tradition of desk sharing and flexible working hours.”

Deloitte Belgium is making the best possible use of modern technology to allow its staff to work as flexibly as possible.

“Three examples: all our offices have recently been provided with wireless internet, which is proving a time-saver for our employees, rushing from one meeting to another. Secondly, about two years ago, we switched from the regular telephone grid to Microsoft’s Office Communicator system, which routes telephony over the internet - for free. The same tool also allows us to share documents or set up videoconferencing via webcams. A third example is the option our employees have to consult and share work documents via their iPhone.”

In today’s world, there’s enough technology available to allow the employee to be in constant communion with his work environment. This evolution will only benefit the trend towards more homeworking and teleworking.

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Geert Behets, Director, Global Travel Management, Global Sourcing & Contracting Travel, Fleet & MICE at UCB Pharma “UCB is rolling out Tele-Video conferencing via Lync which allows to connect all employees, external participants and even allows single participants to connect to a video conference between two video rooms. Not all elements of the system have been rolled out yet.”

Sam Osborough, Director at Aether Mobile “Our staff at Aether Mobile also work from home. We find it is a far more efficient way of working - in fact, the majority of our business partners work in the same way. No wasted travelling hours to get to an office and less interruption. We use conference calling, video calling and mobiles to keep in touch, meeting up once a week or so.”

Is your organisation shifting to the New World of Work (NWOW), i.e. tele and videoconferencing, homeworking, shared offices?

Yes: 56% Next 12 months: 5% Next 24 months: 1% Not at this time: 28% No plans: 10%

Results of a LinkedIn Poll ended on August 1st, 2011. Total votes: 97.

DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Office space morphs into meeting place Companies that want to make the switch over to the New World of Work will have no choice but to reinvent their office space. What’s needed, is an evolution from the classic, open-space concept towards a concept that provides the best possible circumstances for knowledge workers, regardless of time and location. The classic office is dead. Long live the new office!

A

ll of this seems obvious, but actually, it isn’t. A recent survey by Dutch trade magazine Facilitair & Gebouwbeheer (‘Facility and Building Management’) showed that over 50% of companies surveyed state that their workplaces have not yet adapted to the New World of Work.

And yet, structural changes to the way offices are conceived, are an absolute prerequisite for success, especially for those changes dependent on the pooled talents of HR, ICT and Facility Management.

Advanced versions of the ‘Open Space’ concept for office design seem to mesh well with a bunch of new formulas, all falling under the header ‘New World of Work’: teleworking, telecommuting, flex work, working while travelling , clean desk policy, etc.

Meeting Place In practice, this means that the Open Space concept will have to evolve into a location with specially designed work-

Workstations with multiple units, allowing several employees to use them simultaneously.

stations, allowing not only for work to be done in silence and isolation, but also for meetings to be held by larger groups of staff; all the while not forgetting that consultation should at all times and in all circumstances remain an easy option.

The new office will truly be a meeting place…

Here are some concepts for types of work location that are the ingredients of this new office format: > The workstation: consists of a table with an ergonomic office chair, with no visual or acoustic boundaries. These work units are usually grouped in clusters of 4 to 6, sometimes more. > The bench: these consist of long tables with individual workstations, and room to put multiple and/or large documents. Ideal for group work or collaborative projects. > The cubicle: a workstation enclosed by three walls, where one can concentrate on individual work. The user stays

Ideally, the conference room will be equipped with audio-visual equipment.

in touch with the team via the ‘fourth wall’. > The cockpit: a fully enclosed workstation, hence very suitable for individual work that requires concentration or confidentiality. > The conference room: as in the classic office layout, this room is equipped as a standard with a large table and chairs. An added element: extensive audiovisual equipment for tele- and videoconferencing. > The lounge: perhaps the greatest innovation in the new Open Space setup.

This space is arranged with seats that the employee feels the same comfort as he has at home. The lounge workplace is also suitable for semi-concentrated work or work in small groups. > The coffee corner: even more informal than the lounge. Here you can go to relax or for an informal chat.

Stijn PHLIX

The lounge is perhaps the greatest innovation in the new Open Space setup.

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smart mobility management - n째3 I 20

DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Essential steps towards the NWOW Those companies wishing to successfully implement the New World of Work (NWoW), are well advised not to skip certain steps in the change process. We asked Getronics and Microsoft, two companies that have created a New World of Work for their employees, what the road map should look like.

G

etronics and Microsoft have both recently moved to new locations within Belgium and have organised their new offices in such a way as to make NWOW easily implementable. In order to liberate your staff from their designated times and places of work, these steps are essential:

1. Planning “In advance, every company needs to outline their vision on NWoW, listing their reasons and their goals”, says Ivan Cols, Marketing Manager at Getronics Belux. “Cost reduction, and positioning oneself as an attractive employer are two important examples.” Imperatively, the changeover must have the full backing of the company’s top management; it also needs to involve the HR, Facilities Management and IT Departments. And it needs to be communicated effectively to the workforce.

2. Culture shift NWOW requires an appropriate management style. Gunter Staes, Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft Belux: “This is an issue especially for middle management. They will have to manage output rather than attendance. That implies giving up a certain degree of oversight,

while empowering the employee to have more responsibility. We at Microsoft Belux are therefore using a business coach for a few days each month to teach our managers and employees about this new managerial style. Additionally, Microsoft already had a performance Management system that enables us to assess our employees on their performance within the framework of their freedom.”

3. Location One of the ground rules of NWOW is that none of the staff, be they top or bottom of the pile, has their own office.

Everybody works from flex spots. And so it is at Getronics and Microsoft. “We have two workstations for every three employees. On top of that, we have a number of smaller meeting and conference rooms, all equipped for teleconferencing”, says Gunter Staes. By moving into its new premises last year, Getronics saved 25% on office space. “The average Microsoft workstation shrank from 16m2 to 12m2 , so our savings are of the same magnitude”, compares Gunter Staes.

Not that moving is mandatory if you want to introduce NWOW. It’s just as feasible to refurbish an existing location to reflect a more ‘activity-based’ approach to the office environment.

4. Technology NWoW obviously requires some investments in IT. It’s no coincidence that Microsoft and Getronics, both pioneers in NWoW, are also savvy IT companies.

One oft-discussed issue is the securing of company data. Gunter Staes: “This is why Microsoft works with Lync, one of our own applications, on a global scale.

Lync allows our people to communicate securely over the phone, via the internet, on chat, etc. We also use Direct Access, a Windows functionality that allows us secure access to any information on the corporate network.”

Ivan Cols at Getronics Belgium indicates that the digitisation of documents is taking more time than originally thought: “Some employees simply need more time to move from paper to digital.”

Stijn PHLIX

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Fleet Suppliers focus on smart mobility services Company cars are a fundamental offer in the mobility mix. But their role could also evolve. Meanwhile, manufacturers and lessors are extending their portfolios to become providers of all-round mobility.

ALD Automotive

Athlon Car Lease

ALD’s tradition of solving corporate mobility needs naturally evolved into the concept of ‘Smart Mobility’. The company will offer new mobility services that are also more efficient, thus fitting within a profitable business model. ALD’s expertise as a service integrator will open new means of transportation, and provide better reporting through open IT platforms. A smart answer to increasing taxation and restrictions on driving will include more homeworking, less commuting, and a wider range of transport options. Company cars will remain ubiquitous, as there often is no alternative, and since they are fiscally more interesting than their equivalent in salary. But they will increasingly be seen as part of a scalable fleet. This adaptability, plus the extended mobility reporting, will be key advantages in the new world of work.

Athlon Car Lease is transforming itself from a mere car leasing company into a sustainable mobility solutions provider.

For even if only 20 % of employees have a company car, fully 100 % will have some mobility demands. So it makes good business sense to extend the range of mobility services - as in Athlon’s five-step sustainable mobility plan. This plan asks fleet customers: Do you need to travel? Can you use an alternative workplace? One answer to these questions is the Athlon Flex Centre near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, providing top of the line facilities for lease drivers. Other options include mobility on demand.

Alphabet AlphaCity is an example of Alphabet’s range of innovative smart work solutions already on offer. The scheme is a corporate car sharing programme allowing employees to use a vehicle when they need one. A smart booking platform ensures a simple reservation and transparent billing. Another example, in some countries, is the inclusion of public transport in the product portfolio, fitting with Generation Y’s mobility preferences. Corporate car sharing will also be extended. For short city trips, users will have a small and efficient car, for longer journeys a bigger car or MPV. But the company car will not disappear, because the need for high levels of flexible mobility will remain.

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LeasePlan Car sharing, route planning and other issues of efficient mobility have always been part of LeasePlan’s fleet management philosophy. In line with current trends, the company’s role as mobility providers will only increase. But everything changes when the company car has, in whatever proportion, a compensation/ motivational role. The result: a much slower trend toward car sharing.

So LeasePlan does not think that fleets will shrink, quite the contrary. But change will come. So-called Smart Work, combined with possible personal taxation on the use of company cars, may mean that a higher percentage of employees previously without access to corporate mobility will now be included. These plans will grant these employees access to a mobility option by leveraging their company’s fleet management network and efficiencies.

< According to fleet suppliers, the use of the company car will be integrated in a new world of mobility where flexibility, speed and accountability management are key.

Peugeot The customer’s changing mobility habits are central to Peugeot’s production plan up to 2015. Peugeot already provides a wide range of solutions: engine technology, low emission vehicles, optimisation of mobility vectors like bikes, scooters, cars and LCVs, and specific mobility services. The next step is to assemble these products with services into concrete mobility solutions for the mobility needs of the B2B customer. That’s the concept behind Peugeot’s Mu. Customers don’t own cars, but use mobility points for the Peugeot mobility feature best suited to your needs. Mu originally was a B2C concept, and is being converted into a B2B offer, as it fits the mobility profile of Generation Y.

Volkswagen Group

Mercedes-Benz The world of smart work is taken into consideration in the design and development of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

The company car, in this new work environment actually becomes a mobile office. Telematics are a vital component of our product strategy as it supports work efficiency by enabling drivers to work while being in their car.

The new telematics are conceived to enhance driver’s safety and efficiency (already available in the SLK, C-Class and E-Class and currently introduced in other models). The new system also makes conference calls easy and even allow text messages to be displayed on screen. Hands-free speaking systems are standard without additional charge.

With the COMAND Online multimedia system, drivers can either surf on the internet when at a standstill, or use a Mercedes-Benz App while driving. Navigation is facilitated (individual destinations via Google Maps) and drivers can plain their business route at the office computer and send it to the vehicle.

We are dealing with an expansion of our core business.

The selling process that formerly comprised the products and financing alone is becoming more demanding as we widen our business activities by offering mobility solutions.

And we intend to continue playing a pioneering role in the development of cutting-edge innovations targeted at smart mobility. Car2go, an innovative car sharing project, gives for example access to a large range of vehicles and reduced costs

Volkswagen Group caters for various considerations and new demands when developing mobility concepts. One example is engine development, where Volkswagen combines fuel efficiency with undiminished driving pleasure. The same applies to new features in vehicles. Going forward, iPod and wifi connections will become standard. Another concept are mobile offices, which Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles already demonstrated with the T5 Business back in 2007. And the new Audi models from the A1 to the A8 feature “Audi Connect”, a mobile hotspot for direct Internet access. Volkswagen also recently launched a car sharing project in Hanover called “Quicar” that gives commercial customers the chance to test flexible mobility concepts tailored to their individual needs.

Therefore, Volkswagen is in constant dialog with customers to find out exactly what they need. Good examples include driver assistance systems which not only enhance safety but also support networking between field staff, headquarters and customers. In the future, the speed generated by electronic interfaces will definitely bring companies a competitive edge, says Volkswagen.

Steven SCHOEFS

Manufacturers and lessors are extending their portfolios to become providers of all-round mobility (see photo: Daimler’s car sharing project Car2go).

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DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Smart Work Centers Cisco gets the ball rolling Cisco developed a ‘mobile and remote working space’ initiative. Director of Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group, Bas Boorsma, explains the big ideas and how these fit in the New World of Work.

Bas Boorsma: “if you don’t have the centers linked together somehow, for example through centralised booking, they are not as useful as they could be.”

“T

he whole concept of Smart Work Centers started as part of a commitment that Cisco CEO John Chambers made to Bill Clinton in 2006 with regard to a more ecological way of working, leading to a greener urban environment in a number of cities around the world. In the case of Amsterdam, we were looking, with the city authorities, at greener ways of moving people around, greener mobility.

This is how the Smart Work Centers came about, with the first being in 2008. As with all pilots, there were some good things and some things we still had to learn. One of the good things to emerge was that the concept was quickly copied by other entrepreneurs, and so it helped accelerate the development of

Smart Work Centers, especially in the Amsterdam area. One of the things we learned was that you can have as many of these centers as you like, but if you don’t have them linked together somehow, for example through centralised booking, they are not as useful as they could be.

Business model “One of the offshoots was TPEX, which we helped to found in many ways”, Bas Boorsma went on. “There was no obvious provider for video services, and TPEX filled this gap. We can provide all the hardware in the world, but if there is no operator, no business model to enable the deployment of this equipment, create a network linked to other such networks in the world, then it doesn’t make sense.”

Telepresence TPEX, MD Robert Rosier: “The company is called TPEX (Telepresence Exchange Europe) and is for people who want to use videoconferencing and telepresence in their business life.

We started in 2010 and we are building telepresence facilities in smart work centres. We have one in Amsterdam and we are rolling out ten other locations at the moment. We provide these facilities as a service in places like smart work centres, hotels etc., so the users do not have to invest, they simply use the service. We do three important things: firstly we provide connectivity. We already connect to 60 public facilities worldwide and around 2,500 private facilities.”

We Work Peter Oeberius Kapteijn, head of another Netherlands-based structure, We Work: “I met with Cisco’s Bas Boorsma and started a company in which we used empty office buildings and re-fitted them so they could be used as a sort of office hotel for small entrepreneurs. You don’t lease square meters with us, but you get the use of the space along with associated services, each month. You can rent our space either for an hour, or for three years – nobody has to sign a typical lease contract. We saw, here in the Amsterdam area, that a lot of employees were becoming unhappy with fixed work contracts, and wanted to become more independent – and for this they need somewhere other than home to work.”

Tim HARRUP

A Cisco Smart Work Center

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Athlon Mobility Solutions The new Athlon Flex Centre At Athlon Car Lease, we realize that with 200,000 cars on the road in the Netherlands alone, we have a responsibility to and can play a major role in solving the problems that come with increased congestion. We believe that the solution comes in the form of sustainable mobility.

For this reason, we have introduced a sustainable mobility plan which allows our customers to decrease their CO2 footprint and save costs in five easy steps.

The very first step in the sustainable mobility plan encourages customers to ask themselves the question whether travelling is truly necessary. Do employees have to travel every day to the office or is it possible and maybe even more efficient to use an alternative location to work, meet and socialize?

“The Athlon Flex Centre is a strategically located office for all of Athlon’s customers, lease car drivers and other employees who are looking for convenient working, meeting and conferencing space.”

(Photographer Stijn Poelstra)

The ‘new way of working’: flexibility and efficiency

Athlon Car Lease has realized that many of its customers are currently busy finding an answer to this question. Aiming at introducing a new way of working, more and more companies are opting for flexible work places inside their offices, encouraging staff to work and meet anywhere in the building. With members being evaluated on outcome rather than on presence, the new way of working also provides more flexibility for employees to work outside of the office and thus become more efficient in their travel planning – maybe simply by working from home in the morning to avoid rush hour or to plan appointments at other locations that saves travel time for all participants.

Athlon Car Lease proudly presents … the Athlon Flex Centre Extending our product and service portfolio as a sustainable mobility solutions provider and meeting our customers’ full-fledged mobility needs, Athlon Car Lease will open its first Athlon Flex centre in Schiphol in the Netherlands in September.

The Athlon Flex Centre is a strategically located office for all of Athlon’s customers, lease car drivers and other employees who are looking for convenient working, meeting and conferencing space close by Schiphol airport and Amsterdam. Its new, modern facilities, state-of-the art equipment and full office services available provide extra flexibility for our customers’ employees when planning their working days in the most efficient manner.

With free parking, high speed wireless internet, meeting and conference rooms ranging from private offices to executive board rooms, video conferencing possibilities and a restaurant, the Athlon Flex Centre provides a wide range of facilities that allow for a convenient, flexible and comfortable stay – be it just for a few hours before, between or after meetings to avoid rush hour, or for a full day to work or meet colleagues, customers or clients.

There is more to come …

The first Athlon Flex Centre will open its doors in the Netherlands in late September 2011 – and it might just be the first Flex Centre of many more to come.

Hans Blink, President of Athlon Car Lease: “The Athlon Flex Centre in Schiphol is the pilot project for Athlon Car Lease in order to extend our mobility service portfolio. Should the pilot be as successful as we expect and thus confirm the need and willingness of our customers to use such additional work location and services, we will certainly consider opening further Flex Centres throughout the Netherlands and potentially also in some of the other European countries Athlon Car Lease is present in.”

For more information on the Athlon Flex Centre, please visit our website www.athlonflexcentre.nl or www.athloncarlease.com.

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8/09/11 15:55

DOSSIER

The New World of Work

Regus, the master exemple of NWOW The ‘new way of working’ is not something which was invented over the past few months. Just over two decades ago, an Englishman knocked on the door of Belgian property developer AG Real Estate and said he had an idea and needed somewhere to put it into practice. We asked that man, Mark Dixon, founder and MD of Regus, what his thoughts on this trend are today.

Marc Dixon, founder and MD of Regus: “We have delivered more new products over the past two years than over the fifteen years before that.”

F

rom the very first Regus centre on the Avenue Louise in Brussels, Regus has now grown to more than 1,100 centres in some 500 cities worldwide. Few people are better placed than Mark Dixon to explain the evolving workplace trend and give his views on the role of the traditional office building.

How is your business evolving in this new climate?

Our business has always been a mixture of very long term customers who may need to have a representative office or branch office, and who may stay for ten or more years, and those who are doing specific short-term projects or testing out new markets. What has evolved over the past five years, and in particular over the past three years, has been the impact of modern technology.

The advent of the mobile phone and its growing popularity and user take-up, which meant that people could work in lots of different places, followed more recently by the arrival of the Blackberry and then the iPhone, and now the iPad and other work pads. Effectively, this technology combined with the internet, have created an entirely new method of working. This is leading to a lot more business for companies like Regus, which are providing the places where

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the more mobile people, these new types of workers, can actually sit down and work. Because they still have to do that, but they do it in different places.

The place they are not doing it is at a fixed desk in a fixed office. This is not for the entire workforce, but there is a significant proportion which is moving into this new arena.

Do you see still more new products coming along?

We have delivered more new products over the past two years than over the fifteen years before that. We are doing two new product launches every year.

The new products are mobility products

of varying types, catering to different types of worker. For example different types of access product designed to streamline access and the whole experience. One example is the ‘My Regus’ portal, allowing mobile workers to self-serve and find all types of information. More of a service than a product, really. It allows workers who aren’t in a fixed building to manage their affairs effectively.

Does all this mean that as well as impacting on efficiency and cost, you have a beneficial effect on the environment?

Absolutely, because basically, corpora-

<

This Regus centre is situated in Heidelberg (Germany). It is one of the 1,100 centres worldwide.

“Office buildings are already inefficiently used, and this was the situation even before technology.”

had an alternative. Now, we’ve created alternatives whereby they can close down these expensive, generally branch offices and replace them with access products which give access to many more buildings in more convenient locations and at significantly lower prices.

tions taking our full range of access products are able to reduce their fixed office space for certain groups of people by up to 80%. This is a huge reduction in the need for fixed office space, which has enormous environmental implications. You simply don’t need as many office buildings. And part of the problem is that office buildings are already inefficiently used, and this was the situation even before technology. Now, this new technology means that on some Fridays, the offices may only be 10% occupied, because people just don’t come in. But companies have been reluctant to close down this office space because they haven’t

Is this the end of the company office building?

No, because we suggest that companies invest more money in their headquarters or hub buildings, and these become much more of a place where the company and its brand and its strategies are centred; a place of occasional use for collaboration and team working, rather than the place for all work, Monday to Friday, 9-to-5. These become the beating heart of the company, rather than a place where people just go and sit in rows of desks and work. Because you still want to retain the identity of the company, you can’t do everything remotely. But on-demand business space will be seen as a key future requirement – aligning property with the ebbs and flows of business cycles.

As on-demand takes off the spaces we choose for work will be very different from the majority currently available.

Are there any regional variations in this way of working?

Yes, this is happening globally, but at slightly different speeds. It is very much tied in with technology take-up.

You have developing countries which can make a leap to this type of activity

because they don’t have anything else.

In more established countries it is the higher tech ones that make the move more quickly, countries which are more change-oriented. But at the other end of the scale it can be countries which are in recession, and which are therefore under more pressure to cut costs.

Tim HARRUP

About Regus Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world’s largest network of video communication studios.

Regus enables people to work their way, whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.

Over 800,000 customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,100 locations in 500 cities and 89 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

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DOSSIER

News & trends

Congestion resists rise in telework

Videoconferencing set for high growth The videoconferencing market will see double-digit growth in the next few years, predicts consulting firm IDC. The company conducted a survey, on the basis of which it reports a prediction of 18% annual growth of revenue in the sector, and 30% annual growth in telepresence as such. In its report, entitled ‘Worldwide Enterprise Videoconferencing and Telepresence 2011-2015’, IDC states that the industry has only recently acquired the technological capacity to supply high-quality equipment (HD etc.) This evolution has only now begun to impact the market. Unified communications systems also play a part.

Plus, the entire sector is extending further ‘downmarket’, as it becomes ever more accessible and user-friendly.

Congestion won’t be solved by telework alone. Additional measures are needed, like the promotion of commuting via public transport.

Nearly 1 in 5 Dutch employees now practices some form of teleworking. This is triple the amount of 2003, reports the European Platform on Mobility Management (EPOMM). But since then, traffic congestion has not decreased. EPOMM suggests this is the result of an increase in commuting distances. These may be a consequence of the New World of Work, which makes it easier to live far from work. The Platform therefor advises that promoting telework should go hand in hand with other mobility measures, like encouraging public transport as a commuting option.

OCI calculates cost per workstation In Belgium, the Occupancy Cost Index (OCI) for 2011 amounted to €11,808 per workstation. The OCI is a calculation of the annual cost of using an average office workstation. It’s been worked out for every year since 2006 by consultancy firm AOS Studley.

The real estate (building, rent, maintenance, etc.) represents 41% of the total cost. IT infrastructure accounts for 35%, while other support services (catering, cleaning,..) is 19% of the total.

The OCI can help companies decide to reduce cost, for example by opting for flexible workplaces.

An average office workstation sets a Belgian employer back nearly €12,000 per year.

IDC believes that the videoconferencing market will consistently see double-digit growth the period 2011-2015.

Regus predicts the end of the traditional office Sixty percent of large corporations predicts a drop in demand for office space due to the New World of Work. This is the finding of a global survey conducted this year by office provider Regus in conjunction with information provider Unwired. Just over half of the executives surveyed indicated that the traditional office, with a workplace for every employee, needs to evolve Technical advances like cloud computtowards a place where ing have made it less important where employees meet each the work is done. other on a regular basis.

“The enabling factor is the technical progress,” Regus states.

“Cloud computing, BlackBerries and internet hot spots: they’ve all helped to prove that where work is done is less important than that it is done.”

Stijn PHLIX

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Peugeot Mobility Audit At Peugeot Professional, our ambition is to assist our B2B customers in assembling the right elements of our Products and Services offer in order to fit with each one of their sites needs.

To do this, we are proposing to our international B2B clients a new service: the Mobility Audit.

With this offer, we aim at providing an in-depth analysis of the mobility use of each employee in a particular company site with the involvement of its Key Stockholders.

Mr Pierre Garnier Director International Corporate and Business Sales

After the analysis of the existing situation, we are able to propose a series of optimization opportunities taking into account solutions that Peugeot can provide but integrating as well any other means which will have a positive impact according to the objectives of each customer.

Of course, we started by testing the pertinence of our proposal in house, at PSA Peugeot Citroën Technical Centre at Vélizy (CTV). This site, close to Paris employs over 6,200 persons, and operates a fleet of 1,100 company vehicles. An ideal setting, therefore, for modern mobility solutions.

Bastien Demarcq, who is responsible for the company car fleet at the CTV, was our key contact and “internal customer” for the AUDIT. Our common aim was to analyse the whole mobility domain within, to and from the site.

As a result, the CTV has been able to propose new mobility solutions for its personnel, whether in the domain of business trips, or the home-work journey.

Several elements have thus been included, with the aim of providing more efficient, less costly and more fuel-saving modes of transport. Firstly, there will shortly be 20 electric vehicles in the pool fleet.

This will mean a total of 48 charging points installed across the three sites involved. Electric vehicles were a clear choice in light of the fact that the mobility audit revealed that one third of business journeys were of less than 160 km, a range which a fully charged electric car can satisfy. Staff members are also to be allowed to use these electric cars for personal reasons. On top of this, a system of car-sharing will be set up, an interface which enables and encourages more than one person to move at the same time in the same car. Complementing this interface, a professional ‘auto’lib’ car-sharing scheme is also to be been set up on the site, including preferential parking spaces.

Employees are also to be encouraged to purchase their own electric vehicles, with free recharging during the daytime, and once again, preferential parking spaces.

PSA Peugeot Citroën intends that all these measures will reduce the carbon footprint of its fleet, simplify operational management and reduce the costs of business journeys.

The PSA Peugeot Citroën Technical Centre at Vélizy (CTV) close to Paris employs over 6,200 persons, and operates a fleet of 1,100 company vehicles.

An ideal setting, therefore, for modern mobility solutions.

© PSA Peugeot Citroën - Centre Technique de Vélizy - P. Sautelet.

For additional details on that new service please feel free to contact your International Key Account Manager in Peugeot Professional International: http://www.peugeot.com/en/international-corporate-sales.aspx.

smart mobility management - n°3 I 29 smart_mobility_03_PARTNERS 07.indd 29

8/09/11 15:56

smart mobility management - n째3 I 30

STRATEGY

Car manufacturers

CEOs shape our future mobility Our Future Mobility Now or how to build a community imagining how vehicles and mobility will evolve and influence 21st Century life. In the debate “Reinventing our mobile world” 4 CEOs of car manufacturers and the European Parliament expressed their views.

Nick Reilly Chairman of the Supervisory Board Adam Opel AG and President of GM Europe > (R)EVOLUTION: The car industry definitely is part of the solution in terms of mobility. Trend from car ownership to car sharing is part of evolution through car sharing for example, especially in cities. Also idea of integrated services for journey and mobility planning will help get there. > PERSONAL TRANSPORT: GM is investing in Individual Mobility solutions of the future with for example the Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V) concept. > CARS & TECHNOLOGY: The car will not disappear and remain an important part of the future ‘flexible and integrated solutions’. Manufacturers will provide a variety of innovative technologies. The European institutions need to provide the technology-neutral regulatory framework to the manufacturers to help promote progress.

Norbert Reithofer Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG > (R)EVOLUTION: One thing is sure, there is no one fits all technology and solution. The future will provide combine solutions to provide multiple options. > PERSONAL TRANSPORT: The future personal transport will definitely include multimodality and electrical vehicles. > CARS & TECHNOLOGY: Cars will definitely remain a pleasure to have and drive.

Philippe Varin Chairman of the Board of Management of PSA Peugeot Citroën > (R)EVOLUTION: Manufacturers go for alliances. PSA takes new demands very seriously and now proposes the “Multi­ city” solution geared towards multimodality. > PERSONAL TRANSPORT: PSA is highly involved in the development of new solutions, especially with “MU” in 14 cities. > CARS & TECHNOLOGY: The framework is also about “well to wheel”. Hybrid technology seems to be today the optimal evolutionary solution. But new technology should be much more supported by the European Commission who currently dedicates no more than 1% for R&D to the car industry.

Held in Brussels on 22 – 25 June 2011, Our Future Mobility Now brought together the mobile generation of the future and Europe’s leading vehicle manufacturers (www.futuremobilitynow.com).

Dieter Zetsche President of ACEA, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG, Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars > ( R)EVOLUTION: It is important for Manufacturers to use current assets to move ahead. Manufacturers do not aim for revolutionary solutions, but rather take current cars as basis to develop new solutions around these assets (electrical vehicle, car sharing,…) >P ERSONAL TRANSPORT: New developments such as the emergence and further development of car sharing should not be seen as threats as they are the new client demands and considered as potential innovative opportunities. >C ARS & TECHNOLOGY: Evolutions (electrical vehicles, C02 impact, safety developments) does not mean that fun and emotions linked to driving future cars will disappear. >E NERGY SOURCES: Car manufacturers all together invest today 30 Billion Euros in the R&D. 1 Million electrical cars would require 0,5% of the total energy requirement, which is manageable. Especially since loading will also be done at night. The good news is that plugs will be standardized within the year to come! But not the sockets where still work needs to be done…

Libor Rouček Vice President of the European Parliament > ( R)EVOLUTION: The role of the European institutions is to provide the framework and encourage variety of solutions.

The partnership between Manufacturers and the European Commission is important. >E NERGY SOURCES: Standardization is a competitive tool and is deeply needed. We do everything we can to make it happen.

Filip VAN MULLEM

smart mobility management - n°3 I 31

STRATEGY

IT & Telecommunications

Managing Mobility through IT Recent IDC research, done on behalf of BT Benelux shows that over 250 CIOs of Dutch companies said that their main priorities after the economic downturn are managing mobility and the impact of consumerization (Bring Your Own Device), a re-growth of importance being placed on green IT and securing the cloud. Managing Mobility is in 2011 the number 1 concern of the IT manager.

The PC-era is over. App-capable non-PC devices will outship PCs in the coming months.

W

ith over 330 million smartphones and more than 42 million media tablets being sold worldwide in 2011, the IT manager is right to be concerned about managing mobility. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents stated mobility as ‘important’ to ‘very important’, so this clearly stands out as one of the most pressing enterprise concerns of the day in the Netherlands.

The strong increase in company-paid mobile devices in companies across all industry sectors and company sizes shows that the CIO is responding to demand for mobile devices on the network. However, the plethora of new devices in the consumer world has introduced a whole new aspect to the challenges of managing enterprise mobility.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) CIOs everywhere are faced with an unprecedented challenge to struggle to control from a technological, policy and cultural perspective the mobile devices and applications. Many IT departments, consigned to this reality, are looking at ways to allow employees to have a greater say around the technologies they use in the workplace, including using their own personal mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

IDC, a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets, believes that BYOD can

smart mobility management - n°3 I 32

drive significant benefits for businesses in terms of lowering cost, increasing agility and driving employee productivity and flexibility.

Cloud Computing, no longer a hype Cloud services have been nothing less than the complete transformation of the IT industry’s core offering and business models. Survey respondents also indicated that they too see cloud having reached a level of maturity that encourages investment, with 44% of organizations currently using or deploying a cloud solution. While trust in cloud services has reached a level that matches the maturity of the technology, concerns about security prevail. However, with real tangible financial and non-financial benefits being recognized, most Dutch CIOs are deploying it. Yet what keeps them awake at night is the need for data security and data privacy.

What’s on the Mind of the Dutch CIO? In its report “What’s on the Mind of the Dutch CIO?”, IDC has interviewed over 250 senior IT decision makers in the Netherlands. Survey respondents represented a variety of large organizations, across various industries and government institutions, mostly based in the Netherlands, yet often conducting business throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Caroline THONNON

Key concerns of the CIO in the Netherlands Q: How important are the overall themes to your organization at the moment, on a scale of 1-5? (N+259) “The IDC survey of 259 ICT decision makers in the Netherlands shows that on top of CIO’s mind are: managing mobility and the impact of consumerization, the return of green IT and securing the cloud.”

80 70 80 60 70 50 60 40 50 30 40 20

61,0

42,0

41,0

40,5

38,0

37,5

30 10 20 0

61,0

42,0

41,0

40,5

38,0

37,5

10

Mobility

Green IT

UC

Cloud

Consumeration

Social Media

Mobility Source: IDC Executive Brief “What’s on the mind of the Dutch CIO?”, June 2011

Green IT

UC

Cloud

Consumeration

Social Media

0

Actions to reduce carbon footprint

40 35 40 30

Q: What actions is your company taking to decrease its environmental footprint?

“Green can be seen as a driver of key transformational projects around datacenter and videoconferencing.”

35 25 30 20 25 15 20 10

36,0

30,0

30,0

26,0

25,0

24,5

15 5 10 0

36,0

30,0

30,0

26,0

25,0

24,5

Virtualisation

Cloud

Telecommuting Renewable energy

Video DC efficiency conferencing

Virtualisation

Cloud

Telecommuting Renewable energy

Video DC efficiency conferencing

5 0

Source: IDC Executive Brief “What’s on the mind of the Dutch CIO?”, June 2011

Use of immersive videoconferencing 1% 2%

Q: Does your organization use High-end telepresence/immersive videoconferencing? (N=259)

7% 12%

Not at this time

“Green IT is still playing a role as we emerge from the downturn, not only for cost savings but also to support brand image and social responsibility requirements.”

44%

Use now Next 12 months Next 24 months Longer 24 months

34%

No plans at all

Source: IDC Executive Brief “What’s on the mind of the Dutch CIO?”, June 2011

smart mobility management - n°3 I 33

STRATEGY

Mobile Applications Study

Mobile Solutions impact Travel Managers’ job Mobile solutions and mobile developments on portable technology have created a new environment for those managing travel. ITM, the UK partner of GBTA Europe, reports on a exclusive study carried out to find out the impact of improved technology on travel management and the role of those managing and buying business travel.

T

he role of the travel manager has changed dramatically over the decades. But from the relatively simple role of booking tickets in the 1950’s to the greater emphasis on procurement in the nineties and noughties, travel managers have increasingly had to understand and engage with technology. However, developments in the last few years on portable technology have created a new environment for those managing travel. Technology used to facilitate and operate processes behind the scenes, but improved laptop, smart phones and tablet technology now means an ever present role for technology in the life of a busy executive. So what is the impact of this improved technology on travel management and the role of those managing and buying business travel today?

IT managers leading Through recent ITM Research, the first observation is the incredibly small part those managing travel presently play in decision making with regards to the tools travellers have. Even when taking indirect input into account, no single technology category scored more than 50% when it came to involvement by travel managers/buyers. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this, as IT departments are renowned for keeping technology decisions close to their chests. But, as we are learning in the

smart mobility management - n°3 I 34

A huge 66% of respondents suggest that their travellers are spending more time away from the office than 3 years ago. This clearly correlates with the increased demand for mobile solutions.

travel sector, engagement with internal company stakeholders is fundamental to any programme’s success and we would therefore envisage greater business travel/IT stakeholder interaction in the future.

Velocity of Demand Certainly with the likes of laptop videoconferencing, mobile check-in and mobile boarding passes either present or planned to be present in over 60% of respondents’ companies the application of technology to the traveller cannot be

underestimated. And handheld selfbooking technology appears to be the biggest mobile item on buyer’s shopping lists, with 34% advising of their plans to implement such systems.

It appears to be the traveller who is driving the demand for mobile solutions within businesses. Whilst 39% of travel buyers report that the demand for improved mobile solutions has grown dramatically in the last 3 years, an increased 47% say it will grow dramatically in the next 3 years.

>

With such compelling statistics on the efficiency of workers with access to mobile technology, companies need to have broader policies which allow the mobile traveller a greater choice and flexibility if they wish to benefit from the mobile revolution.

Why smart applications are wanted Travellers’ increased desire for improved solutions appears to be based on three major factors; > 52% stated it was because of the need to always stay in touch; > 47% said that improvements in general mobile software/applications were driving demand; > 38% said that improvements in Smart/mobile handsets were helping demand to grow.

Benefits The demand for solutions appears to be high where there are clear service benefits for the traveller, but where the benefits are potentially less obvious or immediate or more complex – i.e. across mobile expense reporting and traveller tracking - travel buyers are engaged in the process of considering the application of mobile solutions to these processes but there are mixed feelings about the use of handheld devices as solutions to add value in these cases.

Whether the influx of mobile solutions and greater connectivity are increasing mobility, or other working environmental elements, such as the economic downturn or flexible working, are influencing the time spent working remotely, a huge 66% of respondents suggest that their travellers are spending more time

away from the office than 3 years ago.

This clearly correlates with the increased demand for mobile solutions.

Remote Control Over the last two decades, it is widely believed that web developments of the leisure travel sector have influenced the requirements of business travellers. Just think of the impact leisure booking sites and no-frills carrier distribution have had on our supply landscape. So, with the business traveller’s appetite for mobile solutions seemingly also driven by solutions and applications which fall outside of most company’s existing technology portfolio, what does this mean for the business with tight technology and compliance policies?

With 77% of respondents advising ITM Research that their company policy

states that only approved, secure technology should be used by its travelling executives, it’s no wonder we regularly see people with two or more handsets.

Travellers are finding their own way to embrace the plethora of services available to them and, like the adjustments companies made to no-frills carriers, ITM Research believes we can expect company policies on mobile technology to shift. Recent rulings by the European Commission on roaming tariffs will potentially help drive this change too.

Expertise Center Paul Tilstone, GBTA Europe ITM Research is created by the Institute of Travel & Meetings, www. itm.org.uk, the UK partner to GBTA Europe www.gbta.org/europe

smart mobility management - n°3 I 35

case studies

Hélène Billon, Orange

“Mobility challenges our human nature” Orange is the first company on the CAC 40, the Paris bourse’s main stock index, to manage the mobility needs of its entire staff. Hélène Billon is rightly proud of the effort.

Starting May 27th, 2011, she is Director of Business Travel, Alternatives and Overhead (DBTAO), answering directly to the telecommunication group’s secretary-general. Her challenge: “To change attitudes.”

Combining four services With a budget of about 400 million euros, Hélène Billon has enough financial power to measure up to the challenge. But she is also well versed in the fields of vehicle management, business travel policy, video conferencing and general cost control within the group, all elements essential to her new task. Put another way, her job at DBTAO will include four major operations within the group: Fleet Management (34,000 in total, of which 24,000 in France alone); Group Travel Management; Strategy and Promotion of Videoconferencing Solutions (with 44 telepresence rooms and 128 rooms for open videopresence), the operation she still heads herself; and Overhead Monitoring.

smart mobility management - n°3 I 36

© Jacques Grison / La Company pour Orange

“C

reating this new directorate, which is both international and cuts across internal divisions, is a strong signal,” says Hélène Billon on the 1st floor of the iconic France Telecom building in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. “This implies nothing less than creating synergies for and optimising the transport needs of our 169,000 employees across the globe. “Leaving aside for a moment the operational scale of the project, this will require a revolution of attitudes - in a group that in recent months has been plagued by social problems. It’s very clear that everything related to HR is a very sensitive issue. But Hélène Billon is acutely aware of the fact that the changes she proposes will have consequences, both professionally and in the private lives of her colleagues.

For Hélène Billon, the human factor must remain central to the pairing of mobility with efficiency.

The challenges for Hélène Billon and her team are translated into concrete, measurable objectives, which will be detailed in a plan to be presented in the autumn, but most of all they are challenges of a communicative nature. This is why Hélène Billon is surrounded by a staff of 20, whose goal it is to share these ambitious goals with Orange’s global workforce.

“We’re working hand in glove with our global network. We need our contacts - we need to spread our message virally.

Hence the importance of communication. We’ll also need to take into account any local constraints, and adapt to work around these. But I can reveal that we’re getting great feedback.”

© Jacques Grison / La Company pour Orange

Helene Billon: “All employees must become mobility missionaries”.

“Better mobility also means integrating different sectors such as fleet management, business travel and videoconferencing into a better communication strategy.”

smart mobility management - n°3 I 37

case studies

Helene Billon, Orange

“Orange is the first company on the CAC 40 to manage the mobility needs of its entire staff.”

Five strategic goals Even though the campaign plan hasn’t yet been finalised, Hélène Billon already has clear ideas about its strategic objectives.

1. To propose mobility solutions that are better at meeting the needs of employees, as in ‘work-life balance’. A rewrite of all charters dealing with vehicle use is ongoing, and the fleet catalogue is being revised through the prism of two essential criteria: TCO and CO2.

2. To stimulate the use of videoconferencing - one of Hélène Billon’s hobby horses. She wants to reduce business travel by making extensive use of the infrastructure that’s already in place, but currently underused.

3. To implement a policy of corporate social responsibility.

4. To promote all these activities with the ambition of increasing safety and comfort within the organisation, for its employees.

Technology, image, and partners > Technology is not just ‘useful’ in developing mobility solutions, it is also important for Orange’s image within the industry. To this end, a U.K.-based, Danish-led start-up called ConTgo, has developed a black box for Orange’s vehicles, allowing real-time optimisation of the driving conduct of the group’s employees. This is not to control them, but is a real breakthrough in terms of safety and ‘sustainable’ conduct... > Fleet management (with a majority of cars being Peugeot, a major partner) will be effected through a system called ‘Advanced and Fleet Performance’, based on Machine to Machine (M2M) technology, will allow the optimisation of the movement of thousands of vehicles in real time and improve their preventive maintenance.

Travel distance is reduced, engines are better maintained and less polluting. The benefit is twofold: more productivity and less CO2 emissions. > The French group has worked intensively with Carlson Wagonlit Travel (business travel), who studied with Orange how to optimise business trips on the principle of ‘less is more’.

5. To effect all these changes with the aim of improving performance and optimising cost.

Female figures “The central concern of our plans and goals must always, always be the human element,” Hélène Billon insists. “We must not just travel less, but also travel better - as safely as possible.

We must limit the loss of time due to travel to increase actual working time, combining efficiency, cost control and quality of life - yes, this is ambitious, and yes, we enjoy this challenge.”

Smiling, dynamic, and proactive, Hélène Billon is also a number-cruncher. Her career path is one of steep climbs through ‘hard management’ in France Telecom’s development department, and then through all the ‘support’ functions. She’s been at France Telecom since 1997, before which time she put her accounting skills to good use in the aviation and aerospace industry.

© Caroline Doutre - abacapress pour Orange

Orange Worldwide

A major challenge: optimising video conferencing infrastructure.

smart mobility management - n°3 I 38

169,000 employees in 220 countries and a turnover of nearly €50 billion, half of which is realised in France: Orange is a heavyweight in global telecommunications. It’s the third-largest mobile operator and the largest provider of broadband internet services in Europe. France Telecom is a leading global provider of telecommunications services to multinational companies. Since 2006, Orange is France Telecom’s single brand for all business related to the web, television and mobile services.

Thierry DEGIVES

case studies

Bernard Dehaye, Dexia Bank

Innovative mobility Bernard Dehaye is the Mobility Coordinator for Dexia Bank. Back in 1997, he already approached the management to grant some sort of mileage allowance for those employees coming to work by bike. They were in favour of taking measures to encourage alternative mobility if these measures could include all the employees for their homework journey. Three years later, the first ‘Mobility Plan’ was a reality.

How did Dexia Bank develop its mobility strategy?

Bernard Dehaye: Back in 1997 I approached the management to discuss of granting a ‘mileage allowance’ for those coming to work by bike. The idea received a positive feedback as the company is in favour measures encouraging alternative mobility, especially if it could include all the employees and their home-work journey. It took us 3 years to develop a ‘Mobility Plan’ which subsidised the fares on public transport, and an indemnity per kilometre for those coming to work by bike and even for those coming on foot (for the entire walk from home to the office).

Bike parking, lockers and showers were also provided, along with secure parking for motor bikes. Those sharing cars were also rewarded financially, both the driver and the passengers, and allowed to park free. This in contrary of those coming to work alone in their car and who to pay an annual parking fee of 330 euro.

How do business trips relate to the Mobility Plan?

Bernard Dehaye: I am still working on this. Let’s take the example of someone from Brussels who has to go to Liège on a business trip and then visit a number of our branches there.

At Liège station, there is a Cambio (car-sharing) parking point.

What I am planning is that we no longer provide a Cambio car or other pool car in Brussels to make this journey, but that the employee makes the main part of the journey by train, and picks up a Cambio car at the other end for use while in Liège. Staying with trains, I would add that for the home-work journey, at the moment the train service is not of high enough quality – there are too many delays and overcrowded trains with not enough carriages. I think that there will be three more years before this situation is rectified, but in the meantime the train is difficult to sell to our personnel. At the moment the rule at Dexia is that train travel is reimbursed based on business class travel. What I want to propose is that if someone makes the effort to take the train and use Cambio, we offer first class.

Bernard Dehaye, a keen cyclist and president of the Belgian Frenchspeaking cyclists’ association, with his electric bicycle in front of Dexia’s car-sharing point in Brussels.

“As long as people are paid to come to work by car, they will.”

Do you have a policy on when employees should travel?

Bernard Dehaye: We have five major centres in Europe: Brussels, Paris, Luxembourg, Rome and Istanbul, and we try to minimise travel and to encourage video-conferencing. Even for shorter distances, we choose to move or not in function of the result that is requested from the meeting. With our 20 rooms equipped for video-conferencing in Brussels, it is clear that we really push this alternative way of meeting.

Is teleworking and homeworking also integrated in the plan?

Bernard Dehaye: Absolutely. As far as back as in 2003, we already planned it and it was regulated by a collective work convention in 2004. At DEXIA Bank, we have introduced 3 levels of homeworking.

1. T he structural variety: people who work home between 1 and 4 days a week for the whole year.

2. The occasional variety: people who sometimes work from home, but also use our satellite buildings (in Belgium 3 buildings – Liège and Antwerp with around a hundred telework stations).

3. Ad hoc variety: people who work from home once a week maximum

smart mobility management - n°3 I 39

“It is our desire to encourage everybody work at home once a week.”

The HR aspect

Mobility sponsors

“Within Dexia, 11% of company staff have company cars. And this aspect of the remuneration package has to take into account the need to hire the best staff, and also to take into account what the competition is doing. And it is very difficult for me to say to someone who considers the car to be part of the package, that they should come to work by train. As long as the taxation system is favourable to company cars, we have to live with it. But I have noted that the European Commission, in its latest White Book, is recommending removing fiscal advantages on company cars, and it would be a logical move to invest the 4 billion Euros currently unpaid because of these incentives in a noticeable improvement in public transport and in a system of dissuasive car parking outside of the cities. This will make it easier to encourage public transport use.”

Dexia is a sponsor of the ‘Corporate Mobility Managers’ training course provided by the CIEM (inter-university mobility study centre).

Within this course, Dexia itself is used as a model of corporate mobility solutions.

smart mobility management - n°3 I 40

Bernard Dehaye is particularly enthusiastic about this sponsorship – which makes meeting rooms available and provides meals to participants – as he followed the course himself in 2008, when the Walloon Region was the principal sponsor. Dexia also organises a mobility congress with CIEM each September 22nd.

< Bicycle parking facilities are provided beneath the building.

The last category is growing fast. To encourage people to do so, we provide an indemnity of 9,35 euro per day to cover heat and lightning costs, the internet connection and even a meal.

At the moment, there are around 20% of the staff who carry out tele-working, and I think we will arrive at 50% percent by the end of this year. This all fits in a completely overhauled working format.

Have you adapted the work environment according to your mobility plan?

Bernard Dehaye: We already work in open plan layout, but with fixed work stations. We are now moving to what we call ‘mobile work’ and following a test period we are extending this to all the floors of our building. This translates into the fact that there is now only enough workspace for 80% of our staff. When we arrive, we find somewhere to work, and it is fairly rare not to be able to find anywhere. We still have zones where documents can be kept, but apart from this it is a ‘clean desk’ policy. To ensure that there is always enough space, we therefore really encourage teleworking. So it is our desire to encourage everybody work at home once a week – which corresponds to 80% in the office.

The aim of this mobile working is, amongst others, to gain an entire building – to be able to operate in three buildings instead of four. Of course, we are also ensuring that these moves do not lead to a situation where people in the offices have to work in too close physical proximity, which is uncomfortable and could have an impact on quality.

Was the primary reason for Dexia’s mobility plan ecological or economic?

Bernard Dehaye: The intention behind our original approach was to encourage public transport use both for ecological reasons and to improve the well-being of our personnel.

Alongside this, our original plan mentioned discouraging car use, which was quite a new concept at the time. But there is also another side to the coin. There is a collective convention in force in the banking sector in Belgium, and this sets out that we are obliged to reimburse car expenses for those of our personnel who come to work by car. This prevents me from being quite as successful as I would like. As long as people are paid to come to work by car, they will. I would make a comparison with the Federal Government’s Mobility department, which is in the next building to us. They don’t have a convention forcing them to pay people to come to work by car, and they manage to get 95% of their staff coming by other means.

Other original initiatives?

Bernard Dehaye: We also introduced a system whereby people are encouraged to drive to stations, and if they use a car park close to a station, and then take the train, we reimburse all of the car parking costs.

We were also the first company to introduce ‘Friday Bikeday’ which has the support of the Brussels Region Government and many more companies are now taking part. People come to work on their bikes on Fridays and we all have a breakfast

together. Now, we have around 400 cyclists who take part in this initiative. What is gratifying is that we have cyclists who come not from four or five kilometres away, but from twenty or thirty. And we realise that they can’t do this every day, of course! So most of the people who come by bike on Fridays are people who have train subscriptions. When they choose to come by bike it is primarily for their health. What I would really like is for car users to come to work by bike! What I believe should be the case is that those who absolutely have to use cars for their business purposes can move about in them freely in town. What I find absurd is that someone comes to work in his or her car and then the car spends the whole day in the company’s car park. I don’t believe these cars have a rightful place in the car park.

On this last point, it doesn’t sound very popular, or easy to rectify.

Bernard Dehaye: That’s true, when I speak to the banking unions about this, they don’t understand what I’m talking about. But I already know that the government’s thinking in terms of taxation is moving in this direction. Public transport is not efficient enough… but this will change, and it is certain that from sometime before 2018 we will have restrictive measures imposed, dissuasive measures. This may be in an urban tax, or in a tax on company car parks. So I’m waiting. I can’t impose any sort of restriction on using the company car park at the moment.

How do people come to work?

A survey carried out in 2010 showed the progress made

by Dexia in terms of how people come to work Total vehicles Europe:

Dexia Bank

Belgian companies average

Car

20%

70%

Train

66%

9%

Metro/tram/bus

12%

6%

Bike/foot

2%

8%

Other

7%

CO2 emissions Within its company car and mobility policies, Dexia Bank has been reducing the average CO2 emissions – as stated by the manufacturers – year on year. There has been a maximum level of emissions set as follows: The objective of our subsidiary Dexia Auto 2010 200 grams Lease is to achieve average emissions of 120 grams 2011 180 grams maximum emissions in 2012 160 grams 2012. The effect of all this is that right now, the aver2013 130 grams age emissions of all the company cars within Dexia Bank was 132 grams per km in 2010.

2009

220 gram

smart mobility management - n°3 I 41

industry

News

DriveNow: quick car-sharing

GBTA Acquires Icarus The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has acquired the Icarus project from its founders, the UK’s Institute or Travel and Meetings (ITM). This project was set up to encourage the business traveller and travel buyer world to take the issue of sustainability on board within this domain. The GBTA points out that it was just last year that, in conjunction with the ITM, BGTA Europe was formed. It was therefore natural that when looking to establish a global sustainability programme, the GBTA once again turned to the ITM.

iOn in green project with E.ON “A chip on the driver’s permit serves as a key.”

Mobility in Munich and Berlin has become much more flexible and ecologically sound thanks to a car-on-demand solution called DriveNow. The idea was developed and implemented

by BMW Group and the car rental experts at Sixt AG. Anyone needing a car can use one of the MINIs or BMW1s parked around the inner cities bearing the clearly visible DriveNow logo. They can be located by logging onto a dedicated website or using a smartphone app. A chip on the driver’s permit serves as a key. After the one-time admission fee of €29 is paid the cars cost €0,29 per minute, with a €14,90 ceiling for MINIs.

Digest Europcar to offer Opel Ampera Opel and Europcar have announced a joint project involving electric cars. This will see Europe’s largest rental company offering the German manufacturer’s Ampera model for rent across the whole of Europe. The Opel Ampera is set to be launched onto the European market at the end of 2011.

Alcatel-Lucent remote solution A new set of economic visual communications solutions has been announced by Alcatel-Lucent. This goes beyond ‘restricted’ tele-presence solutions by enabling access from any terminal, in any place, including, for example pc’s iPads, smartphones… Content-sharing is also made possible using the ‘My Teamwork’ application.

BT offers remote meeting control BT Conferencing has just launched a new application under the name of BT Engage Meeting Mobile. This new application functions with iPhone, iPad, Android-enabled mobile phones and pads. It enables users to pan and automate their video-conferences more simply than previously. The organiser is in control of the video-conferencing equipment and can start and finish meetings quickly, or add extra time via a mobile device.

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Matthias Herzog (left, E.ON Avacon) and Stefan Moldaner (Peugeot Germany) launch the e-Home 2020 project.

The all electric Peugeot iOn has been selected for an innovative project in Germany. The project ‘e-Home 2020’ is being jointly undertaken with electricity supplier E.ON Avacon, and involves a total of 32 of the Brand’s iOn models. Of the total of 65 iOn cars, those 32 are being made available to selected households, close to Bremen. The households involved have been equipped with solar installations on the roof, and the power from these will be used to recharge the cars. Along with this, data involving the use of the cars and the innovative energy network will be collected, providing both Peugeot and E.ON with valuable information as they strive to make ecological motoring a reality for all.

Alphabet to acquire ING Car Lease Dutch bank ING has announced that it is to sell its car leasing business – ING Car Lease – to BMW Group fleet management division Alphabet. ING Car Lease is active in 8 European countries and manages a fleet of 240,000 vehicles. Alphabet manages more than 300,000 company car contracts and is today represented in 14 countries. The sale is expected to raise a total of around 700 million Euros, all elements included.

New cars for the future

Europcar and Thalys electric cars

“BMWi’s passenger cabin is made of ultra-light carbon composite.”

The demand for responsible, ecological mobility in the world’s growing megacities was a call to action for BMW. Long fascinated with the possibilities of electric cars, the company developed the BMW i3 as an urban vehicle. Its LifeDrive architecture combines the “Drive Module”, a stable aluminium chassis housing the batteries, with the “Life Module”, the passenger cabin made of ultra-light carbon composite. The same materials are used in the BMW i8, a more sportive car designed for four passengers and offering comfort for longer journeys. As a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, it also boasts outstanding fuel efficiency.

Polycom takes over HP’s Halo telepresence

Europcar and Thalys already have a long standing partnership in their drive to provide ecologically friendly mobility solutions.

Europcar has just announced the introduction of ten electric vehicles into its fleet in Belgium. These will in the first instance be made available to frequent clients of high speed train operator Thalys. The cars are being provided by Europcar partner PSA Peugeot Citroën, and are Peugeot i-On models. These cars are 100% electric, emitting no emissions, and with a range of 150 km on a fully charged battery. Europcar has also announced that it is investing in the recharging infrastructure, installing charging points at its Brussels South Station and Brussels Airport depots.

Europcar and Thalys have a long standing partnership in their drive to provide innovative and ecologically friendly mobility solutions.

Europcar Belgium CEO Didier Fenix commented: “In Thalys we have found an ideal partner for promoting new environmentallyfriendly mobility solutions, and we are happy to be the first rental company to offer them a 100% electric car”.

Companies will book more trips online Polycom wil develop Halo telepresence and integrate the product in their existing video conferencing systems.

Telecom supplier Polycom has taken over HP’s video conferencing Telepresence component Halo for 89 million dollar. The most famous product from that HP department was ‘Halo’, launched just about five years ago. Halo, developed in cooperation with film producer Dreamworks, was ‘telepresence’ in the literal sense of the word, with Halo meeting rooms completely equipped with designated networks, hidden speakers and HD screens giving you the feeling your conversation partner was sitting across the table from you. Polycom will develop technology in order for Halo to cooperate with its existing video conferencing systems.

One third of the companies think that in the next two years most business trips will be booked online. BCD Travel research has pointed this out. No less than 80% of the companies questioned say they will book their trips in the future in the same way as they are doing now.

The research also showed that companies do see the benefits of video conferencing. On average, the companies questioned think they can deploy video conferencing for 23% of all their business trips. It is remarkable however that only 1% expects to really start using videoconferencing in the future.

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industry

News

3 Questions to…

Franck Gervais (Thalys), CEO

Athlon to lease Tesla cars

Thalys International has developed a carpooling service for its customers. Franck Gervais, CEO of Thalys, explains the purpose of this.

1. Why did Thalys develop this carpooling service?

“What we are trying to do is offer Thalys travellers a simple, quick and sustainable journey from start to finish. This is why we have set up a website www.covoiturage-thalys.com dedicated to carpooling, allowing users to organise the Franck Gervais: “This carpoolfirst and last few kilomeing service is the expression tres of their journey, to and of our efforts to promote new from the Thalys stations. uses for cars and encourThis service is also the age greater complementarity between trains and cars.” expression of our efforts to promote new uses for cars and encourage greater complementarity between trains and cars.”

Athlon Car Lease is going to lease Tesla luxury sports cars.

Tesla Motors and Athlon Car Lease have reached an agreement which will see the setting up of a lease programme for the Tesla Roadster and the Roadster Sport in Europe. The objective of this is to make electric vehicles more easily available and affordable for companies. This programme will help advance emobility in six of the top EU vehicle markets – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium.

Based in California, Tesla remains the only automaker currently selling an electric vehicle in series production with a range greater than 300 km.

VW in Hanover car sharing scheme

2. How did it come about? How does it work?

“We began by looking at our carbon footprint and noticed that, on average, customers travelling from Brussels to Paris who use a car to get to the station and again to get to their final destination once they arrive will have emitted twice as much CO2 during these two short trips as during their entire Thalys journey, which is six times longer! So we thought about how we could offer smart, low-carbon services to help people, and carpooling was one such service.

How does it work ? Well, in practical terms it uses an online platform to connect users. Travellers can offer or request journeys online, and car-sharers can communicate with one another to get together. Access to the service is free.”

3. Who is this service for?

“This is a service for everyone. We know that around 30% of our customers use a car to complete their Thalys journey, so there is real potential for interest. This service is also about promoting new ways to get around. We are convinced that carpooling is only at the development stage and will take off from here. We hope our service will contribute to the development of this phenomenon and greater complementarity between rail and car travel.”

VW’s car sharing scheme in Hanover will involve 200 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion cars

Volkswagen is to launch a car sharing scheme in Hanover (Germany). Working closely with the city authorities, the scheme will involve 200 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion cars, and is under the name of ‘Quicar – Share a Volkswagen’. Customers interested in the scheme first register, and can then book a car via the internet up to five minutes before the vehicle is required.

Entering the car involves a chip card and reader, and starting the engine is possible by the normal key, once a pass-code has been tapped in. There will initially be 50 pick-up/drop off points in the city.

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Europcar Makes People’s Mobile Lives Easier At Europcar, we believe that car hire should play a central and growing role in making people’s mobile lives easier. True to our vision, we strive to provide the highest level of convenience and the greatest possible value to our customers. For us, mobility isn’t just about getting from point A to point B. It’s also about helping our customers make better use of their time. This is precisely what our new freeDeliver service enables.

Pascal Klein

Saving Our Customers Valuable Time

Europcar Group Marketing Director

Time is the most precious commodity we have today. To spare our customers the time and effort of taking public transit in heavy traffic, we’ve devised freeDeliver to allow them to have their car delivered to their doorstep and collected at the end of the booking. Our business customers already know how convenient it is to hire a car on their own terms. Since June 2011, freeDeliver provides our leisure travellers in the United Kingdom with the same convenience, at no additional cost.

“Saving our customers time means empowering them to do more.”

Valid for all bookings of two days or more, the service is provided entirely free of charge within a 15-mile radius of any of Europcar’s 200 locations. For a nominal fee, customers in France can opt for ‘Mon Voiturier par Europcar’ to enjoy the same benefits. Always endeavouring to enhance our proximity to customers and more efficiently serve their needs, we deliver hired cars to any address within an agreed one-hour time window. The added convenience of freeDeliver means no waiting around, no hassle and no stress, at no extra charge.

Meeting Changing Needs and Expectations Our new service delivers real added value with no strings attached. Currently, no other car hire company offers delivery and collection. We hope to set the benchmark because we believe car hire should be as convenient as possible. Mobility is becoming an increasingly important part of people’s lives. By innovating to suit changes in lifestyle and customer expectations, we’ve succeeded in empowering the people who hire our cars to do more with their time.

Offering customized and innovative car rental services that make mobility easier for customers is just as important as devising competitive hire packages. For Europcar, smarter mobility contributes to sustainable mobility, by encouraging people to hire cars rather than owning one.

It’s also our responsibility to have an environmentally friendly approach to business.

This approach has already garnered awards for ‘The World’s Leading Green Transport Solution Company’ and ‘The World’s Leading Car Hire Company’ at the 2010 World Travel Awards.

With a longstanding local presence supported by 6,600 dedicated staff, Europcar facilitates the mobile lives of its 6 million customers around the world, through flexible, green car mobility solutions designed to meet their individual needs and expectations.

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industry

Getronics & Athlon Car Lease

“Changing the corporate culture is our biggest challenge” Dutch telecoms provider Getronics is taking to heart the ever swelling chorus for more opportunities for mobile and flexible working. It’s been four years since Getronics has started building its own New World of Work in the Netherlands.

We talked to Coen Olde Olthof, VP Marketing, Alliances, Portfolio & Strategy at Getronics Nederland, one of the great motivators of the company’s new direction, together with Hans Blink, President of leasing company Athlon Car Lease, which recently opened its first Flex Centre in partnership with Getronics.

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“Our managers need to change from nosy superiors into motivators-inchief”, says Coen Olde Olthof (Getronics).

“The added value of the new way of working can be summarised by three Ps: People, Planet, Profit”, explains Hans Blink (Athlon Car Lease).

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etronics has meanwhile opened dozens of open spaces, providing flexible workstations both for its own staff, and for outside employees, as in Zoetermeer, near Amsterdam. To unsuspecting eyes, there’s not much different about the Getronics office on Barbara Strozzilaan in Amsterdam, where we’re having our interview with Coen Olde Olthof and Hans Blink. Once we’ve made it past the reception, though, traditional expectations about what an office space should look like go out the window. Here, people are typing away by themselves in a setting as homely as their own living room, or holding a meeting in what appears to be a cafeteria. This is not your average nine-to-five office. This is the New World of Work.

How would you define this New World of Work?

Coen Olde Olthof: For me, it’s about how a company or organisation wants to examine how its work could be done differently. This requires attention to three main areas. Firstly, everything to do with location and mobility. Secondly,

The open spaces of Getronics contain homely areas where people are at work by themselves.

the technological infrastructure that your employees count on for support.

And thirdly - and in my view, most importantly - the cultural aspect. The New World of Work requires a shift in corporate culture. We need to move away from an industrial model which necessitated that an employee be present on the work floor from morning till evening. This industrial model of required presence should yield to a post-industrial model of reciprocated trust. This implies that employees can self-motivate, and make their own choices.

Hans Blink: I have to say I agree completely. The New World of Work is the new reality, the result of technology and of a different attitude towards work

by young employees - the so-called Generation Y. This new generation has a different approach to the chain of command, and is used to work on multiple projects simultaneously. It’s up to the employer to adapt the corporate environment accordingly. Also because by adapting to their needs, he will be able to attract and retain employees of the Generation Y. Tell us about some of the relevant measures you’ve implemented here.

Coen Olde Olthof: We’ve effected change in each of the three areas I’ve just mentioned: facilities, technology, and culture. On the directorial level, we’ve implemented the rule that no one should have their own office anymore and we’ve remodelled our office spaces

accordingly. Formerly, Getronics had offices all across the Netherlands. We currently have five larger buildings, and some additional flexible workspaces. To allow our employees to work regardless of fixed time and place, we’ve had to provide the necessary technical infrastructure. I’m talking about secure mobile access, adaptability of all our systems, the availability of laptops throughout our network of spaces, and so on. Finally, we’ve spelled out quite clearly to our employees which are the limits of accepted behaviour in this new environment. After all, we’re providing them with freedoms that they will need to take responsibility for.

Hans Blink: As at Getronics, the direction, management and staff at Athlon

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industry

Getronics & Athlon Car Lease

of a nosy superior to being more like a motivator-in-chief. This transformation takes some time.

Coen Olde Olthof: “We’ve cut back 25 to 35% on our office space.”

“The New World of Work implies a shift from a model of required presence to one of reciprocated trust.”

Car Lease have implemented the switch to the New World of Work as well. This implies that no one has their own workstation anymore and people can choose where and when to work. By leading the way in the implementation of a flexible working environment, we set an example for our clients demonstrating the benefits of the new way of working and thus underline our image as a frontrunner in mobility services.“ Getronics is always looking for opportunities to increase our flexibility for their members. This is why they have partnered with Athlon Car Lease on our first Athlon Flex Centre.” (see box)

not to lose the ability to communicate with our co-workers. We’ve implemented two main rules: there’s one fixed day per week on which we expect everyone to be in the office. And we gather once every month to discuss non-work-related issues. It’s working: job satisfaction is at an all-time high, absenteeism is significantly down.

Because they’re now judging employees on performance rather than presence, managers need to plan the work ahead and communicate it with greater care than ever. Their role changes from that

Which pitfalls remain to be resolved in this still very NWOW? Coen Olde Olthof: The thing is to give your employees the space - literally and figuratively - for the work they need to do. For that, you need to adjust your office facilities in order to stress the social aspect of work. This is why our open spaces include a central area with several meeting rooms, and quiet spaces at the back. We’re saving big in absolute space. But of course you need to invest some serious money in these new facilities. Something similar applies to the IT side of things.

Here as well, you need to invest, so your employees can perform regardless of location. This means access to the internet, systems in place that allow chatting, videoconferencing, and more. The result will be that employees choose the tools that they are most comfortable with.

Where do you reap the biggest rewards?

Coen Olde Olthof: Personally, I find it very important that the job satisfaction of our employees increases. For this also results in increased productivity.

Award-winning How is the staff at Getronics dealing with this new environment?

Coen Olde Olthof: For our managers, it is taking some getting used to. The chain of command is shorter, allowing for a lot more interaction with their subordinates. Managers need to adjust to this, especially when they’re close to the other employees. It’s also important

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Getronics Belgium’s New World of Work was awarded the prestigious IFMA Facility Award 2011. Two years ago, the IT company moved to a purpose-built location, and simultaneously, New World of Work measures were implemented. The result: an annual savings of 1 million euros.

In his book ‘Werken met Het Nieuwe Werken’ (‘Working in the New World of Work’), Jan Flamend explains in detail how Getronics Belgium’s relocation went hand in hand with the reorientation of the company’s corporate culture. The book can be downloaded from our website www.smart-mobilitymanagement.com.

From a purely numbers-based point of view, we’ve cut back 25 to 35% on our office space. That alone translates into tens of millions of euros...

Stijn PHLIX

Getronics Nederland in figures > 9 sites > 8,087 employees > A total of nearly 7000 workstations > Almost 83% of workstations is open (the standard setup), the rest are quiet spaces > The rate of workplaces vs. meeting rooms is 70/30

Hans Blink: “Young workers especially have a much higher need for mobility.

Being a car-leasing company, we need to adapt accordingly.”

Athlon Car Lease: “Responding to higher mobility needs” Getronics enjoys a good relationship with Athlon Car Lease as its IT vendor. But Coen Olde Olthof and Hans Blink, Athlon’s President also share a vision when it comes to the New World of Work. “Being a carleasing company, we need to adapt accordingly. We therefore made the strategic decision to reposition ourselves as a provider of mobility, offering customised products and services. In that context, we will open our very first Athlon Flex Centre at Schiphol Airport in September.” The Centre, totalling 750 m2, and including 8 meeting rooms, 10 short-stay workstations and a cafeteria, caters both to Athlon’s own employees and to its corporate clients. A pilot project is currently under way to accommodate the employees of Rabo Bank, Athlon’s parent company.

“If evaluated positively, the scheme could lead to providing a Flex Centre at all 270 of Rabobank’s

branches. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll still do set them up independently. I’m thinking we should manage about 50 in the next three years”, says Hans Blink.

He stresses that Athlon is aiming its Flex Centers also at those employees who don’t have a company car. “Not only do they also have to deal with issues of mobility; by including them, our client base increases significantly.”

© Stijn Poelstra

Hans Blink: “The way we see it, the added value of the new way of working can be summarised by three Ps: People, Planet, Profit. By connecting people, you’re creating loyalty and adding to employee satisfaction. This constitutes the first P - People. As for Planet - this means you’re approaching mobility from another perspective, and reduce CO2 emissions. The third P, Profit, is a summary of the fact that job satisfaction leads to increased productivity, via less absenteeism and more employee engagement. An added bonus is the fact that you need less office space - 25% to 30% less.

Even decision makers who need to keep the Profit side of things foremost in their minds, will thus find many benefits in switching to a new way of working...”

Athlon’s first Flex Centre opened in September at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

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industry

Air Travel

Finnair to launch Singapore route

On May 30th, Finland’s flag carrier Finnair started with daily flights from Helsinki to Singapore, offering an alternative route to the Southeast Asian city for European travellers.

Smart Mobility Management was invited to experience the new direct flight and reports on mobility initiatives taken in this rapidly growing business city.

Finnair opened a daily flight to Singapore. The company’s aim is to double the turnover in Asian traffic by 2020.

F The heart of this Singapore project is a simulation platform called SimMobility, which models factors such as land and energy use, environmental impacts, and commercial activities related to transportation systems.

Singapore, a mobility laboratory A city of just over 5 million, the island nation of Singapore has limited space to work with but ambitious plans to grow its population.

Already teeming with a vibrant public transportation system, Singapore has turned itself into a laboratory to examine the “future of urban mobility” as well as other growth issues.

innair’s daily flights are the fastest connection between Northern Europe and Singapore. This route is scheduled to a timetable devised especially for the needs of business travellers. As Finnair’s tenth scheduled destination in Asia, this new route, according to Finnair CEO Mika Vehviläinen, “will strongly support the core strategy and serve the main target group of customers travelling between Asia and Europe on business. We aim to double our turnover in Asian traffic by 2020. We are continuously analysing new opportunities in Asia to strengthen the cornerstone of our strategy. Next year, we will become the first European airline to open a route to Chongqing, China’s largest city, which is investing strongly in industry, international trade and tourism.”

Lounge To support Helsinki Airport’s position as the leading long haul hub in Northern Europe, the Finnair Lounge, opened in December 2009, was selected in April

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2011 as the world’s best from a list of 600 lounges. The choice was made by 40,000 frequently travelling Priority Pass customers. It’s the first time in its seven-year history that a lounge outside America has won the award.

This modern Finnair Lounge and the new generation of Spa & Saunas offer authentic wellness and comfort services for passengers connecting on Finnair flights between Europe and Asia. Open for Finnair and oneworld tier level and Business Class passengers and, for a fee, to other customers, the Lounge has space for about 250 customers.

Emissions Finnair has also determinedly engaged in Corporate Responsibility, being one of the first airlines in the world to start reporting according to the GRI Guidelines, verified by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The environmental responsibility section of the Year 2010 report tells how Finnair has already reduced its emissions and is advancing towards its objective of reducing emissions by 41% per seat by 2017.

Filip VAN MULLEM

Visit http://www.smart-mobilitymangement.com to discover the Urban Mobility Initiatives in Singapore.