The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, recently visited Ballycoolin in north Dublin in order to establish the 11 remote working hubs that have been launched as part of Bank of Ireland’s hybrid working model.
These hubs are being worked on by the Bank in Cork, Galway and Limerick and will open later in 2022. These will aim to complement the 11 existing hubs that are based in Balbriggan, Ballycoolin, Dundalk, Gorey, Mullingar, Naas, Newbridge, Newlands Cross, Northern Cross, Santry and Swords.
Depending on their role, most Bank of Ireland professionals may now work from a combination of home as well as central office locations, and the network of 14 remote working hubs.
The hubs aim to offer an alternative to central office business locations, improving choice and work-life balance by significantly lowering commuting time and costs.
The latest policy is proving to be popular, with a survey revealing that 65% of colleagues feel the greater flexibility is offering a lot more time to spend with family.
Around 54% of Bank of Ireland colleagues have saved a lot of money because of the Bank’s hybrid working model, meanwhile, about 26% think they have greater flexibility as to where they may choose to live.
According to the survey, significantly less time spent commuting was another key benefit of the Bank’s hybrid working policy with 29% of staff members lowering their daily commute time by more than 2 hours when working from home or a hub.
During his visit to Ballycoolin, the Tánaiste was informed about the introduction of the Bank’s hybrid working model by Group Chief Executive Francesca McDonagh and Chief People Officer Matt Elliott. He also made comments via video conference with staff members in the other 10 hubs to learn more about their experience of hybrid working.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, stated:
“The pandemic changed how we work and live, with hundreds of thousands of Irish people doing their regular jobs from home. There are huge benefits to remote and hybrid working, with less commuting, lower costs, stronger families and communities, and more time for family and leisure. We want this flexibility to continue, and the Government is legislating to give employees the right to request flexible and remote working. Many employers went to great lengths during the pandemic to give their employees as much flexibility around where they work as possible. Done well, remote and hybrid working is a win-win for companies and their employees and I’m delighted to see Bank of Ireland at the forefront of rethinking the traditional office model in this way.”
Bank of Ireland Group Chief Executive Francesca McDonagh added:
“We have been changing what it is like to work at Bank of Ireland and these new hubs are one of the more visible signs of that transformation. Our new hybrid working model is a real break with the old way of doing things in terms of how and where we work. The opening of three new hubs in major regional centres means more opportunities to attract talent from locations around Ireland. For our colleagues, the hybrid model offers enhanced flexibility and choice, blending home and office working with less time and money spent on commuting and a better work-life balance.”