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'Mightier than the sword is the idea whose time has come'
Victor Hugo said that, although possibly not in English! I prefer 'every dog has its day'. And currently it's IT directors who are enjoying a bit of limelight.
I remember that when I started as a lowly articled clerk at Ashurst, the IT man was treated with disdain. Now he sits on the board and wields a huge stick which no-one else can understand, never mind challenge.
For a business like ours - which typically needs a complete data set before it can launch its brilliant services - that can be a challenge. Data protection, personal details, IT security - all quite rightly sensitive areas but daring to say 'boo' to the IT department is essential.
That's a 'no,' then
We had an issue recently. A very large, nameless client insisted that any staff working on its account were banned from using Facebook in the office. Despite the very real threat of losing the client, it was relatively easy for us to say 'non'.
We have a performance driven culture. We expect everyone who works here to be willing to work outside their normal working hours when the job requires. If we expect you to do some work in your 'off' time, then it's kind of essential that you also have some 'off' time in your work time!
Flexibility is all about trust and culture
The corporate culture bit got me thinking recently about the hullabaloo Apple and Facebook caused with their decision to pay for women to have their eggs frozen - and thereby delay having babies in pursuit of stellar careers. Benefits are nothing more than an extension of a company's culture.
There are no bad benefits. There are, though, a few good benefits in the hands of the wrong company!
Everyone must make their own choice
Apple and Facebook are fantastic businesses. Want to have children? They'll give you a load of support. Decide you don't want to have children yet? Well, then they will give you some support as well.
Children - like careers - are a choice, and trusting employees to make their own choices just seems sensible and grown up. (Unless you live in North Korea, then we can make those choices for you!).
Ben Black
