Orange research reveals employees want to feel safer when working away from the office Tweet

Orange announced the findings of its recent research1 into lone working in the UK, which found that only half of respondents (53%) currently believe their employers do all they can to keep them safe while working out of the office2. Orange is entering into two new strategic partnerships to support its lone worker solution and help organisations support their employees when off site, with public sector specialists Guardian24, and private sector experts Peoplesafe. The solution and partnerships have been designed to offer organisations the tools to give employers and employees alike the peace of mind that emergency help for people working alone can be summoned if needed.

Tailored solutions to assist employer obligations
The research found more than three quarters (79%) of the lone workers surveyed spend over 50% of their time away from an office or employer property, while 23% spend their entire working time in this way. With legislative rulings such as the Corporate Manslaughter Act of 2008, employers have a legal responsibility for ensuring the safety of their employees. Orange has chosen Guardian24 and Peoplesafe as partners to help employers meet these responsibilities. Each partner has excellent credentials and is committed to providing businesses with tailored solutions focused on employee safety, using the Orange network which provides coverage to over 99% of the population.

One-touch access to emergency help
The lone worker solution from Orange includes providing easy, discreet mechanisms such as a button that can be attached to clothing or a simple phone application, which will allow employees to summon emergency help at one touch if needed. With research findings indicating that 44% of the respondents would prefer to contact the emergency services as a first line of defence if they found themselves in a threatening situation, these tools can provide a simple way to summon the appropriate level of help by directly alerting a response centre – managed by one of the specialist partners – who will deal with the situation effectively.

With mobile working tools becoming more and more common in business, it is perhaps unsurprising that 75% of lone workers are currently provided with mobile phones, and 41% are given laptops or netbooks with mobile internet access. However, just 12% of the survey respondents indicated that they currently have access to the type of tool that could send an alert to their colleagues or the emergency services if needed.

Keeping colleagues back at base up to date
GPS tracking can be enabled as part of the solution, which allows for an alarm to be raised in the office if, for example, an employee’s activity does not match their submitted schedules and plans for the day. The Orange research revealed that 38% of respondents would feel positive about their employer having the ability to be alerted quickly if they were to miss or be significantly delayed at an appointment, without explanation.

Additional services
Both Orange specialist partners can additionally offer businesses extra help in maintaining their employees’ safety and wellbeing. Guardian24 has a dedicated technical team so that public sector customers are consistently kept up to date with new services and the latest product developments, while Peoplesafe can offer those in the private sector individual risk assessments and legal guidance to help offer them the best security solutions.

“At Orange, we believe that employees deserve to have the very best of help to stay safe and secure when at work. We also believe that the ability to call for help at the touch of a button can be an immense confidence booster for employers and employees alike – something that has been confirmed by our research findings. We’ve partnered with Peoplesafe and Guardian24 to deliver our lone worker solution, because, like us, they recognise the growing need to provide businesses with easy to use, reliable tools that can help them take care of their employees’ wellbeing in the way that suits them best,” said Michael Lawrence, Head of Corporate Propositions, Orange UK.

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