Businesses can benefit from flexible working policies that go beyond new law: Rebecca Dixon

Flexible and family-friendly working arrangements remain key to both recruitment and retention, but for these to really deliver for both employers and employees requires more than just responding to regulation.

Here are three key focus areas for businesses that can lead to success.

Culture first

HR policies and rules are one thing, but unless employees recognise them as part of their everyday lived experience, they won’t be effective.

Creating an authentic culture that values flexibility and that can echo throughout an organisation is vital. Think of this as having a company ‘way’, which represents some overarching characteristics of how the organisation and its people go about business.

Behaviours are much easier to understand and remember than rules and regulations. Line mangers are key to role modelling behaviours and bringing policies to life, and therefore creating and instilling this culture throughout an organisation.

Flexibility equals career mobility

If flexible working is genuinely embedded then this should be visible across all levels within an organisation and can help to counter the perhaps old-fashioned view that these types of working arrangements can be a barrier to an employee’s progression.

There is still a of work to be done in changing this perception. A recent report on part time working, ‘A question of time’, showed that nearly half of all survey respondents believe part-time working can limit career progression, and over a third of workers consider it to be primarily for parents and carers. This view was particularly prevalent among managers who are described as the ‘gatekeepers of career success’.

On a practical level, identifying ways that flexibility can work in more senior roles is crucial. Job sharing was seen as a key option in the report. Companies could address this themselves or enlist the services of an experienced third party to help.

Coach and train

Line managers play an important role in making flexible working a success but they need the right skills to do this, so providing ongoing training and support is vital. However, Mercer’s Let’s Get Real about Equality report found that only around a third of organisations train managers to support employees through flexible work options, so this is an area where firms can create a real point of difference.

Support could include guidance on managing different working arrangements and family related leave, reducing key-person dependency and developing inclusive leadership skills.

This can be provided via one-to-one manager training, group workshops or online resources such as webinars or e-learning programmes and there are many specialist third parties who support this if a firm doesn’t have the expertise in house.

By looking beyond statutory requirements in relation to flexible working and really embedding flexibility into corporate culture, forward-looking employers will be on the frontline for engaging and retaining talented people as well as creating an empowered, loyal and flexible workforce.

Rebecca Dixon is Head of HR at Progeny HR Consultancy and Advice