Making Flex Work
Pamela Macdonald
Coaching leaders to be high performers.Training presentation skills and how to lead effective performance conversations. FCPHR, FICDA, FAITD, GAICD Skilled coach, facilitator and trainer. Trusted strategic HR advisor.
TL:DR - flexible work arrangements need clear management, careful consideration and have wider ranging impacts than imagined. Flexible working is here to stay, it has more forms than WFH and employers need to find ways to make it work.
Almost every client conversation recently has included an element of how to make flexible working hours work. It's coming from employers and employees.
This article has also been informed by a session at the Australian Institute of Training & Development - AITD 2023 annual conference where collaboration was a key theme, as well as an article from Beamible a software company. This article is a summary of thoughts and views - which I'd love to hear your response to and feedback on.
The statistics are in - along with anecdotal and lived experience: the majority of employees want flexible/remote working and it is not only a tool to retain your employees, it is a critical factor in attracting new staff.
Questions are rising though in terms of the impact of significant remote working. Anyone who has been in the Melbourne CBD recently will be able to tell you that it's more than workplaces that are affected by these recent and rapid changes to where employees do their work. Some of the impacts noted are:
Let's take an example in a workplace, which covers some of the key success factors (highlighted text is the success tip)
A company had a request from a senior executive who was returning from an extended period of leave. The executive was a high performer in a crucial customer relationship management role. A request was made and the employer and employee had an open discussion about the feasibility and impact of part time attendance in the office rather than a full time on site role. They discussed redesigning the role and how to manage the expectations for "face time" by colleagues and clients.
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It was an investment of time that also included getting buy in and support from key stakeholders before the arrangement began. There were to be no surprises for anyone and the discussions included what additional support might be needed from other employees and roles to make sure that the responsibilities of the role continued to be fully met. All of this effort was to ensure success not only for the employer, but to ensure that the employee remote working didn't increase the demands on the role and time.
Assessments were made of how well systems and automation could support the process.
Extra thoughts on the success factors:
We all need to work together to make flexible working work. The data is clear: the ability to work flexibly has changed from a nice to have to a must have.
Disclaimer: there are many roles where flexible working in the form of remote work doesn't make sense (what mechanic can work remotely while servicing a vehicle?)
The process to redesign roles so that flexible working works requires a range of skills in your leaders:
Leadership skills need to evolve and adapt to ensure that the workplaces of the future remain effective for employees and employers.
If you think you would gain benefit from coaching or training to develop leadership skills, feel free to contact me.
AI Collaborator | AI Educator | AI Adoption Specialist | Strategic Practical “hands on” people friendly innovator
1 年Great insights Pam. One standout was the amount of effort and strategy that went into helping the high performer have flexibility whilst still delivering value for the organisation. A considered approach seems to considerable benefit. The notion of back to back online meetings as being an effective way to get work done still baffles me. Meetings should only be used to resolve problems, remove roadblocks or make decisions. Too often I see hours of effort wasted in delivering information that should already be available from an effective CRM or similar platform.