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11
What once seemed a futuristic
concept is now commonplace in
organisations across the globe:
flexible working.
It has fast become a real point of
differentiation for employees and its
benefits, such as improved productivity,
are now widely understood. These are
just two of the reasons why businesses
are finding themselves under increasing
pressure from employees, competitors
and regulation to introduce flexible
working initiatives. According to
YouGov, a quarter of British businesses
believe they are under more pressure
to introduce flexible working now than
they were five years ago, up from 21%
in 2012.
[1]
At Plantronics, we made the move
to a smarter working platform in 2011.
As part of this, we actively encourage
employees to adopt flexible working
to improve their work/life balance
so that they can get the most out of
their day. Since the move, which also
involved an office redesign, we’ve seen
staff satisfaction rise, absenteeism drop
and real-estate costs fall, all of which
clearly demonstrates the positive impact
smarter working can have on businesses,
employees and the bottom line.
Needless to say, Plantronics is a huge
advocate of flexible working. However,
we realise that implementing a successful
strategy cannot be achieved overnight.
Businesses must give careful thought to
such initiatives if they are going to realise
the significant benefits on offer.When it
comes to flexible working, there are some
key considerations to bear in mind:
n
Define the strategy
– Before setting
out, you need to know what you’re trying
to achieve with flexible working and why.
Having these building blocks in place
gives the initiative a strong foundation
that can be built upon to achieve benefits
and targets. For us, flexible working is
about walking the talk and showcasing
the capabilities of our products.
n
Communicate with employees
–
Discussing the proposed changes with
employees before they are rolled out is
critical to success. Senior managers need
to talk to staff about what the changes
mean and why the company is making
them. Familiarising employees with the
programme before it is introduced gives
them the chance to get excited about
flexible working and ensures they will be
more accepting of it.
n
Implement guidelines and policies
– Each party must understand what is
acceptable and what isn’t when working
remotely. Policy guides staff on their
flexible working decisions so that they
are able to get the most out of their
working day. For example, Plantronics
provides employees with a nominal fee
for their home broadband connections so
that our staff are able to select the best
tariff for their working needs.
n
Provide training and equipment
–
Equipping staff with the necessary tools,
such as laptops, mobiles and specialist
training, is essential if you’re going to
get the most out of flexible working. This
might seem obvious, yet a recent study
we commissioned revealed that only
36% of UK employees feel they have
the necessary tools and knowledge to
work flexibly, with just under two thirds
(63%) revealing that they’d not received
specialist training in this area.
[2]
n
Measure success
– Being able to
identify the strengths and weaknesses of
your flexible working initiative allows you
to alter it to suit your needs and deliver
the best results. At Plantronics we achieve
this by making each staff member’s
Norma Pearce, Plantronics
EMEA HR Director, outlines
her top tips for businesses
looking to implement
flexible working initiatives.
Top Tips
for Flexible
Working Success
individual objectives, which are aligned
to corporate goals, visible across the
organisation. This ensures each employee
knows what is expected of them in order
to meet Plantronics’ overriding business
objectives. Additionally, you can carry
out employee engagement surveys to
discover what impact flexible working has
had on your workforce.
Flexible working is not a one-size fits all
strategy, which is why detailed planning
and dedication is needed to make
such initiatives a success. By providing
employees with the necessary knowledge,
tools and guidelines you will see great
results, just as we have at Plantronics.
[1] UK ‘leads the world on flexible working’,
Daily Telegraph, June 6, 2013. http://
www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-
phones/10102644/UK-leads-the-world-on-
flexible-working.html
[2] Greater Governmental Support Needed to
Encourage FlexibleWorkingWithin Businesses,
Plantronics, March 6, 2013. http://press.
plantronics.com/europe_english/greater-
governmental-support-needed-to-encourage-
flexible-working-within-businesses/
The financial case for
workforce agility
The Agile Future Forum (AFF) has
just published a report highlighting
the financial benefits of workforce
agility, which it defines as ‘optimising
working practices by thinking harder
about when and where staff work,
what they do and who is employed’.
Launched in May 2012, the AFF was
established by 22 founding businesses
to rebalance the debate around flexible
working so that there is less emphasis
on the benefits to employees and more
focus on the benefits to business.
As part of its remit to encourage
business leaders, rather than just HR, to
develop agile practices, it commissioned
Mckinsey’s to produce a report
identifying the impact workforce agility
has had on the competitiveness of AFF
founder members.
Now published,
Understanding
the economic benefits of workforce
agility,
calculates that members have
reaped benefits equivalent to 3-13% of
workforce costs and have scope to cut
costs by a further 3-7% and, in some
cases, increase sales by up to 11%.
The report, which also includes case
studies and the Five Golden Rules of
workforce agility, can be downloaded
from
www.agilefutureforum.co.uk.
...a quarter
of British
businesses
believe they
are under
more pressure
to introduce
flexible
working...