Approaching flexible working hours can be something of a task, but with trust amongst your team and yourself as an employer, flexible working hours can be highly beneficial to both you, your staff and the business. Each individual member of every team will have a different way of working that suits them best, flexible working hours are all about taking this into consideration to promote productivity and keep operations running smoothly. To get the ball rolling on using this strategy to achieve efficiency, let’s take a look at the best ways to approach flexible working hours and how trusting your team can pay off.
Establishing eligibilityÂ
Your employees might like the sound of flexible working hours to give them a better work-life balance, but some employers can find it hard to put trust in their team. As an employer, by law, you must ‘consider seriously’ requests to work flexibly from all eligible employees. To be eligible, employees must have the qualifying length of service – 26 continuous weeks – and must not have made another application within the last 12 months. As an employer, you can refuse an application for flexible working hours, but only if there is a valid business reason, such as additional costs or an inability to meet customer or demand, all of which may have a detrimental effect on quality or performance of the business or employee. Although it can be difficult to hand over responsibility, there are many benefits that flexible working hours have on the business and not just your team.
Boosting the business
The benefits of flexible working hours can have an impact on more than one aspect of your business. Employers who grant flexibility may see great effects on staff morale – providing employees with flexible working hours shows that you trust your team to get the job done. The more that you can trust your team and show them you care, the better morale and productivity will be, making way for impressive results. Allowing your team flexible working hours is also a handy solution to tackle absenteeism. Often employees who struggle with rigid working hours and structures may take unauthorised time off, making flexibility all the more valuable in ensuring your team are ready and motivated to carry out their roles.
Supporting your team
Alongside the many benefits that flexible working hours can bring to your business, flexibility in the workplace can have a huge impact on your team. Being there for your team and supporting them with tools like flexible working hours is essential in developing good relationships. Your team are the ones who drive the business forward and without them, operations couldn’t stay up and running. This sometimes means that during busy periods, your team may need to be able to work later or come in earlier to benefit you as an employer. In this way, flexible working arrangements mean your hard-working team can get this time back rather than opt for overtime. Improving the balance of your team’s professional and personal life can also be achieved by changing the hours that they work each day.
The simple steps needed to set up flexible working hours hugely outweigh the benefits for you and your team. This style of working can support multiple members of your team, including those with children, who would perform more effectively simply by you putting your trust in them.Â
What’s next?
There are many different types of flexible working hours that your team can choose from, it’s about finding the right balance between their needs and the demands of the business. Flexi-time allows your team to consent to work a certain number of hours per week, fortnight or month, but to complete them at times which suit them. Alternatively, you might opt for compressed hours where your team still do the same number of hours but must work longer on the days they are in to be able to make up their contracted hours. Lastly, job sharing is an increasingly common way of incorporating flexible working hours, allowing your team to cut down their hours and work part-time by sharing their job with someone else. This might be ideal for team members who may be recovering from long term health problems or are about to go on or return from maternity leave. Flexible working hours are just one way that you can show your team just how much you care. Considering other options such as company health insurance and employee assistance programmes can also go a long way in pushing productivity and keeping morale high, as your team know that they’re cared for.
At Protectus Healthcare, we get to grips with exactly what your team need. Whether it’s taking out Company Health Insurance or protecting key members of your team, we’re here to find you the policy that keeps your team’s morale high and productivity pushing forward. Get in touch to see how we can help your team with a policy that is as flexible as you.
   
  
