Flexible working can open the door to new opportunities for companies to provide a more productive, happier culture. Emily Andrews investigates the ways in which companies can approach flexible working

The traditional working model – with its fixed, nine-to-five, office-based structure – appears to be on its way out. Businesses are embracing a flexible style of work in order to improve conditions and cut costs. Whatever the impact upon the bottom line, it is clear that employees are responding positively to this change. Businesses, in turn, are learning to adapt and evolve in order to maintain their reputation as an attractive employer.

Flexible working can mean anything from part-time working, term-time working and job sharing to home- working, compressed hours and flexitime (flexible start and finish times). It doesn’t exclusively mean working from home. Despite part-time work being the most common type of flexible work on offer, employees tend to prefer flexitime and working from home.

The PRCA’s In-house Benchmarking Report revealed that 17% of organisations polled provide no flexible working opportunities, but 72% allow remote working from home, and 64% allow flexitime. However its 2015 Consultancy Benchmarking Report revealed that only 3% of PR agencies do not provide their employees with any kind of flexible working option, 83% of agencies allow senior staff members to have the opportunity to work from home, while 72% provide senior staff with the opportunity to work part-time and 60% of agencies allow senior staff to work flexitime. Flexible arrangements tend to be most common in the public sector and among larger organisations. According to the 2013 Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS), nearly four-fifths of senior managers offer some kind of flexible or alternative working option.

A major issue driving the demand for flexible working is gender equality and a desire to keep female talent beyond motherhood. A flexible approach to working that allows parents to be at home when they’re needed for childcare is essential for the retention of experienced and valued professionals. Alison Clarke, founder of Alison Clarke Communications says, “I think it’s very important that we capture the talent that we’ve invested in and benefitted from, and that we don’t lose it just because someone elects to have a family. We need to be better at being flexible to capture the talent that, otherwise, we lose.”

Brands that take steps to better enable flexible working, and give their employees the freedom to take control of their working day, will reap the rewards of attracting the best talent, improving retention and growing employee engagement

Flexible working helps businesses to improve upon their diversity credentials, which is consistently shown to improve productivity. A 2014 study conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and George Washington University found that, although people are generally happier working with employees of the same gender, gender-diverse teams tend to be more productive.

In a 2012 Forbes Insights study, Diversity & Inclusion: Unlocking Global Potential – Global Diversity Rankings by Country, Sector and Occupation, Norway ranked number one for the most diverse workforce worldwide on account of its gender equality (Norway enforces corporate board gender quotas). One of the study’s ‘future diversity trends’ stated, “In order to keep older people and women in the workforce, more companies will offer flexible work schedules. And given the global shift toward service industries, it is easier for employees to work from home, thus allowing parents of young children to continue to participate in the labour market.” Women are a large group that benefits from the flexible working model, but they are, by no means, the only one.

Deloitte is one company that takes its flexible working very seriously. As part of its Deloitte Retention and Advancement of Women (DRAW) programme, Deloitte Middle East implemented flexible and part-time policies. Rana Ghandour Salhab, talent & communications partner at Deloitte Middle East, said in the Forbes Insights study, “It is very unusual for any company in the Middle East to offer flextime policies while also supporting people who take advantage of these policies in advancing their careers, but we knew it was important if we wanted to retain women.”

Emma Codd, Deloitte’s managing partner for talent says, “Deloitte is committed to ensuring that it has a culture and environment in which our people are able to balance a successful career with commitments outside of work – whether that is family, other caring commitments or other interests. While this environment is critical when it comes to keeping our female talent, we are clear that it is important to all our people, including our fathers who wish to be involved in family commitments.” Deloitte’s WorkAgility programme also includes initiatives such as the Time Out scheme, which allows employees to take four weeks of unpaid leave at any time of year, without reason or justification, at a time that suits both them and their business area.

Unfortunately, says Mary Whenman, interim comms director at Callcredit, the predominant assumption is that women who require a more flexible approach to work can cause a problem. She says, “The biggest challenge around flexible working is with men. It’s viewed as more acceptable for women, there’s always the assumption that they have some kind of caregiving requirement that needs flexibility.” The result, according to Whenman, is that men can feel embarrassed to accept a more flexible working model. There is still a stigma, among some, that hours spent in the office are more valuable than hours spent working from home or elsewhere.

However, besides older employees and women, flexible working is also a popular choice among the younger generations; an indication that, in the future, it is likely to become the norm. In the past decade, digital and technology have made remote working far more practical and achievable, to the mutual satisfaction of both the employer and the employee.

Rob Brown, 2016 president at CIPR says, “Effective flexible working takes advantage of technologies to streamline business processes, leading to better productivity and output. A reliable, fast connection into your firm’s VPN is a must. Fast broadband at home and 4G on the go are also valuable.” Brands that take steps to better enable flexible working, and give their employees the freedom to take control of their working day, will reap the rewards of attracting the best talent, improving retention and growing employee engagement. Flexible working can be a significant competitive advantage.

Flexible working, understandably, is widely favoured by employees who want, and expect, more control over their work-life balance. Codd says, “Our people are very clear that they look for a good work-life balance that enables them to pursue interests outside work alongside a successful career.” With busier schedules and, often, households that include more than one full-time worker, a flexible approach allows people to find a way of working that suits their lifestyles, and has a positive effect on their productivity.

Matt Cartmell, communications, marketing and events director at the PRCA, says creativity is another advantage for the employee, “Flexibility of working routine enables greater creativity within the working day – changing your environment, even if it’s simply by working from home, is one way in which the mind can loosen its shackles and allow more creative thinking to come to the forefront.”

In 2014, the Tory and Liberal-Democrat coalition backed the flexible working agenda; legislation requires businesses to discuss flexible working options with employees. Although flexible working was formally introduced in 2003, it was generally for parents and carers. The new legislation stipulates that any employee can make a flexible working request, and that it be resolved by the employer within a ‘reasonable timeframe.’ Jenny Willott, the minister for employment relations in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in a speech at the Business Benefit of Flexible Working Conference, “My department, and the Department for Work and Pensions, have organised this event because flexible working is central to how the coalition government sees employment in the future.” To the employer delegates, the conference highlighted the business benefits of flexible working.

Brown says, “When implemented effectively, flexible working policies reduce churn and increase productivity. Organisations that take advantage of flexible working will often see a bottom line benefit. Ultimately, flexible working can help organisations retain staff, improve efficiency, boost organisational reputation and increase the morale, motivation and productivity of a workforce. Put simply, flexible working is a prerequisite for successful organisations operating in 2016.”

However, whether flexible working alone can have an impact on the bottom line is a matter of debate. The WERS found that, allowing for the effect of size and sector, the number and type of flexible working arrangements available to employees was not significantly related to better than average financial performance. However, beyond financial performance alone, the benefits of flexible working are clear. In terms of employee engagement and crafting a strong brand reputation, both internally and externally, flexible working can be very effective, and even essential.

Clarke says that flexible working, “Touches multiple points; it’s people’s desires and needs, it’s us making sure we don’t lose the talent we’ve invested in and it’s also, commercially, what makes sense because of the shifting buying patterns of clients.”

Flexible working also allows businesses to reduce the amount spent on offices, often a major expense. Remote working is commercially viable since it means that a business can commit to less office space. Clarke says, “We need to have a more flexible workforce, which, frankly, there is a huge opportunity to create because we know people want more flexible working, but also, we need more flexible working space.”

Spaces specifically designed for freelance workers, complete with comfortable seating, eating areas and Wi-Fi, have sprung-up around the world and provide people with the chance to work remotely without feeling isolated. Working alongside other people, after all, is conducive for creativity and innovation, as well, for many, general wellbeing. Communications practitioners, in particular, are often the type of people who enjoy and benefit from being around other people.

The Asia-Pacific Journal of Human Resources says flexible working leads to lower turnover, greater employee engagement and a less psychological strain. However, the success of these programmes is highly dependent on workplace cultural norms, and company culture plays a significant role. Codd says, “I have never missed a school event and work from home one day a week so I can drop off and collect my children. I am able to do this because I am judged on output, trusted and respected to make the right choices and because I am open and honest about the way that I work and my colleagues in turn are open and honest with me. These are the principles we ensure are embedded within our business and underpin the way we work.”

If employees are engaged with the brand and their work, then flexible working can increase productivity, but managers need to trust their employees with that autonomy. “Being successful in your career isn’t just about spending time at your desk, it’s down to overall performance and we need to move away from this culture of presenteeism,” adds Codd.

For larger organisations looking to implement a more flexible approach to working, the company culture is crucial. The transition might be easier for smaller, younger companies, who were cultivated in a digital world that easily enables flexible working, but for larger organisations, it may be more of a challenge, and an evolution. Whatever the rate of progression, it is likely that flexible working will, before long, become the new normal.