Making Flexible Working Work for You
According to the Canada Life Group Survey, flexible working makes employees 77% more effective and reduces stress from 33% to 17%. What are you and your business doing in terms of promoting a flexible work environment?
Having recently bought a “project” house in Manchester, I understand the importance of flexible working and fortunately have a manager who understands this importance too. From the endless labours and deliveries, I needed to be home at certain points of the day. Rather than asking to take ½ days as holidays, from the initial day I owned the house, my boss was so supportive of my ability to work from home. Fortunately, we are a paperless office on a hosted desktop so I can work from anywhere. My manager trusted that I work just as hard at home as I would in the office and I can’t begin to tell you how less stressful the last 6 months have been!
I recently attended a networking event in Manchester and listened to several great talks about personal flexible working experiences and how a few Manchester tech businesses are promoting flexible working. I came away feeling really inspired from this event and wanted to share a few takeaways…
There isn’t a “one size fits all” approach
Unfortunately, one flexible working framework won’t fit all organisations. And that’s OK! Flexible working isn’t just a returning mother issue – flexible working can affect all of us at any stage in our lives. Offering flexible working will promote diversity – this might range from diversity of gender, age, thought, background, the list goes on.
Listen / Have a conversation
It’s important to understand each individual’s need for flexible working and both the individual and the business can adapt to make it work. As an employee, asking for flexible working may seem daunting. I’d recommend having a conversation with a trusted source whether that be a friend or colleague to almost practice having the conversation before you need to have it. As an employer it’s important to listen too and have an open mind. Have as many conversations as you can to create an open environment where everyone feels comfortable talking about flexible working.
What can companies do?
· Limit meeting times so people who miss rush hour can attend important meetings
· Aim for a paperless and server less office – this will encourage people to work from anywhere (and help the environment!)
· Be prepared to be adaptable and encourage conversations between employees
· TRUST – the first question you need to ask yourself is “are we a business that trusts your employees”? The biggest difference we see in companies make flexible working work is trust.
How YourPrime can help you
As a Diversity Champion and passionate Diversity in Technology advocate; I am here to help you in every step of the way. Through our expertise and passion, we can help you recruit and retain a diverse range of talent.
Here’s how:
- We have a dedicated in-house diversity & inclusion expert
- We have thought-leadership advice around best practices and strategies used to recruit a diverse workforce
- We work closely with a wide range of talented diversity & inclusions professionals and networking groups
- We have previous success initiating and planning diversity networking events
- We have created a step-by-step guide with quick tips on how to promote a diverse environment.
If you want to find out more about how we can help you recruit and retain a diverse workforce, have a read through our blog page which is updated regularly by the experienced YourPrime Recruitment team. Or, if you would like an informal chat, simply get in touch.