A growing number of people seek flexible work arrangements. This pushes modern companies to adapt to a flexible workforce to keep up with the competition.
However, this can be challenging for companies because it means changing policies and processes. For instance, they must change their hiring practices, benefits packages, and communication strategies. This shift warrants clarification among employees and managers about what is expected of them in this new arrangement.
But if companies can manage flexible work arrangements, they may reduce absenteeism and boost employee retention rates.
Here’s a five-item guide to Managing Flexible Work Arrangements that will help you ensure its successful implementation :
1. Look For A Shared Office Space
Adopting a Flexible Work Arrangements means most of your employees will work at home. Some will also come to your workplace at least once a week to attend to essential face-to-face tasks. If you still operate in a commercial space, this will be costly since you’ll continue to pay rent and utilities even if you only have a few employees coming in.
A good alternative for this type of workspace is shared spaces for small business. This option will provide amenities like a fast internet connection, conference rooms, kitchen facilities, break areas, and locker rooms. Instead of renting out a whole building for your company, these services will cost you less without sacrificing your team’s productivity. You won’t even need to share a visitor’s log with the other businesses in your shared space. You can use a sign-in app to keep track of clients who drop by for meetings.
2. Encourage Communication
You should also promote communication between managers and employees about scheduling changes. This means that managers should be open with their employees, letting them know they can expect changes in their schedule at any time. This will help them adjust to the new situation and ensure they are always ready for work when needed.
You can do this by regularly updating your company’s policies and procedures for flexible work arrangements. These may include how much notice you need before making schedule changes and whether or not employees have to give their permission before making a change. If there are limits on when you can make these changes, let your employees know about them. This way, they can understand what is expected of them regarding flexible work arrangements.
3. Provide Training Opportunities For Workers
Employees who want to work remotely need training on best practices related to their jobs and how they can improve productivity while working remotely. This includes the basics, like setting up an office environment where employees feel comfortable working. This may also involve using telecommunications tools that support chat sessions or phone calls as needed.
When training your employees who will go through flexible work arrangements, consider giving them some time off from their regular schedule for training purposes instead of making them work outside their regular hours. Each employee can then learn about the company’s culture, policies, and procedures before starting work on a new project or assignment.
It will also allow them to meet other employees and learn more about how their work fits within the overall plan for the organization. This ensures that all parties are on the same page regarding expectations and responsibilities.
4. Establish A Flexible Working Policy
Another way to manage flexible work arrangements in your organization is creating a flexible working policy. This formal document outlines the different ways employees can work and the procedures to follow if they need to come in later or leave earlier.
This policy should include information about what it means to Flexible Work Arrangements and how workers can request this type of arrangement. Aside from that, indicate how long it will take for your workforce to wait for the request confirmation. This means that schedules can be adjusted as needed without worrying about getting approval from the human resources team.
5. Offer Support By Providing Technologies To Employees
Technology is changing the way businesses do business. The advent of mobile devices, cloud computing, and other technologies has made it easier for employees to perform their jobs while they’re away from the office or at a remote location. You can take advantage of these changes by adopting them in your management strategy and providing your employees with new technologies.
You can enable your employees to work from home by providing them with laptops. This will allow them the flexibility of working wherever they want and save time since they won’t have to commute to an office. You can also provide your workforce with cloud-based software so that they can access files anytime, anywhere. All team members are equipped with the necessary tools and files to finish projects without delays.
Key Takeaway
Entrepreneurs like you should know that flexible work arrangements are becoming more common and are here to stay. This means that you must adapt to these changes so that you can remain competitive when it comes to retaining your employees. You can follow these five tips to manage your workforce through this transition. This way, you can continue creating a productive team while making the most out of this arrangement.
