Employers are continually searching for ways to stay “lean and mean” but effective. Flexibility in working hours is increasingly viewed as a way to manage time and people more effectively within a volatile trading environment, and as a means of recruiting and retaining good people within a more competitive labor market.
“Flexibility” covers any variation in working hours from a standard nine-to-five working day. The key variants are flextime which may include a compressed work week, job-sharing, part-time employment, comp time, and sabbaticals.
Advantages
Flexible working time can provide:
- Recruitment and retention of qualified staff who may not be able to work traditional hours;
- Equality of opportunity: standard hours often prevent individuals with family or caring responsibilities and disabled people from working;
- Work patterns which can be tailored to accommodate savings in demand or new customer requirements;
- Greater success in tackling skills shortages;
- Higher returns on training investment.
Flextime:
- Reduces problems of punctuality and disciplining staff for late arrival;
- Reduces one-day absenteeism: Staff can use flextime to deal with minor crises or personal appointments;
- Creates a greater sense of responsibility and better time management;
- Improves efficiency in core times and reduces overtime;
- Encourages people with family responsibilities to work;
- Increases productivity by making it easier to manage seasonal labor requirements while allowing control of total hours worked annually.
Compressed Work Week:
- May improve productivity by increasing the standard hours worked into fewer days;
- May improve employee morale by earning them more days off per month.
Job-sharing:
- Brings two sets of skills and experience to one job;
- Results in staff who are sometimes more energetic and committed than full-time workers;
- Provides greater continuity in cases of sickness or leave.
Voluntary Work Time
- Opens up jobs to a wider range of people.
Part-time Employment
- Opens up jobs to a wider range of people;
- Encourages single parents, seniors, physically challenged, and students to work;
- Benefits the company’s bottom-line if no benefits are associated with part-time work;
- Benefits the employee if a health and retirement package accompanies the part-time work.
Compensation “comp” time
- Avoids paying overtime;
- Allows the employee to “bank” a day off with pay at some other time.
Unpaid leave
- Retains the service of staff who would otherwise leave the organization altogether.
Sabbaticals
- Replenish employees’ energy and creativity.
Disadvantages
1. Secure the Commitment of Top Management – Reach agreement with senior managers on the extent of flexibility and make sure that they are committed to this.
2. Analyze Your Workforce – Profiling your existing workforce and analyzing its current work patterns may surprise you; you may not realize the extent of informal working already sanctioned by line managers.
3. Set Up A Working Group – Nominate a working group that represents all types and levels of employee. Use the group to steer through the changes and act as a sounding board.
4. Decide How Flexible the Organization Can Afford To Be – Are you willing to reconsider all options for flexibility, or do you want to limit the employees to a fixed range? Flextime, for example, should apply to everyone at all levels. Keep in mind that once flexible working is adopted, it is difficult to go back to traditional practices. Pilot the program and expand it gradually.
5. Consult All Employees – Seek employees’ view on any changes they would like to see, or ask their opinion on specific options. Use questionnaires, workshops, or discussion groups.
6. Have the working group consider options.
- What system would there be for arranging cover?
- What system will there be on pay?
- Will you allow line managers discretion in interpreting a broad policy, or will there be little scope for variation?
- How will you ensure parity of treatment in training and development, promotion and benefits?
- Will there be a qualifying period?
- Will any additional costs be offset by business benefits?
7. Secure Senior Management’s Agreement – Make sure that senior managers are aware of the rationale and the business case for introducing flexibility. Confirm their commitment to the policy outlined by the working group.
8. Communicate the Policies –Publicize the new program to all staff. Use existing examples and role models. Be open and honest about terms and conditions of eligibility for each option and set clear guidelines for their use. Be specific about any particular times and circumstances under which flexible schedules will not be allowed, for example, during the annual parts inventory, harvest season, or at a particularly busy customer demand period.
9. Identify a Coordinator – You will need somebody to retain a general overview of the program and offer guidance on its implementation.
10. Train Line Managers/ Team Leaders to Implement the Program – Continuing management control is vital as flexibility is introduced. It is the manager’s job to ensure that work gets done; this may mean denying what staff prefer on particular occasions.
11. Monitor and Evaluate the Program – Set up a system to monitor and evaluate the program. Make sure you evaluate the success in terms of the business benefits sought.
12. Consider The Need For Complementary Programs. – Think about how the flexibility working program fits into the current corporate culture. Do you need to develop a program to change the culture or to support new working practices?
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