Are you a global role model for the New World of Work?

To decide how, when and where you work, that's the New World of Work in a nutshell. Technological innovations make flexible working possible, but the actual realization lags behind. A missed opportunity, so this year EFQM organizes its Good Practice Competition around this theme. Any organization with inspiring examples around the implementation of the New World of Work is welcome to join. The winner can count on international recognition.

Less cost, more productivity 
 The New World of Work is becoming more widely known and that is not without reason: when implemented correctly, it leads to lower costs. Employees get more responsibility and feel more involved, which ensures higher productivity. Moreover, employees are more satisfied because they are provided with the freedom to organize to their own work-life balance.

The New World of Work can lead to less
traffic jams (Mariorda, Wikimedia Commons).

Game and glide
One of the pioneers in the New World of Work is Google. Google wants its employees to feel comfortable and ensures there is room for relaxation, there is a TV room, you can play games and various departments are linked by means of a slide (!). The office is always open and not without reason: people are always there. You can devote 20% of your working time to your 'own' projects, but you need to come up with the ideas for that yourself.

Advantages and pitfalls
Awareness with regards to flexible working will take flight the coming years. In the United States alone the number of ‘virtual employees’ is estimated to rise to 63 million Americans (now: 34 million) by 2016. The benefits are obvious, but there are also pitfalls: communications could be disrupted, the social cohesion of staff could diminish and inspired home workers run the risk of getting a burnout. This is all the more reason to learn from each other and work together to find the answers.

Join!
The EFQM Good Practice Competition is designed to recognize leading organisations in the New World of Work and share what works through our network. It is open to any organisation – global or local, private or public sector, large or small. So if you have innovative initiatives that have delivered tangible benefits for your organisation and stakeholders, then join he EFQM Good Practice Competition and inspire over 400 international business leaders.

Royal support for sustainable reporting

We live in the era of crisis. Whether it concerns the banking sector, real estate or individual EU countries’ budgets: they are all vulnerable and a call for change is heard. One of the most called for instruments: more and better control. This is not without cause…. 

Transparency
The same thing annoys all investors, shareholders and supervisors: the lack of transparency of businesses. The profit and loss account alone only gives some insights into the operations of organisations. More transparency is required to be able to judge how a company is really doing.

Paul Druckman about integrated reporting: 

Where are we and is it really an important issue for today? 

Value creation
The classic way of reporting is over. The time of integrated reporting has come: a new form of reporting that concerns the value creation activities of organisations. The financial performance remains important of course, but next to that there is also room for non-financial performance: how have the financial results been achieved? And what effects did the business operations have on the quality of life for people and planet? In short: how sustainable is the business conducted?



More than hype
Integrated reporting is more than ‘the newest hype’ and is embraced by more and more multinationals. By example: in 2011 only 40% of the 50 largest Dutch companies were engaged in integrated reporting. In 2012 this percentage increased to 90! Even the British crown prince Charles favours the practice of integrated reporting …


GRI G4
In May 2013 the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) launches the new G4 guidelines for sustainability reporting. Although these guidelines will focus more on the relevance of the aspects reported (materiality), they also take a head start with regards to the integrated reporting guidelines currently under development. Luckily the EFQM Model is an integrated model and that is why the EFQM community is awaiting the new reporting guidelines with confidence!