Flexible working: ensuring success

Changing traditional working patterns

To achieve radical changes in working patterns, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) suggests that:

• managers need more support and training in implementing flexible working, monitoring it, and developing a family-friendly culture in which flexible workers are not sidelined
• staff need to be made more aware of flexible working practices
• flexibility needs to be open to all staff to avoid resentment building up
• managers need to lead by example.

Often, managers think their jobs cannot be done flexibly when they can. Companies need to be more open to the kind of flexibility that people most want, such as homeworking. Research shows that homeworking is available in only 10 per cent of companies. Part of the problem may be a management culture of presenteeism and supervision. Managers have to learn to work differently and judge people by outputs instead.  Employers are encouraged to be more innovative in responding to employees’ need for flexibility.

According to the Flexible Employment Options (University of Staffordshire), there are eight key steps to successfully implementing flexible working.

• Consider the type of work an employee does: the more independently a person works, the easier it will be to implement flexible working. There should be a strong business case for flexible working to ensure consistency and to explain any rejection of a request. If a request is rejected, consider a compromise solution. There may be hidden benefits to a company in flexible working, such as reduced payroll costs. Explain to staff clearly all the implications of flexible working, including (in the case of reduced hours) the impact on National Insurance payments.
• Set out clear ways of measuring the success of flexible working, based on performance and results.
• Consider the impact of flexible working on other colleagues. Try to involve the whole team in discussions about how it will work, and let the personnel department know.
• Let everyone who may be affected by a person working flexibly know in advance.
• Do not let flexible workers become isolated. Ensure important meetings are held when flexible workers can attend and that regular communication is in place. Deal with any issues arising about isolation and communication as quickly as possible.

• Deal with any potential abuse of flexible working quickly to avoid resentment building among colleagues.
• Review flexible working patterns regularly.
• Someone working flexibly should have the same chances of promotion as any other member of staff, but staff working reduced hours need to be aware that it may take them longer to accrue skills/experience.
  

The University recommends a thorough audit of the impact of flexible working on your organisation, including a regular assessment of the objectives of offering flexible working. It advises starting with a benchmark against which to measure the success or failure of flexible working. The following data are useful in measuring the impact: absenteeism rates, why new starters took jobs with your organisation, equality data, data on the range of flexible jobs on offer, staff morale (measured through surveys), productivity and staff retention rates.