Fiona Cannon OBE, Group Director of Inclusion & Diversity at Lloyds Banking Group on the value of agile working

New technologies, changing customer demands, demographic shifts and globalisation have all changed the world of work significantly. Businesses must respond to this new reality in order to stay competitive, yet, many organisations are still configured around a 19th century model of work – nine-to-five, five days a week and a 16-60 career path.

Newer agile models of work will be needed to meet the challenges, according to Fiona Cannon OBE, Group Director of Inclusion & Diversity for Lloyds Banking Group and Director of the Agile Future Forum. She recently spoke to us about her new book ‘The Agility Mindset’.

Why do you think companies haven’t taken full advantage of agile working? What needs to change?

Traditionally, agile working - or flexible working as it has been more commonly known - is viewed as a benefit for employees and a cost to employers. As a result, the broader business benefits of agility are not always understood and this can impact on an organisations’ willingness or ability to expand the remit of agile working beyond a certain point for fear of losing competitiveness.