Workplace flexibility is an arrangement made between employers and employees about the working conditions that best suit employees’ needs and expectations. Typically, this means giving some level of control to employees to decide when, where, and how they work. The ultimate aim of workplace flexibility is to help enable employees to integrate Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), over 70% of Australian organisations in the private sector have flexible working strategies and policies in place. Another report by Hays shows that flexible work practices is the number one benefit for 73% of Australian professionals, while New Zealand financial firm Perpetual Guardian reported a 20% increase in productivity after trialling a four-day workweek.

It’s safe to say that workplace flexibility is slowly but surely becoming a cornerstone of successful businesses and an essential part of a modern workplace.

What can workplace flexbility look like within a business?

There are various flexible work arrangements that employers can offer employees:

• Flexible work hours. Employees choose at what time they start and finish.
• Compressed working week. Employees generally work four 10-hour days a week.
• Job sharing. Two employees share the work and pay of one full-time job.
• Flexible rostering. Employees may work split shifts.
• Part-time work. Employees work fewer than 30 hours per week.
• Purchased leave. Employees fund an additional period of leave by reducing their fortnightly pay.
• Remote work (or Telecommuting). Employees do not have to travel to the office and can work from anywhere.
• Time-in-lieu. Employees get extra time off work instead of overtime pay.
• Unpaid leave. Employees can take unpaid leave for a set period of time.

And when can employees request it?

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) provides guidance around which employees are entitled to request flexible working conditions, and state that “some employees who’ve worked for the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements, such as changes to hours, patterns or locations of work. There are rules about how to make the request and how employers should respond. Employees covered by an award also have some extra rights when asking for flexible working arrangements.” The FWO have some great Best Practice Guides on Work and Family, and introducing Flexibility into the workplace, which can be found here.

Specifically, the FWO National Employment Standards outline that “employees (other than a casual employee) who have worked with the same employer for at least 12 months can request flexible working arrangements if they:

• are the parent, or have responsibility for the care, of a child who is school aged or younger
• are a carer (under the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
• have a disability
• are 55 or older
• are experiencing family or domestic violence, or
• provide care or support to a member of their household or immediate family who requires care and support because of family or domestic violence.“

Some of the challenges for small to medium businesses

Though there are many benefits, flexible work options often prove to be quite challenging for small businesses. Some of the main challenges of workplace flexibility include:

• Scheduling meetings. It can be challenging to schedule a time for meetings that works for all the employees working part-time or flexible hours.
• Delivering quality customer service. Workplace flexibility may affect the quality of customer service as a result of the number of employees or their availability being reduced.
• Recruiting and training new employees. To properly welcome new employees, training managers might have to conduct multiple training sessions to reach all employees.
• Promoting a cohesive work culture. It is rather difficult to establish and maintain work relationships when employees do not see each other due to flexibility arrangements.
• Making sure employees don’t abuse their flexibility. Some employees – especially those working remotely or telecommuting – may see flexibility as a chance to cut back on work.

These challenges are particularly hard on small businesses that are working with a limited budget and resources, have a small team, and have lot of work to do.

Thankfully, there are numerous ways small businesses can overcome the challenges associated with workplace flexibility.

There are so many benefits to workplace flexibility – both to the employee and the employer!

WGEA have a great video that outlines some of the benefits of flexibility in the workplace:

 

Our top tips for how businesses can overcome workplace flexibility challenges?

Here are some ways small businesses can successfully introduce and manage workplace flexibility:

• Prepare formal written policies. Develop a formal written policy that is detailed, clearly-stated, and non-discriminatory. This way, everyone is informed about their responsibilities. WGEA have a great guide on developing flexible working arrangement policies. We have also designed a quite a few of these now, and would be happy to create one for your business.
• Talk to employees. Seek input from employees about what kind of flexibility arrangements they would like to have and how these arrangements would improve their work quality. You could consider using a survey app like Typeform or SurveyMonkey to collect this data.
• Monitor and assess arrangements. Continuously monitor and evaluate flexibility arrangements to ensure they satisfy business and individual needs.
• Establish communication standards. Schedule regular check-ins – either in-person or online – with employees to share updates, improve employee engagement, and encourage teamwork. Use cloud-based systems to communicate such as Workplace by Facebook (for collaboration), Asana (for task tracking and project planning) or Slack (a slick communication hub)
• Allow standard work schedules. Some employees actually thrive in a traditional work arrangement and prefer the structure of standard work hours, a regular place of work, and scheduled work days. Be sure not to enforce flexible arrangements on employees who prefer this structure.

We are passionate about flexible working arrangements and would love to chat with your company about how you could implement flexible workplace practices. Get in touch with our team for a free consult call by emailing us at projects@commongoalconsulting.com.au, or calling 0472 545 584 (Nikki Jenkinson, Director).

www.commongoalconsulting.com.au