Smart working self assessment will help you see how prepared you are to work in different places and/or at different times from your colleagues. It is not intended to make simple assumptions about whether work can be done flexibly or not, but to provoke thinking. For example, if how have regular or unpredictable contact with clients or colleagues, is there an alternative good solution to (physically) face-to-face meetings? Will online collaboration address all the issues? You may like to work through this with colleagues or manager to think through the issues and areas that might need to be addressed.

The rating of 5 or 1 is not in itself either good or bad. It’s just a way for you to highlight areas which might potentially be a plus for working smarter (like having all-electronic processes) or a constraint (e.g. frequent unpredictable demands for face-to-face contact), and where if something changed that could smooth the way to working smarter. Or, indeed, if working smarter is a way to overcome an existing constraint to working effectively.

Issue

Question

Rating (5 = Always, 1 = Never.
N/A = not applicable)

What, if anything, needs to be done about this?

Your work

Is your work capable of being carried out remotely, using electronic rather than paper process?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

How often is face-to-face contact required with clients/stakeholders/partners?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

How often is such contact regular and predictable?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

How often is face-to-face contact required with colleagues?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

How often is this contact regular and predictable?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

How often is access needed to specialist equipment or specific sites?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are there tasks which, currently, only you are capable of dealing with?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Skills and competences

Do you feel confident and competent in using all the tools, technologies and processes required for your work?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Do you keep on top of your workload?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you able to start and complete work tasks without the help of a manager or colleagues?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you confident in working through problems on your own?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Can you organise your time effectively?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Can you identify when you need to seek help in completing your work?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you good at identifying signs of stress in yourself and others?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you able to pick up quickly on work after a period of not working?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you aware of and comfortable with your knowledge on health & safety for remote working and data security?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Can you motivate yourself to work regardless of other demands and distractions?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Communications

Are you good at reporting work-in-progress and keeping information and workflow systems updated?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you good at giving sand receiving support to and from colleagues?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Are you comfortable using a range of different communication methods to share information?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Do you draw your energy and enthusiasm from interacting with friends and colleagues?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Home environment, if ever working from home

Are you able to balance work and non-work boundaries?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Is your home situation suitable for working from home?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

If working from home, would your work take place there (as opposed to using it as a base to work on a mobile basis)

1  2  3  4  5  N/A

Do you have a separate area to work, free from home distractions?

1  2  3  4  5  N/A