In my last Insight, I discussed how flex time can benefit the employee and the employer.
Based on my experience, there are a few common mistakes employers make when it comes to offering flex time.
Oftentimes, I think employers tend to set very rigid work schedules. They tell employees, “I’m going to offer you flex time, but you have to work these hours.”
Whereas employers might be better-served if they were to ask employees what type of schedule best suits their needs with regards to work-life balance, and then come to a mutually beneficial agreement.
In reviewing several articles about flex time, it is in an employee’s best interest if he/she works out his/her own schedule proposal ahead of time and discuss it with his/her employer. The employer and employee can then come to an agreement together.
This would help your employees achieve a work/life balance.
It’s important, however, to be consistent, so you don’t appear to be showing favoritism to one employee over another.
Things to Consider
Considering our personal lives are busier than ever, offering flexible work options to employees could be a way to retain your best performers. You should:
- Consider your reasons for offering flex time—For example, offering flex time may allow you to retain key employees. Doing so could result in increased productivity and worker satisfaction, as well.
Another benefit along these lines could be a decrease in absenteeism because your employees’ work and home lives are now in sync.
- Consider how you will coordinate schedules—It is important to consider how you will coordinate people, tasks and productivity since flex time means people won’t all be working at the same time, which could have a significant impact on the workflow.
You should have a group meeting during which you look at all your employees’ schedules and choose “core” hours that everyone needs to be working. Having “core” hours will help lessen the possibility of a negative impact on the workflow.
An example of “core” hours that could be communicated to all employees would be “Everyone needs to be in the office on Mondays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for a team meeting and the rest of the time is flexible.”
- Set clear goals and expectations—You need to assign clear goals and expectations, as well as deadlines to be met, to each employee. Employees need to know what is expected of them and when they need to deliver their work.
Clear goals and expectations will help you measure the effectiveness of your flex time scheduling and make adjustments as necessary.
- Document your action plan—Once you have figured out how flex time will work at your company, you should document the plan and communicate it to employees, so you can ensure consistency, buy-in and commitment.
An Example
I recently worked with a company on what I would consider to be a typical application of flex time in the workplace.
This company was designing a flex time schedule for a call center environment.
They had customers that spanned the United States, including New York on the east coast and California on the west coast. So, in order to provide real-time support based on the needs of their customers in different time zones, the company decided to implement a flex time program.
I worked with them to set up their “core” hours, which they chose as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in order to cover all time zones. Then they allowed employees flexibility in choosing their schedules, while still accommodating the needs of their customers.
For instance, employees who chose a 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. schedule would work eight hours with a half-hour for lunch. This schedule supported customers in the Eastern time zone and the Central time zone.
Those employees who worked 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. supported customers in the Pacific time zone.
By staggering the beginning and end of the work day, this company was able to provide call center coverage for its customers throughout the peak time of their call volume and ensure phone coverage for extended periods of time.
This approach turned out to be very successful.
As more companies are focusing on retaining good employees, they need to consider offering flex time to their employees. The trend in offering flex time has increased as it shows a good-faith effort to strike a balance between an employee’s personal and professional life.