10 posts tagged business

Do you have a solid understanding of the legal ramifications of flexible work? 

Are you armed with the right information to avoid putting your organization at risk?

With legislation changing, you may be surprised to find that, right now, you’re not. 

A great way to test your knowledge of the legal implications and challenges of flexible work is to take our challenge.

After you take the challenge, let us know how many of the challenge questions you got right and what surprised you the most.

Also, don’t forget: If you want to have access to a resource that will help to ensure legal compliance as it relates to your flexible work practices and updates you every time there’s a change in legislation, we’ve got a solution for you.  Just contact Kelly Gouteixm kelly.gouteix(at)flexpaths(dot)com or Beth Starr, beth.starr(at)flexpaths(dot)com.

Flex Legal Challenge from FlexPaths & Littler View more documents from FlexPaths

Formerly a fund manager and President of Beauchamp Financial Technology Ltd. (now a subsidiary of Linedata Services SA), Clare is now focused on helping companies improve financial returns and individuals improve quality of life by embracing flexible work practices. As Managing Director of FlexPaths, Clare drives new product development and UK sales of the company’s software products, including FlexPaths Educate (a configurable portal for centralizing and communicating consistent, legally-compliant flexible working policies, tools and resources) and FlexPaths Enroll (a system for tracking utilisation of different workstyles in order to measure ROI).
Clare is the founder of the Equilibrant Network for senior executives interested in flexible work (see LinkedIn group). She also consults for Elsworthy Associates and is Non-Executive Chairman of Grasshopper Porridge.

Why is it that, so often, HR teams “see the light” when it comes to encouraging flexible work practices, but CEOs don’t?  Most companies today are engaging in flexible work, whether their leaders fully recognize it or not.  Some have formal policies in place.  Most consider it to be an employee benefit that they may be required to offer, by law or in order to attract talent.  Few actually embrace it as an actual competitive advantage in business.  As a former CEO myself, and someone who deals with senior leaders regularly, I’d like to use this opportunity to dispel some common myths that I know hold CEOs and other senior executives back from making flexible work a strategic business imperative:

Myth #1:  Flexible Work Means Less Work

People often confuse flexible work with “flexi-time,” a term that commonly refers to part-time work.  Flexibility around HOW MUCH work that gets done is one type, sure, but there are several others:  
Flexibility around WHERE work gets done:  Telework and other forms of remote work are becoming more and more common, having been spurred on by technology as well as by the economic downturn, which has made many companies re-think their spend on corporate real estate.  No one is saying that face-to-face interaction is not important, but do you really need to be paying for all of your employees to be sitting at desks in your offices 8 or more hours a day, 5 days a week?  On average 60% of corporate desks are unoccupied at any given time.  Not surprising, then, to see what was once called “hot-desking” on the rise again, under more palatable names like “agile workplace”.  From a CEO’s point of view, getting your employees to pay the bulk of your rent for you is genius.

Flexibility around WHEN works gets done:  ”When” is different to “how much” - it’s an important distinction.  For many workers, their ability to do a good job does not necessarily depend on them doing their work between 9am and 5pm.  Given the choice, many would choose to start earlier and end earlier.  Or start later and end later.  Or start at the standard time, take a few hours in the middle of the day to deal with other things, and then work again at night.  Most senior leaders do that anyway.  So why not proactively make it part of your company culture?  As long as you are getting your work done well and your customers are satisfied, and your job doesn’t literally rely on something that happens during certain hours (like store operation, or equity trading), why should the company care when you do it?

Flexibility around HOW work gets done:  Most people don’t think about flexibility in terms of the contractual relationship between companies and their workers.  Using freelancers or contractors instead of employing the resource is a form of flexible work, and a very useful one, for many companies.  There are pros and cons that go with it, like with anything else, but in a lot of ways, this is the purest form of flexible work - it allows the company to flex its cost base alongside its revenue base.

Myth #2:  ”If I Can’t See You, You’re Not Working”

Seriously?  More CEOs and senior managers feel this way than would admit it - it’s a by-product of how the last 2 generations have been raised in industry and it takes some cultural adjustment to get over.  I liken it to how a toddler thinks that if he covers his eyes, you can’t see him.  If whether you can see an employee or not is the only thing that controls whether he or she is working, you’ve got bigger problems.  Studies show that flexible workers are actually more productive than workers without flexibility:  when we have more control over our time, we are less stressed and hit our “breaking points” later.  Meanwhile, just because you can see your employees does not mean they are working.  A friend of mind who runs a large online recruitment website and I were chatting on the night of the last big snowstorm.  I asked him whether many of his staff had stayed home due to the appalling inability of the UK’s infrastructure to handle snowfall.  He said no, that most of them were set up for telework, but that they’d seen a major drop-off in online job applications on the snow days.  ”How odd,” I said, “you’d think that people who had time off work would apply for more jobs, not fewer.”  ”Exactly the opposite,” he replied.  ”Most people only apply for new jobs from the office.”  So now you know, just because you can see your employees, doesn’t mean they’re working.  Some of them are looking for another job - on your dime.

 
Myth #3: Flexible Work is Women’s/Parents’ Issue

 
Working mothers have led the way on flexible work to date, and flexible work is definitely key to attracting and retaining senior women, but in this day and age, they aren’t the only ones who value it.  Laws in countries like the UK have, to date, mistakenly framed flexible work as a parents’ issue, when really, everyone should have the right to request flexible work - WHY they are requesting it shouldn’t be relevant.  Flexibility is the #3 thing people in general look for in a job in the US, after salary and medical benefits; in the UK, it’s #2 after salary.  Meanwhile, studies show that people who have flexibility would forgo a significant pay increase if it meant giving that flexibility up:  flexibility can, in fact, be more valuable than money.  That should be music to a CEO’s ears!  And with a labor shortage looming in most of the Western world, flexibility is a massive weapon in the war for talent.  Orange, the UK mobile telco, recently did a study of 1,000 people just out of university:  53% said they expected flexible working as standard when they begin their jobs, and 69% said the option to work flexibly was important to them.  They were not disproportionately female, and I’m guessing very few were parents - to Generation Y, flexibility is a way of life. Meanwhile, with mandatory retirement ages being removed and people living longer, Baby Boomers are looking to continue working too, provided they can have flexibility.   Flexible work is an EVERYONE issue.

 
Myth #4:  If I Let One Person Have A Flexible Work Arrangement, They’ll All Want One

 
The fear of setting a precedent is a big one for leaders of smaller companies, in particular.  Here’s the reality: just because a flexible work arrangement is granted to one employee, doesn’t mean other employees have the right to have their requests granted, too. Flexible work is not “one size fits all” thing.  If your process for making decisions to approve or decline requests for flexible work arrangements is reasonably rigorous (eg. If it involves asking questions like:  Is the employee a good performer? Is he or she good at managing time?  Is he or she doing a job that requires a physical presence in the office 5 days a week?  Is it possible for the team to function as well in the context of the employee moving to the requested form of flexible work? and so on) and documented well, you should be able to make the right decisions for your business while mitigating legal risk.  Just because you grant one employee’s flexible work request does NOT mean you have to grant another’s.  Where companies get into trouble is when managers make clumsy decisions, aren’t transparent or communicative, don’t manage the manager-employee relationship well throughout the process, and don’t document their thoughts and actions.

Myth #5:  Giving All Employees the Right to Request Flexible Work Will Create an Insurmountable Admin Burden

We live in the age of technology, do we not?  You don’t need a large HR team to manage flexible work well, and a flexible work initiative can pay for itself immediately, by stopping even one high-performer from leaving in search of more flexibility elsewhere.  Both employees and managers can be educated to make optimal requests and objective decisions, respectively, using online tools and resources. Workflow can be automated, and records can be stored electronically at very low cost. Yes, this making all of that happen is FlexPaths’ business, but there are plenty of ways to skin a cat.  Technology is the catalyst for and the lifeblood of flexible work - if you’re trying to use paper-based systems, or even just email, to run a flexible work initiative, you’re missing the point.  Don’t be surprised when it fails.

So, dear CEOs, you have a choice:  stick with the myths and bury your head in the sand, or be proactive and embrace flexible work to attract talent, get more productivity for less money, reduce real estate costs, and have everyone (including your shareholders) thanking you.  It’s a no-brainer, really.

Jodi works as a part time attorney in child abuse and family violence.  She started 10 years ago full time and has also worked from home as a contractor.  Now she works in house, part-time, 20 hours a week.  She also blogs about anything and everything at jodifur. 

A lot of our featured flex workers here at the work. smart. blog work remotely or telecommute the majority of the time.  This week, we are featuring Jodi, a working mom who works part-time on a flexible schedule.  If you would like to be a featured flex worker, we make it really easy, just answer our interview questions here.

Tell us more about your flexible work arrangement, what does a typical workweek look like?

I work 20 hours a week, and split them over three days, typically Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  My boss is fairly flexible but because I am an attorney and need to be in court, it is hard for me to work from home.

Was your job flexible to begin with, or was it something you negotiated with your employer?

When I started I was a typical 40 hour a week employee.  And then I left when I had my son and worked as a contractor.  When the one part-time attorney in my office left, my boss asked me to come back in the part-time role.

What have been the most notable benefits of your flexible work arrangement?

My boss does not care how I do my 20 hours, as long as I do them.  So if I need to switch my days because my son is sick or to go on a field trip that is fine.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced working flexibly?

Even though I work 20 hours, sometimes emergencies come up on the days I am not there.  And the judges don’t like to hear me say: “I don’t work on Fridays.”

What advice would you offer those who would like to negotiate a flexible work arrangement with their employer?

Employers don’t want to lose your institutional knowledge.  They will want to keep you.  It never hurts to ask.

Tell us about your “office” space….

It’s in a traditional office building, my flexible work arrangement is about when I do my work, not where I do it.

If you could describe your “workstyle” in one-two words, what would it be?

Productive - in limited time.

While Jodi’s career as an attorney thrives, she doesn’t have to give up seeing her son do the same.

Every week, “Ask the Founders” features our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO.  They’ll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

This week’s question drills down on how our products integrate with existing legacy systems.

We’ve recently started offering flexible work arrangements to every member of our staff.  We already use a software system to manage our human capital including time sheets, payroll, forecasting, etc.  How does FlexPaths software fit in with what we are already using?

MERYL:

Congratulations on making flexible work arrangements available to your company and furthermore, leveraging technology to do so.  It sounds like the software you reference addresses the basic tracking of these arrangements which is a great foundational step.  For companies who want to take this to the next level, we recommend our Enroll system.  Not only does it identify these workers for administrative purposes, it automates the work flow around filing and approving these arrangements in real time with involvement from employees, managers and HR.  This system is highly customizable for work flow, reports, etc.  Because of this we can add dimension to how you use this system so that it can provide a powerful audit trail for compliance purposes, showcase productivity and ROI of your flex workers to prove the bottom line benefits of having flexible working in place, and further lever this data for external use – e.g., submit to top lists – for employer of choice distinction.  Given that you’ve just started offering these arrangements, having a system that proves out the ROI couldn’t be more timely.

ROBIN:

Like many organizations, your IT division has invested in key components of HRIS to ensure day to day operations are handled efficiently.  These systems have typically been configured for the permanent, exempt, non-exempt and/or contingent labor segments.  The flex worker could be part of any one of these categories and the nature of the “employee contract” with the organization can vary significantly.  Our systems allow for the following: alignment of individual preferences with company offerings, an automated/transparent/compliance request process and the ability to manage innovative workforce programs from flex recruitment to phased retirement to resource teams.  Therefore, companies can implement new workforce practices without being confined by traditional HR systems.  To that end our databases are designed to interface with key HRIS and are essentially a module within the information architecture.

Have a question you want to ask Robin and Meryl? Email it to jessica (dot) smith (AT) flexpaths (dot) com, send a Direct Message via Twitter to @FlexPaths, or write on our FlexPaths® Facebook wall.

Some commentators and analysts suggest that the future of work is…

chaotic.

Image credit: Kevin Dooley

For example, to describe the changing nature of work, Gartner research analysts as well as Imran Ali at GigaOm use terms like “work swarms”, “work sketch-ups”, and “spontaneous work”.

A work swarm is a new kind of skills-based flexible project team. Instead “traditional teams of people familiar with each other” (usually drawn from the office pool of usual suspects), ad-hoc groups or “work swarms,” often with no previous experience of working with each other, and possibly geographically distant from each other, will become a commonplace team structure.

A work sketch-up is a more informal way to scope a project or map a process. In fact,
according to Gartner and GigaOm, work sketch-ups (presumably rather than formal project plans) will define “most “non-routine” work activities; the process models for these activities will be simple “sketch-ups,” created on the fly”.

Spontaneous work refers to a way of “seeking new opportunities and creating projects around them” that is likely to be “an opportunistic, rather than strategic, activity”.

With terms like that - and other concepts like the human cloud and the 4.0 Career - the future of work can look pretty loosey-goosey. Or chaotic.

Or perhaps we call it non-routine (Gartner calls it “the de-routinization of work”), or collaborative, creative and results-driven.

We like to call it flexible.

Every week, “Ask the Founders” features our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO.  They’ll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

This week’s Ask the Founders question at first sounds like it’s about approach…but you’ll find it goes deeper than that.

One person on my team has a flexible work schedule because she has to take care of her ailing relative.  I know there’s a few people, including me, that would also like a flexible work arrangement, however, our need is not as urgent.  How do we approach our manager?  

ROBIN:

Your request for flexibility has nothing to do with whether or not your associate does.  Furthermore, why your associate has flex does not make their arrangement more or less important than yours.  Elder care is not more important than adoption or a sabbatical or just a need for a compressed work week.  Your manager has already shown a readiness towards managing flexible teams so approaching your manager should be fairly straightforward.  While you may be informed of company policies, it is more important to take into consideration the business impact of your “flex-ing” and address that in your discussion with your manager.  Each member of the team should prepare their “flex request” and allow time for your manager to work with each team member one-on-one. 

One special consideration – given that  multiple colleagues are requesting flex schedules – perhaps give your manager time to readjust workflow and schedules so that everyone’s efforts are synchronized and the entire team’s efforts are optimized.  Consider how you will work together, share information and conduct meetings.  Assuming your manager says yes, it is important to think about how you will be successful at working flexibly.

MERYL:

Teeing up a flexible work request should not be about ‘Why do I need it?’ or ‘Why is it important for me?’. Rather it should be about ‘Why it is important for the business I am in?’.  The answer should hold true for the company, the team, the manager, and the individual making the request. 

Flexible working is about shared responsibility. 

Framing it this way from the beginning changes the whole discussion. So while you may deem your colleague’s request as urgent, that isn’t the point.  What is urgent to the individual isn’t necessarily urgent to the business.  It is more about having a compelling business dialogue about why flexible working would be effective in your situation, in other words, your role and/or working environment.  So take a moment to step back and ask yourself some important questions and prepare yourself for a solid business dialogue. 

These questions will involve your company culture, manager style/work environment and your own capabilities/realities. 

With regard to company - Does it stand for and promote flexible ways of working?  Is there an openness and appetite for it or did your colleague get approved as more of an accommodation or quite frankly due to legal reasons given she is a caregiver and has rights as a result? 

If there is openness, how has the company messaged or strategically aligned flexibly working?  Is it discussed as a health/wellness stress reduction measure?  Does it talk about it as it relates to cost savings?  Does it integrate it with retention and engagement of diverse talent?  Is it teed up on your company’s recruitment website as a reason why the company is a  best place to work? 

Having this perspective is important as it helps frame your having a smart, aligned business dialogue with your manager or HR.

Second, size up your manager.  Do they work flexibly?  Are they comfortable with the topic, have others approached them successfully?  What do they respond to?  Are they more of a ‘dip your toe in the water’ – let’s try this out first?  Or, are they more innovative and apt to stand behind this publicly?  Are you both operating from the same definition of what is possible?   Are you being emotional, telling stories, making it personal or are you have a business dialogue?  Steer clear from the former.

Third, think about your world and its realities.  Does your job truly allow for flexible working?  Can you successfully perform your role independently mixing up where, when, how and how much you work?  Do you have the discipline, wherewithal, capabilities and confidence to work this way?  Do you really want to work flexibly?  Or is it out of need? You need to really consider this.

Approaching your manager in a way that is relevant, tied to business, objective, when they see this can be a triple win -the trifecta of company, team, individual- ultimately gives you the best probability of success. 

Have a question you want to ask Robin and Meryl? Email it to jessica (dot) smith (AT) flexpaths (dot) com, send a Direct Message via Twitter to @FlexPaths, or write on our FlexPaths® Facebook wall.

Today two organizations, truly leaders in our space, will officially announce their partnership later this morning.  I’ve been asked to attend the press conference and I will be live tweeting from both the @FlexPaths and my personal Twitter account, @JessicaNow.  The hashtag to follow along is #workflex starting at 9:30am.

Don’t forget to follow @SHRM and @EllenGalinsky, President of FWI on Twitter as well.

This new, multi-year partnership, known as “Moving Work Forward”, will help transform workplaces by highlighting the importance of effective and flexible workplace strategies to the business bottom-line.

During the announcement this morning, leaders from the corporate world along with the military will be joining SHRM and FWI at the National Press Club.  There, they will provide their points of view on workplace flexibility and how it has been successful at their organizations.

Military and business leaders we can expect to hear from include:

•         Henry G. Jackson, Interim President and CEO, SHRM
•         Ellen Galinsky, President, FWI
•         Sharon Allen, Chairman of the Board, Deloitte LLP
•         G. Brint Ryan, CEO, Ryan Inc.
•         Ted Childs, Jr., Principal of Ted Childs LLC, Board Member of FWI
•         Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

At FlexPaths, we’re extremely excited about this partnership because it reinforces the value that flexible work practices add to an organization’s overall success .  We’ve seen this first hand with our own clients as they reduce overhead costs and increase productivity all while empowering and retaining top talent.

Today we’re introducing a feature we hope you will find both valuable and insightful.  It’s called “Ask the Founders” featuring our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO and they’ll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

Meryl (left) describes her flexible work style as “flex time all the time…in other words, always being flexible- at work, at home - at life.”

Robin (right) describes her flexible work style as “Virtual Worker: no place is off limits.”

Today’s question came through via a Direct Message on Twitter.  We were given permission to post this question, however, we are honoring their request for anonymity.

Does “flex work” really work for the employer and the non-flex work employees?

MERYL:

Flex work doesn’t really work if there isn’t a common definition, commitment, and gameplan to make it work, both from the employer and employee standpoints.  Getting on the same page is key.  Once there is movement in that direction the sky is the limit.  For those who choose to limit themselves by technology, trust, stigma..it won’t work.

ROBIN:

Flex Work, if done appropriately, benefits all the flexers, non-flexers, managers, and executives. The trick is defining “appropriately”.  Really, the word “appropriate” should be replaced with “effective” and/or “productive”.

Furthermore, the subjectivity and personal aspects of flexible work should be removed.  After all – who cares if I need to flex my  job because I want to earn an MBA versus care for a parent versus adopt a baby a China…the reality is that the EVERYONE needs to flex as a result of a broad spectrum of personal and professional change. 

MERYL:

This truly changes the dialogue to a business dialogue.  It level sets.  It isn’t just about when, where, how much, and how the work gets done, but it is about getting the work done.

ROBIN:

The kicker is that companies benefit from employees “flex’ing” their jobs.

How?

By removing subjectivity and creating an operating environment where flexers, non-flexers, and leaders are clear on definitions, assumptions, and “rules of the road”.  When this happens, you actually create and environment of trust and respect NOT one based on line of sight and water cooler chat.  Trust, respect, wellness, work-life effectiveness are all soft benefits that drive quantifiable benefits including but not limited to reduced expenses and increased revenues.   From a corporate perspective this means greater productivity plus the ability to engage across multiple population segments. 

MERYL:

Opening the dialogue is key - across teams, direct reports, manager to manager.  And ensuring that managers and employees have the resources, confidence, and competencies to do it well.

ROBIN:

The question each company should be asking is…What is the specific business case for flex? …and realistically build a flexible work model that addresses that. 

MERYL:

And make that case relevant to the business and work environment you are in - and update it as situations change.  For our corporate clients, the importance and linkages to flex work morph - they may start with retaining top talent and expand to more bottom line business benefits like real estate cost savings.

ROBIN:

So assuming employees and managers want flex and the company wants to utilize flex, the next step is providing fair access, optimizing utilization and creating a collaborative and engaged workforce. 

MERYL:

While flexible working has been talked about and companies are rallying around it, these are the next steps requiring systemized solutions and tools to truly take flexible work from foundational to functional.

We invite you to submit your questions via the “Ask Us Anything” link in the sidebar.  You can also ask via any of our other social channels including our Facebook page, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

Every once in a while, we may bring in one of our partners to weigh in, as well.