Leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg, part of the AZETS Group, have launched a “Smarter Working” initiative where their people can choose “how, where and when” they work.

Nimesh Shah, CEO of the 600-plus firm, with several offices in central London said: “A BBC survey indicated that more than a million people will not return full-time to the office. In consultation with our people, we decided to make the way that we work totally different going forward.”

He added: We want our people to make responsible choices about their working pattern – yes, we’ve introduced some parameters and guidelines to follow, but the core message is mindfulness and collective responsibility towards our colleagues and our business.”

Nimesh said: “I have complete trust and confidence that our people will show their leadership and responsibility towards each other to make this a success.”

Nimesh added: “Our ‘Smarter Working’ initiative goes beyond working flexibility. We have challenged our business and our people to improve our working environment to make our lives easier. We have asked our people to generate ideas to save our collective time, and strive for improvement in everything we do, including how we relate to our clients in a new and evolving environment.”

Nimesh said: “One of my clients told me, ‘we all have 86,400 seconds in a day and it’s about how we choose to use them,’ this really resonated with me, and I looked for how I could work less but have a greater impact. That’s the message that I want to run through the entire firm.”

He added: “I am delighted that we have been able to give some seconds back to our people’s lives through this important initiative. The extra time can be used for other important areas, such as training and development, mentoring, philanthropy and further our social agenda.”

Nimesh said: “There have been many stories from traditional office-based businesses that they will reduce their space and their people can work from home. Whilst our Smarter Working initiative gives people the choice to work away at home, the office has an even more important role – collaboration, enhancing our culture and values, and the social side of work are all key elements of our business, and we cannot afford to lose that. I am therefore encouraging our people to make responsible choices and attend the office to work alongside their colleagues, in a smarter and more effective manner.”