Supporting Flexible Work Arrangements
The return to work debate has been heating up ever since big companies like Amazon and Google have declared their policies. As organizations grapple with what will work best for them and their people, it’s important to always remember that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. What works for Company A might be disastrous if implemented at Company B.
One thing is clear: flexibility helps boost productivity. As with many aspects of working life, the pandemic shaped behaviors and created new routines that employees have gotten accustomed to. It also proved that many job functions could be performed remotely and could also be determined by the employee’s preference for when, where, and how to work–as long as the work gets done.
Empowerment is the central operating principle of flexible work arrangements, and it is supported by high levels of trust, respect, and care for employees. Letting your people have a say in determining their work schedule helps them feel more in control of their work environment and has many benefits, including reduced turnover, increased engagement, and better balance. For example, when people spend less time in energy-draining commutes, they can devote more energy to producing quality work.
As with many things, compromises are likely necessary to ensure that both employees and leaders achieve their personal and professional goals. So, perhaps your organization adopts a 1-2-day-a-week in-office policy, establishes core working hours when everyone should be available for meetings or calls, or perhaps a remote-centric culture is what works best for everyone. Perhaps you decide to invest in quarterly offsites where folks who work remotely can come together to strengthen connections across their teams.
Whatever solution you choose should be grounded in a flexibility-first mindset that allows your people, culture, and business to thrive.
So, how can you go about determining the best way to support flexible work arrangements in your organization?
Understand Your Unique Situation
The first step when establishing or amending your flexible work arrangement policy is to get a full picture of what your employees need, what leaders expect, and what your business requires. Asking for feedback from your people and managers is a great way to source first-hand data about what kinds of flexibility your employees value and what would work best for them.
Collect feedback from each group about their needs, wants, and what they might be willing to compromise on. Analyze the results and discuss it with executives before putting together a plan to implement or refine your flexible work arrangement policy.
Establish Clear Guidelines
Once you’ve determined your plan, make sure the guidelines are clearly codified and accessible to everyone in your organization. The announcement should come from an executive leader with an explanation of what the guidelines are and how they support the collective success of your team.
Prepare leaders throughout your organization with messaging, FAQs, and talking points to help them reinforce the plan with their people. If there are nuances for different teams, make sure that those are clearly articulated and that employees understand why there might be variances in the guidelines based on groups.
Allow for Customization on a Case by Case Basis
While the goal for all organizational policies is to make them as broadly applicable and beneficial for the widest possible group, there will always be outliers that should be handled on a case by case basis. Creating some room for customization will help you address these instances in a fair and consistent manner.
Make sure you partner with your Human Resources and Employee Experience teams to establish clear processes for managing these special cases so your managers feel empowered to support their people and your employees feel cared for based on their circumstances.
Ask for Feedback from Leaders and Employees
Similar to getting a pulse check on how your culture is doing, make sure you establish a feedback loop to allow both leaders and employees to share their experience with your updated or new flexible work arrangement policy. This is particularly important during the first 30, 60, and 90 days as folks get acclimated to new ways of working and successes and challenges in your approach begin to emerge. It’s important to take note of these, identify patterns, and remain open to adjusting your policy, as needed.
Make Adjustments as Needed
After a period of time when your people have been able to share their thoughts and get used to the policy, carve out space for adjustments. This is not to say that changes should be made constantly in a reactionary way–quite the contrary. Take your time, assess sentiment, and analyze the feedback you gather to make thoughtful and deliberate changes to your policy. Making changes isn’t mandatory, but letting your people know that policies can continue to evolve as new needs emerge is an important way to signal that leaders are open to refining things when it makes sense.
For more insights on how to support your people with flexible work arrangements, check out Make Work Healthyand my coaching solutions, or schedule a consulting call with me.