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Empowering Managers to Implement Workplace Flexibility

Guest post by: Kathy Kacher

Article Overview: During the past decade, a significant portion of work-life research has been dedicated to identifying and measuring the bottom-line benefits of workplace flexibility on an organization and its employees. Unfortunately, there has been little attention paid to the challenges managers face when working to integrate flexibility into their work groups. This article outlines the importance of equipping managers with the tools and training needed to successfully prepare for the mobile workforce and provides examples and resources your organization can begin using today.

Empowering Managers to Implement Workplace Flexibility

During the past decade, a significant portion of work-life research has been dedicated to identifying and measuring the bottom-line benefits of workplace flexibility on an organization and its employees. Unfortunately, there has been little attention paid to the challenges managers face when working to integrate flexibility/mobility into their work groups.

Yet a study conducted by New Ways of Working, LLC Alternative Workplace Strategies in the Current Economy: Results from New Ways of Working’s Benchmarking Study cited executive buy-in and manager resistance as two of the top three barriers to wider implementation of workplace flexibility. The 2011 “Survey on Workplace Flexibility” from World at Work clearly illustrates the importance of engaging managers in the culture change necessary to building a flexible workplace. The study found that more than a third (37%) of companies with well-established flexibility cultures train managers to be successful in a flexible work environment. By comparison, only 12% of organizations with developing flexibility initiatives provide their managers with training and resources.

Furthermore, during a recent focus group with managers participating in the National Workplace Flexibility (conducted by Boston College, Career/Life Alliance & Life Meets Work), managers said they did not have the understanding, tools or training needed to successfully lead their now flexible work teams. They also said the focus group was the only time they had been asked how they were doing in the flexible work environment.

Given that managers hold the key to effective, full-scale implementation of flexibility, but that most are ill-prepared or unable to manage in a way that supports a flexible culture, it is essential to enhance their knowledge, provide them with tools and develop their skills through specific workplace flexibility training.

Enhance Knowledge

Introducing managers to the business case for workplace flexibility will increase their understanding of and appreciation for the benefits flexibility brings to the business. They will learn that by increasing autonomy and commitment, flexibility will enable employees to become more innovative in their job, better able to identify problems and better able to go the extra mile in their role. As a result, this will help managers meet their business objectives.

One method of enhancing manager's knowledge is to fully communicate the challenges employees in the organization are experiencing; including metrics around turnover, absenteeism, and engagement scores. By using corporate and anecdotal evidence, one can show exactly how these issues impact the organization’s bottom line. The next step is to have managers provide stories illustrating their teams' challenges, followed by how these challenges impact the effectiveness of their department. Once the issues are outlined managers will be in an excellent position to understand workplace flexibility as a business strategy by providing them with external case studies along with examples of how flexibility is working in some areas of the organization.

Tools and Training

Insuring that managers have everything they need to succeed in a flexible workplace it is recommended that the main components of a flexible work team are covered by both tools and training. Those components include: performance management, communication, technology, and building/maintaining a strong team culture. Organizations can utilize internal L&D resources or contract with consultants, such as Career/Life Alliance Services, Inc., which provides workshops in these areas, to deliver consistent flexibility information for managers across the organization.

• Performance Management
  
  
  
  One of the many challenges managers face in both the traditional and flexible workplace is a quality performance management process. Every organization should have tools and training in place to assist managers in reviewing performance as part of their daily responsibilities, especially in a flexible work environment. One example of ongoing performance management include scheduling a daily check-in call, email or other outreach to confirm employees have what they need to meet their objectives.

• Communication
  
  As workplaces become more diverse in when, where and how work is done, the need to communicate properly becomes even more important to flexible teams who need to determine how and when to communicate. There are tools available for less traditional communication, including instant messaging, text messaging, Skype and Twitter. Managers also have to be mindful that the digital word can easily be misinterpreted from afar. It is important to provide training to ensure that managers keep their written communication clear of ambiguity, and more importantly, clear of causing any offense.
  
  Creating a communication strategy to use when an urgent matter arises is an additional process that must be developed in flexible teams. Managers should work with their employee group to identify one communication tool that will work for all members, and outline the response time that is expected when a critical issue arises.

• Technology
  
  Regarding meetings, flexible work teams must determine in advance when to hold them and how to conduct them. Technology provides a variety of choices — including Webex, GoToMeeting and Skype —for screen sharing and presentations. To engage team members, managers should create a feeling of meeting in the same room by making introductions and ensuring people understand why there are attending the meeting. This approach improves the discussion and the decision making.

• Team Culture
  
  Maintaining team spirit in a flexible work environment can be a challenge for managers. They need ideas on how to maintain the social aspect of their work group. By providing leadership training managers will get ideas about how to create time for the team to learn about each others’ personal lives. Sharing pictures of home offices, family and friends can be a great way for teams to feel connected. Other ideas include remembering birthdays, special occasions or recent successes, and announcing them during team meetings.

Conclusion

Flexibility is actually an elevated form of teamwork, dependent on managers who have the skills to define expectations, delegate and adapt to different work styles. Employers need to establish resources, such as the tools and training outlined above, so they can help managers create a flexible culture inside their work groups, which will help companies leverage workplace flexibility as a business strategy.

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Article Tags: alternative work arrangement, engagement, flexibility, FWA, human resources, mobility, organizational development, productivity, worklife



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