Business centre boss welcomes discussion on modernising employment

Freya Cross, Head of Business and Corporate at The Deep

FREYA Cross, Head of Business and Corporate at The Deep, said the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modernising Employment highlighted potential opportunities which could bring benefits locally and support the Work Hull Work Happy agenda.

Freya added that the discussions around remote working and co-working are very relevant to her role as Chair of the Flexible Space Association (FlexSA).

But she also underlined the importance of training in the new techniques, of effective communication with young people and of expecting the unexpected as future innovations are rolled out.

Freya said: “It was interesting to hear about the work being done by the APPG and the progress they are making. It’s also good to see a cross party initiative on this, because it is important we all understand how the ways of work are changing.

“But we need to be mindful of the implications on a number of fronts because the future is unknown – for example when the first mobile phones came along nobody imagined we would one day be using them for banking!”

The APPG was set up during the summer and is chaired by Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy, who Freya welcomed as the main speaker at this year’s FlexSA annual conference. The APPG headed north headed from Westminster to hold its latest meeting in Hull, and Emma underlined the link with the Work Hull Work Happy campaign which was launch in the city in 2022..

She said: “If we can’t convince businesses to come and invest in Hull let’s see if we can get them to employ the people who live here with remote working technology.”

City centre businesses and other organisations attended the session and discussion ranged from productivity levels to property implications and the need to consider mental health and wellbeing.

Freya was impressed by the input from Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, who told how his organisation has developed an effective approach to remote working. He also called for more investment to get the most from a UK labour market which he said is worth £21.4tn, and for action on skills to improve a strategy which he said has not changed since 2002.

Freya said: “Investors in People outlined their own model which struck me as very effective because it takes into account the needs of clients, colleagues, the organisation as well as those of the individual.

“The learning side of it was interesting because young people are already learning in a different way, and although there were no young people in the room the audience did include people from education and they obviously have a key role in all of this. We need to think about what we are communicating to the next generation coming through.”

Freya drew on the experience of The Deep during and after the pandemic to illustrate some of the issues around remote working.

She said: “Not everybody can work from home – we know all too well that restaurants and visitor attractions need staff. Even in other sectors where workers don’t necessarily have to travel to a head office they might still need to go somewhere that allows them to get away from lack of space, distractions such as younger family members, and digital poverty. Nor can they be expected to isolate themselves in their bedrooms to do their work.

“There will also be some people whose roles just aren’t compatible with working from home. Should they be treated differently? Will that raise issues around equality?

“The skills issues are interesting, not least because AI it is going to change some roles and people will need to be reskilled.

“Even now there’s a big difference between in-person and virtual meetings. Chairing a hybrid meeting is not easy – it’s a new skill that people need to learn. If you are not careful the meetings can become 2D rather than 3D and lead to failures in communication.”

But Freya added that the APPG panellists, who also included Professor Stephen Hardy, Dean of Faculty of Business, Law & Politics at the University of Hull, and Keith Rosser, Chair of the Better Hiring Institute, recognised that Hull is geared up to build on the aim of Work Hull Work Happy to position the city as the co-working capital of the UK.

Freya said: “Remote working is good for Hull and can provide opportunities for the homegrown population, the student population and can also attract more people to the city.

“We’ve been providing remote working facilities at The Deep Business Centre virtually since we opened for a variety of reasons including people visiting the city for family matters who have needed to keep up with their work commitments. The opportunities for flexible work space are amazing and Work Hull Work Happy is key to helping the delivery of this.”