The flexible route to productivity - How technology can change attitudes to flexible working

The Governmentís proposals to extend the current right to request flexible working to parents of older children has placed further pressure on employers to incorporate effective practices for flexible and mobile working. Christian Berenger from Auto Time Solutions investigates how technology can help.

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The Governmentís commitment to increasing flexible working for working parents of children up to the age of 16 from April 2009 has been met with a mixed response.

While many have welcomed the proposal, acknowledging that flexibility is becoming a critical retention and recruiting tool, others have expressed their concerns about practical problems: mainly in how best to manage flexible working practices.

With the introduction of flexible working legislation, a growing awareness of the environmental impacts of travel, and a realisation among the business community of the cost benefits of flexible working, employment away from the office has never been so popular. However, managers are still finding it difficult to lead and motivate flexible teams.

Bosses are highly sympathetic to the notion of flexible working, but in practice find it difficult to break from the mindset of ëpresenteeismí. The UKís professional culture is still built on long hours ñ if youíre visible, youíre accountable. However in reality, this means companies are rewarding people who take a long time to get the job done, rather than those who do it most effectively.

Fostering a flexible approach can prove to be an extremely welcome addition and worthwhile investment. Permitting employees to work office hours that suit them, or at home if need be, opens up the possibility for organisations to employ high calibre staff from a wider pool of applicants. Having a range of different working arrangements available will make it easier to appeal to different groups of potential employees such as students (juggling work and their study schedule), parents with young children, freelances, and older workers wishing to make a gradual move towards retirement.

It is also a good way to improve staff morale and improve the retention of current employees, especially those with childcare responsibilities and mothers on maternity leave who are often driven out of work from companies where rigid working hours are in place. A flexible approach will allow them to combine high-level work with family commitments and for employers, forego the enormous cost of replacing senior staff.

For those employers still apprehensive over the implementation of a flexible working policy they can at least draw comfort from the fact that the technology is widely available to address any concerns they may have about managing a disparate workforce.

Time Management Systems have advanced considerably over the past decade and are now key management tools for companies that embrace flexible working, however complex a shift pattern may be. They now not only include vital management information on training, appraisals, work schedules, health and safety and emergency roll calls, but also work seamlessly with most payroll and HR packages to automate the entire process and relieve HR staff from mundane paper work ñ freeing up time for them to concentrate on their revenue-generating core competencies.

Web-based self-service applications are becoming the preferred choice for organisations looking for increased flexibility. For employees it gives them more control over their working time, allowing them to view schedules, book holidays and view flexitime balances, while for employers they provide easy access to the information they need to plan, manage and administer workplace attendance from anywhere in the world.

Introducing flexible working patterns from fixed, remote offices or as home workers is now a feasible option. Employees are rising to the challenge and organisations can now use whatever flexible work policies they need in order to maximise their business performance.

Flexible working is high on the employee agenda, but it now needs to move up the priority list for employers. UK organisations must overhaul their outdated office working practices now if they are to inspire staff, increase profits and compete effectively in the global marketplace in the future. The successful companies of the future will not wait until they are forced to address these issues. Instead, they will actively develop and support the flexible working strategies required to deliver long-term competitive advantage.