2. Introduction This work, Remote and Flexible Working Workshop Materials by Reach Further Ltd., http://www. reachfurther .com , is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creativecommons .org/licenses/by- nc - sa /2.0/ uk / or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA.
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6. What is flexible working? Photograph by Tim Bishop for Weber Shandwick Worldwide Photo by austinevan Photo by Adam Tinworth
8. Types of flexible working Options Part time/ Term time/ Job share Teleworking / Home working Temp contract / interim Compressed hours Flexi time / Shift Zero hours / Annualised
9. Pros and Cons Teleworking/home working Temp/Contract/Interim Compressed hours Zero hours/ Annualised hours Flexi time/Shift Part time/Term time/ Job share CONS PROS
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12. Is your company ready for flexible and remote working? Photo by Kevin Krejci Photo by Simon Blackley
13. Implementing flexible working practices Flexible working implementation Culture and attitudes Career dev & Performance management Job Roles/ Recruitment Communication &Training Technical / Physical Environment
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15. Time and place model Location independent Time independent Location dependent Time dependent e.g. CEOs, writers, researchers, journalists e.g. IT support, telephone sales, Contact centre operatives, sales e.g. Lawyers, plumbers, drivers e.g. Shop sales, restaurants, teachers
16. Location independent Time independent Location dependent Time dependent • Routine administrative duties • Outbound sales calls • Planning • IT programming • IT support • Conference calls • Staff appraisal meetings • Meetings • Client meetings/Sales meetings • Some elements of manufacturing/production • customer service • t raining ELEMENTS OF A ROLE
17. Motivations of flexible workers Part time, zero hours, temp, contract, annualised hours, interim management Older workers Semi-retirement Part time, term time, job share, fixed shift working, remote working, compressed hours Adult carers – typically mid-late career Care Part time, term time, job share, fixed shift working, remote working, compressed hours, annualised hours Parents, Grandparents Childcare Type of work Which groups Motivation
18. Motivations of flexible workers Remote working, homeworking All – eg parents / disabilities / rural Ability to work remotely Flexi time, shift working, part time, remote working All Avoid rush-hour commute Flexi-time, flexible working, remote working All Empowerment to mange own time Part time, job share, compressed hours, annualised hours All Work-life balance Type of work Which groups Motivation
Add facilitator name and picture to this slide Facilitator introduces themselves and the course. Facilitator takes care of comfort and security issues covering: · Fire Alarms · Safe Exits in Emergency · Toilets · Mobile phones – on, off or silent? · Conventions of the classroom · Confidentiality · Interruptions vs Structured Questions · Scheduled breaks only or move around freely?
Facilitator explains that the purpose of the day is to introduce remote and flexible working, talking about both the business benefits and the practicalities from both the legal and policy, and the pragmatic perspectives. “ Please participate” Briefly mention any experience trainer has in this field “ You have experience of your own and our key aim is to facilitate your sharing of your concerns and ideas/best practice”
The Facilitator asks each delegate to introduce themselves: Who they are Who they work for and their role Their personal experience of flexible & remote working The aim is to draw out the different types of flexible and remote working that people have experience of, and different definitions. Sometimes people work flexi-hours but don't consider it flexible working. It's also interesting to find out the reasons that people needed or were offered flexible working opportunities. Its a benefit to the company as well as to the individual.
Types of flexible and remote working Legal & Practical Overview
So what are the different options available? Ask for feedback from participants Remember to think of flexible working both in terms of ‘time’ and ‘location’ See next slide for suggestions.
What they mean: Flextime / Shift . Traditional flextime allows employees to select their starting and quitting times, working in a range of core operating hours. Daily flextime lets employees select their hours on a daily basis. This may include availability of time off during the workday to take care of personal or family issues. Compressed hours (or compressed workweek) enables employees to work allotted hours over fewer days, such as 10 hours over four days. Some firms offer “summer hours”—adding an hour to the first four days of the week so the office can close at 1 p.m. on Fridays. Part-time / term-time / job share . Part-time work incorporates a variety of options – working part of every day, or two or three full days a week, but total hours are reduced. Job-sharing allows two employees share the workload of one full-time job with pro-rated salary and benefits. Term time work means working full-time for a set period and taking school holidays off. Other forms of part-year working may also be appropriate (eg winter working) Zero hours / Annualised hours With zero hours the employer does not guarantee to provide work and pays only for work actually done. Annualised Hours involves paying the worker for the total number of hours worked over the whole year, and varying the actual weekly contractual hours vary to account for busy and quiet periods. Temp / Contract / Interim Workers may prefer to be self-employed at times in their careers or work on short-term, flexible contracts Teleworking / homeworking This entails working some or most regularly scheduled hours at another location, such as home. This may be their main workplace or an occasional arrangement.
So lets briefly look at the pros and cons of each one Look at this from all angles i.e from an individual perspective, a management perspective and an organisational perspective. We’ll come back to this (see slide 22)
We’ll look at the legal situation in more detail later on
Background info if appropriate Globalisation – led to pushing of time boundaries. Many organisations finding more cost effective to operate 24/7 utilising remote working. UK is increasingly under threat from competitors outside the UK. Pressure to deliver on client expectations is becoming more intense. Increasing Client expectation – expect prompt and efficient delivery and not just between 9 to 5 Technological innovation – broadband, mobile technology, cloud computing, video conferencing etc enables anytime, any place, anywhere! Transport costs and environmental considerations – growing desire to beat the commute and reduce carbon emissions Social cultural change – fastest growing working demographic group in UK is working mums. Young people want autonomy and empowerment to manage own time. Increasing need for companies to be flexible to enable attraction from the widest possible talent pool Employment change – shift from manufacturing to service and digital sectors. Presenteeism requirement reducing Organisational change – old way of getting the job done in one place of work will be replaced by more flexible and responsive methods to meet competitive and customer demands. Will be increasing volumes of Virtual companies particularly in SME sector where cost efficiencies are paramount. Political landscape - Legislation – Right to Request SUMMARISE Control will have to be replaced by a culture of trust. Work will be tasks to be accomplished rather than hours sat at a desk
Note the man whose company WASN’T ready for flexible working!!
Ask for feedback from the delegates on, for each area: Key factors you need to consider Best practice Possible barriers Possible solutions Write up on flip chart Recommended that organisations include all the above considerations in their Home Workers Policy and Home Workers Agreement
We are now going to move on and look at how we can assess whether a job role is viable for flexible working.. To do this we need to look at each job specification or job group and the roles/responsibilities therein and map these against a template to measure whether the viability for flexible hours and/or location has high or low viability. Remember a role can have partial viability for flexible working particularly in relation to location. This also needs to be cross referenced with the specific types of flexible working to see which kinds of flexible working would be most suited to the role. Work through the first one with the participants then divide into groups
This model can be used to: Compare all roles within an organisation Compare jobs within a group of jobs or a team Look at each role/responsibility in an individual job spec This model can be used to: Compare all roles within an organisation Compare jobs within a group of jobs or a team Look at each role/responsibility in an individual job spec Ask for suggestions for typical jobs and demonstrate where they fit TOP LEFT Record here roles which can be done in any location (with the required technology) and can also be done at any time TOP RIGHT Record here roles which can be done in any location but must be done at a certain time. BOTTOM LEFT Record here elements of a role which can be done any time but must be done in a certain location. BOTTOM RIGHT done at a certain time and must be done in a certain location:
This model can be used to: Compare all roles within an organisation Compare jobs within a group of jobs or a team Look at each role/responsibility in an individual job spec Ask for suggestions for typical jobs and demonstrate where they fit TOP LEFT Record here elements of a role which can be done in any location (with the required technology) and can also be done at any time e.g. • Routine administrative duties • Outbound sales calls • Planning • IT programming TOP RIGHT Record here elements of a role which can be done in any location but must be done at a certain time. e.g.: • Call centre operator • IT support • Conference calls BOTTOM LEFT Record here elements of a role which can be done any time but must be done in a certain location. e.g. • Staff appraisal meetings • Meetings • Client meetings/Sales meetings • Some elements of manufacturing/production BOTTOM RIGHT done at a certain time and must be done in a certain location: e.g. • Retail – customer service roles • Fire officer/police officer duties • Training workshop delivery
There are certain types of flexible working that will suit individuals at different stages in their life and career. For example working parents benefit from fixed hour options such as part time and job share, whereas an older worker may have more flexibility and be able to flex their working patterns in line with organisational needs. There is a rapid increase in younger people requiring work-life balance and being empowered to manage their own time. An organisation, which has good diversity amongst its employees, will benefit through increased opportunities of flexibility, which in turn will aide productivity and efficiency. Motivation Which groups What type of work would particularly suit Childcare Parents, Grandparents Part time, term time, job share, fixed shift working, remote working, compressed hours, annualised hours Care Adult carers – typically mid-late career Part time, term time, job share, fixed shift working, remote working, compressed hours Semi retirement Older workers Part time, zero hours, temp, contract, annualised hours, interim management
There are certain types of flexible working that will suit individuals at different stages in their life and career. For example working parents benefit from fixed hour options such as part time and job share, whereas an older worker may have more flexibility and be able to flex their working patterns in line with organisational needs. There is a rapid increase in younger people requiring work-life balance and being empowered to manage their own time. An organisation, which has good diversity amongst its employees, will benefit through increased opportunities of flexibility, which in turn will aide productivity and efficiency. Work life balance to pursue leisure activities, learning, voluntary work etc All Part time, job share, compressed hours, annualised hours Empowerment to manage own time All Flexi-time, flexible working, remote working Avoid rush hour commute All Flexi time, shift working, part time, remote working Ability to work remotely All – particularly working parents, those with disabilities and individuals living in remote rural locations Remote working, homeworking
Once you have a clear idea on whether a role or group of jobs can be worked flexibly in hours and/or location you can then begin to consider the best form of flexible working for each role taking into consideration operational, individual/team and customer needs.
Taking the “Time and Place” model, the delegates look at their own roles and other roles within their business to plot them on the Time and Place model. They have twenty minutes to do this, and should work with another delegate, challenging their definitions of time and place if appropriate. Delegates feed back on which job roles they have found are in whole or in part able to be worked flexibly or at a distance.
Facilitator leads a discussion around what issues arise in the workplace from potentially adopting flexible and remote working for some of the roles they have identified. Facilitator should ensure that all relevant points have been articulated. Use development of the PROS and CONS Once you have a clear idea on whether a role or group of jobs can be worked flexibly in hours and/or location you can then begin to consider the best form of flexible working for each role taking into consideration operational, individual/team and customer needs. Flexible working styles - Pros & Cons Part Time/Term time Reduction in hours Work life balance for individual Efficiency and productivity – coverage when needed Retention – retain skills Requires additional consideration in terms of operational management Don’t get full coverage on the role Job share Two or more people share one job Full coverage of full time role Benefits in coverage for holidays/sickness Two heads for the price of one Two people to manage Potential for communication issues Flexi time/Shift Employees work flexibly within certain time parameters. Often utilised in 24/7 operations. Employees work additional hours and accumulate time, then take time off in lieu Can extend coverage and service availability Manage peaks and troughs in workflow Individuals can manage their own time within agreed parameters Efficiency - People there when you need them Can negate/reduce need to pay overtime rates Can be difficult to manage with large teams. Best practice is skeleton rotas highlighting when coverage needed and team to plan and agree Zero hours Staff only paid for when they work but still retain permanent contract Individual has permanent contract and therefore continuity of service Particularly useful for SMEs where cashflow is important Useful where there are significant peaks and troughs in workflow Not suited to individuals who need regular income. (Some organisations guarantee a certain number of hours per week) Annualised hours Employees work when required throughout the year with annual salary being divided equally over 12 months Good arrangement for seasonal roles but where employee requires regular income e.g. teachers, gardeners Enables simplified budgeting Inconsistent coverage Only suited to seasonal work Compressed hours Individuals work full time hours but compress them – usually into 4 days per week or 9 days over a fortnight Good arrangement for roles that require full time coverage Work life balance for the individual Starting earlier and finishing later can often avoid rush hour traffic Can cause operational issues Needs to be communicated to the team Lack of coverage on non working day Temp/contract Individual is employed on contract with a predefined finish date Useful for project based work Useful for temporary coverage (e.g. maternity cover or to manage peaks and troughs) Individual is not employed by the organisation so therefore could be training and loyalty implications Interim Management Self employed individuals who are experts in their particular field and who undertake specific time bounded projects Useful for specialist, higher level roles Brings expertise into the company on an ‘as needed’ basis Interim manager paid as contractor so no PAYE/NI implications Can be expensive as consultancy rates charged Remote working Employees work from home or remotely Proven to increase productivity Cost savings on premises Environmental - Reduces traffic carbon emissions Work life balance for individual – reduces stress of the commute Requires strong management skills Isolation for the employee Additional Health and Safety checks may be required
