Flexible Working – What’s Right for Your People?

I read an interesting article from Joy Wang of HSBC recently talking about flexible working and how this has accelerated. In the article Joy mentioned that many companies have adapted well to remote working and the positive thing is that, for them, there has been no drop in the quality of work or productivity.

A number of these businesses have decided that they will need significantly less permanent office space but will need ‘flexi space’ for people to use as and when required. Many employees forced to work from home during lockdowns have found they prefer it and employers saw that there was no significant drop in the quality of work. Some major US technology firms now say staff need never return to the office or need visit it for only a few days of the week. Improved internet connectivity, 5G and cloud computing will help companies offer increased flexibility.

For employers, the question is no longer whether to implement flexible-work arrangements, but how?

As Joy says of change accelerated by the last year’s events:

‘’The result is increasing demand for hybrid working models that allow employees to work both in the office and remotely. That is changing the purpose of the office. Collaboration, innovation and corporate culture-building could take over as the key functions of the workplace rather than just being a space to work.

Many employees forced to work from home during lockdowns have found they prefer it and employers saw that there was no significant drop in the quality of work. Some major US technology firms now say staff need never return to the office or need visit it for only a few days of the week. Improved internet connectivity, 5G and cloud computing will help companies offer increased flexibility.

For employers, the question is no longer whether to implement flexible-work arrangements, but how?’’

Before an SME decides what work approach and solutions they will adopt as we return to normality, there are a number of things for them to consider in our view:

• Remember that for some employees a home environment may not be conducive to producing the quality of work required – small children, lack of space, privacy etc. are very real situations that need to be considered carefully.
• While larger businesses, as Joy explains in her article, have discovered that productivity and quality has not suffered through working from home, it is probably fair to say that the larger firms are more adept at measuring outputs accurately because they have the appropriate processes and management capabilities in place to do that. They will have also set meaningful objectives by each individual employee, so each knows what they are working to achieve. This is an area, in our experience, where the average SME is still well short of what is required in terms of standards and is one that must be resolved to enable measurement of output where people are working remotely in particular.
• One fact that cannot be ignored is the usefulness of working in an office alongside someone when you start a new role. Many of us will remember our first days where you sat alongside an experienced ‘trainer’ and they explained what they wanted you to do, showed you how to do it and then watched you ‘have a go’ offering advice and critique along the way. Training and development of individuals will suffer if this ‘face to face’ learning environment is not replicated or delivered in some way. It can be done remotely but frankly in our view this will never match the social interaction and learning capability of working close to someone in an office.

So, for a typical SME what would we recommend:

• Consider whether there are any roles that could be delivered effectively with remote working or partial remote working.
• If yes is the answer for some, ensure that these people are met and that their particular responsibilities and accountabilities (and goals) are discussed and mutually agreed with them.
• Be very clear on what flexible working means for them in terms of availability, meetings, contact frequency etc. This needs to be clearly defined in their work agreement.
• Put measurement tools in place that will clearly show you and them exactly what’s delivered in output and share these results regularly with the employee.
• Consider carefully how the remote situation and the lack of face-to-face contact and learning might be cushioned by a ‘mix’ of remote and office work. It may not be necessary for them to come into the office every day but maybe one two days a week would be useful, where the important face to face interaction and subsequent learning from observation can take place and be delivered.

Once all these deliberations have taken place and once the preparatory work is done consider what office space you now need to operate effectively going forward.

Many models are emerging. ‘Core & Flex’ as an example where core employees work from the office on a regular basis while the rest work from flexible shorter-leased office space. It is all about optimising the use of space. How to work desk utilisation? What are the rent and pricing differentials and cost implications between flexible and permanent premises? Remember though that as economies recover, so will demand for offices and prices will increase.

So, SME’s, think carefully on how you see the future for your people – it will not be so much about where they deliver the work but what they deliver and how well they deliver it.

If you would like further information on implementing flexible working environments for your people, you can  email us at ignite@tinderboxbusinessdevelopment.co.uk, or call on 0116 232 5231

Alternatively you can contact me directly at the points below:

David Turner
Managing Director

david.t@tinderboxbusinessdevelopment.co.uk
07747 023610