Flexible working 'must be communicated to staff' according to online recruitment company

If a company has decided to introduce flexible working for its employees, managers must ensure that are communicating the new practices with their staff, an expert believes.

Susan Yallop, a director at Adecco, told Management Today that fundamental shifts in working practices can initially be daunting for both employers and their staff.

As a result, she claims that employees must fully understand what their company's flexible working policy entails.

This is so they are then aware of what they can and cannot do.

Ms Yallop said: Allow some room for manoeuvre at first, but set a reasonable deadline for when new systems can be expected to be up and running smoothly.

People also like routine, reminds a spokesperson for ClickAJob.

Sudden changes make staff feel uneasy, as if something is seriously wrong, he says.

That means you need their buy-in before new systems are put into place - if they are enthusiastic, most of the challenges just disappear.

Remember too, that change takes getting used to - for instance, it's a major switch-around, starting to work from home, he points out.

In related news, the Trades Union Congress has previously stated that introducing flexible working can be beneficial as it helps employees to juggle their work-life balance and can enable a firm to cut costs.