What is one best practice for flexible work arrangements?
To help you follow best practices for flexible work arrangements, we asked CEOs and business leaders this question for their best advice. From centralizing workplace communication to defining the extent of flexibility, there are several best practices you may adopt to create and maintain flexible work arrangements for your employees.
Here are eight best practices for flexible work arrangements:
- Centralize Workplace Communication
- Conduct Business in Asynchronous Manner
- Be Sure To Provide Training
- Track Progress Toward Clearly Defined Goals
- Alternate Activity Days
- Hold Regular Meetings To Maintain Accountability
- Measure Performance By Results
- Define The Extent of Flexibility
Centralize Workplace Communication
Ensure that you have a centralized platform for the majority of important communication. This is to ensure that employees who work remotely don’t miss out on anything important. Slack, for instance, is a very popular application used for workplace communication. These platforms help you build a central hub or network for all employees regardless of working schedule. Platforms like this also give you a digital record of communicated expectations and updates. In the long run, they help optimize workplace productivity and increase efficiency.
Eric Ang, One Search Pro
Conduct Business in Asynchronous Manner
If you wish to provide true work flexibility then you must not try and conduct all meetings and collaboration synchronously. Conducting business in an asynchronous manner means people don’t have to be on the same time zone, same schedule etc. People can then work around childcare, family arrangements or just taking some time off in the middle of the day for personal mental health relief. It also gives people time to clearly think about an issue and provide a considered succinct reply and hones and refines written communication which is good training for many aspects of the business.
It does require a different communication style and some getting used to but is well worth it. It also helps avoid all that wasted time in meetings when people could simply read background briefing papers; it also forces people to put forward a proposal succinctly with well reasoned arguments.
Dale Reardon, All Accessibility Matters
Be Sure To Provide Training
Be sure to provide training for all employees and ensure it’s remote so everyone can attend, whether they’re in the office or telecommuting. This gets the whole team involved and creates a bond as a company. Topics could range from tech training or industry trends, for example. In doing so, it allows workers to still participate regardless of their office environment.
Natália Sadowski, Nourishing Biologicals
Track Progress Toward Clearly Defined Goals
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for the best practice for flexible work arrangements, as each organization is different and will have its own set of goals to measure progress toward. However, setting measurable goals is a key part of any successful flexible work arrangement. When creating or modifying a flexible work arrangement, both managers and employees should agree on specific goals that will be used to measure the success of the new setup. These goals might include reducing overtime hours, improving employee satisfaction, or increasing productivity. It’s important to remember that these goals should be realistic and achievable, and should be revisited on a regular basis to ensure that they are still relevant. Flexible work arrangements can be a great way to improve productivity and morale in an organization, but only if they are implemented effectively and with defined goals in mind.
Georgi Todorov, ThriveMyWay
Alternate Activity Days
With a flexible schedule, some people will always come in on certain days of the week, but not others. Since people are creatures of habit, but everyone has different habits, a good practice is to switch up the days and times that you host company activities, all hands meetings, or training. That way, people won’t always miss the Wednesday activity, or be out of the office for the Friday training. With a flexible schedule, you’ll never capture everybody at the same time, but if you switch up when you offer experiences, employees will be more likely to join at least some of the times that work for them.
Jenna Vasquez, Best Company
Hold Regular Meetings To Maintain Accountability
Flexible work arrangements need consistent structure. Allowing freedom is important, but holding regular weekly meetings is critical to maintain accountability. Two meetings a week is a reasonable schedule, and I recommend a meeting on Monday to start the week and another on Thursday to conclude. Meeting twice a week is a great method to allow workers flexibility while sustaining the responsibilities of the team.
New Melchizedec S, Expertrec
Measure Performance By Results
Be sure performance is measured by results, not location-based criteria. When employees are penalized for taking advantage of flexible working options, even if their performance is the same or better than if working on-site, it creates a culture clash that leaves the team feeling retaliated against. For instance, if your office routinely holds employee recognition events during lunchtime or after hours and remote employees do not participate, be sure their absence doesn’t color management’s view of their contribution to the team. Bias can be unintentionally built into performance reviews, so revisiting your company’s criteria can help you consistently support flexible work in all policies.
Marilyn Zubak, Snif
Define The Extent of Flexibility
A big reason flexible work arrangements fail is a lack of clear boundaries and expectations on what constitutes ”flexible.” In my experience, employees are increasingly demanding more flexibility while employers want to maintain the extent of flexibility allowable. This leads to unmet or misunderstood expectations, which can have negative implications for productivity, engagement, and job satisfaction. From the onset, the entire team should agree on what constitutes flexibility, how it is defined, and how the strategy will be executed for everyone’s benefit.
Mike Moran, Green Lion Search
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