As a result more and more firms are likely to come under increasing pressure to offer flexible working practices to their employees. But many organisations have not considered the management and administration problems, or the potential negative impact on customer service and productivity that may occur if they don't manage flexible working requests properly.
For any organisation the planning and administration burden of changing working patterns is huge. If staff are in customer facing roles, managers need to ensure there will always be enough people to meet service targets. Likewise if production or delivery targets have to be met, managers need to ensure enough people are working at the right time to get the job done. On top of this there's the payroll burden of tracking staff hours and ensuring that salaries are correct.
Technologies for Working Anywhere
However, for those employers still apprehensive over the implementation of a flexible working policy they can at least draw comfort from the fact that the technology is widely available to address any concerns they may have about managing a flexible workforce.
Time and attendance systems have advanced considerably over the past decade and are now key management tools for companies that embrace flexible working. They now include basic information about hours worked as well as additional features such as workforce scheduling, appraisal reporting and absence management, allowing managers to take complete control. They also work seamlessly with most payroll and HR packages to
Time and attendance systems have advanced considerably over the past decade
Web-based self-service applications are becoming the preferred choice for organisations looking for increased flexibility. For employees it gives them more control over their working time, allowing them to view schedules, book holidays and view flexitime balances, while for employers they provide easy access to the information they need to plan, manage and administer workplace attendance from anywhere.
Mobilise your Workforce
New systems do not solely cover office bound workers either. Improved functionality and the emergence of GPRS wireless solutions means they are now extended to staff working from home or those working in the field that need to be at numerous locations throughout the day.
Employees can simply clock in using standard GPRS enabled mobile phones, PDAs and Blackberrys, and the data can be fed into one central point, allowing managers to monitor the whereabouts of staff at the touch of a button.
The real-time processing of GPRS systems allow managers to monitor activity instantaneously, and afterwards get full, customised management reports in a range of formats that show the shifts that have been worked, any overtime accrued, any bonuses earned and any deductions that have been made.
GPRS systems can even deliver instant alert notifications by SMS if a member is unexpectedly absent, providing the assurance that lone worker staff have started and finished work safely.
A Flexible Approach
Flexible working is a good way to improve staff morale and the retention of current employees, especially those with childcare responsibilities and mothers on maternity leave. A flexible approach will allow them to combine high-level work with family commitments and for employers, forego the enormous cost of replacing senior staff.
Permitting employees to work hours that suit them also opens up the possibility for organisations to employ high calibre staff from a wider pool of applicants. Having a range of different working arrangements available will make it easier to appeal to different groups of potential employees such as students (juggling work and their study schedule), parents with young children, contract staff, and older workers wishing to make a gradual move towards retirement.
Flexible working has taken on a different role during the recession and is no longer viewed as simply a way to improve the lifestyle of employees, but rather a way of reducing costs and improving efficiency for organisations facing the financial strain.
Whatever your grounds are for offering increased flexibility to your workforce, improvements in workforce management solutions have made it much easier to put it into practice. Whether you allow staff to work from home or at times to suit them, giving staff the slightest of freedoms could be hugely worthwhile.
In the current economic climate, employers need to look beyond salaries and bonuses to keep their workers happy. Flexible working is high on the employee agenda, but it now needs to move up the priority list for employers.
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