Making Results Only Work

Getting the basics right are important in a Results Only Working Environment (ROWE) workplace. You’ll find that many of your policies and procedures no longer make sense under the new paradigm. As there will undoubtedly still be staff in the organisation working under the old process, it is best to create a guidebook containing all of the key information and use that as an addendum to staff contracts. It is important to communicate well across all workers to avoid an ‘us and them’ situation developing.

Make sure that there is a catch-all statement in all the team’s contracts that says something along the lines of ‘ROWE can be withdrawn at any time with x days’ notice, and it is in this document that you can set out any requirements for time in the office, how much notice staff need to be given to attend meetings and so on.

A key thing to cover is to make clear that in return for the flexibility afforded by ROWE, staff are no longer able to claim overtime payments, time in lieu, weekend working allowances and so on. You should also make sure that the workers understand that they are responsible for collecting information on their working hours – not so you can check up on them, but in order to ensure they comply with the Working Time Regulations.

Another key aspect to cover is what to do in the event of system failure – if they work from home, or have laptops then there will inevitably be downtime. For example, you might write off or reduce the first day’s worth of work, but that you then expect them to return to the office the following day. You will find that most people will quite happily amend their working pattern voluntarily around known system downtimes, for example when software upgrades take place.

Barriers to ROWE

There are some barriers, of course, to introducing ROWE – especially the initial pilot to prove the concept. You will immediately find that many staff, especially managers, will say “It will never work here,” – even though a controlled pilot is the best and most scientific way to assuage their fears and prove that ROWE is effective. In a pilot you simply measure productivity and morale before, and a few weeks or months after trialling ROWE in a small team and see the difference between them and the control group.

One of the biggest issues for ROWE staff can be loneliness – the office environment suits some more than others, and so it is vital as a manager to be constantly checking on your staff welfare on their regular office days in order to fulfil your duty of care to them. Make sure your staff are comfortable in being completely honest about their working hours so ensure they are not over-working.

Finally, it is only really possible to get ROWE off the ground in the first place if you have influenced a senior manager or board member in your organisation, so keep them informed and involved and make sure that other staff – who will be often of the opinion that ROWE workers have an easy life – are kept informed of the benefits and are able to head off any problems.