Continuing from yesterday’s post, here are the remaining steps for implementing flex schedules for your employees that work.
Step 4. Determine Flex Schedules You’ll Offer
It’s important to remember that not all employees or organizations will want or benefit from the same type of flex schedule options. Some employees may prefer to work remotely twice a week, while others would rather have their own hours, even if it’s the night shift, and others would prefer compressed schedules where they work 9 or 10 hours a day but only 4 days a week. There are a lot of possibilities outside of the typical 9–5, always-in-office options, so be sure to explore them all. And then determine which options will benefit your employees and your organization the most.
Step 5. Decide Who Will Be Eligible for Certain Types of Flex Schedules
Once you determine what types of flexible schedules you’ll offer, you’ll want to designate certain options by job roles and departments. For instance, an employee who needs to be present to handle machinery in person will have different schedule options than an employee in the finance department who handles budgeting. But both employees can still be provided with flex schedule options.
Step 6. Know What Technology You’ll Use for Flex Employees
Staying connected to your employees and keeping them accountable when they’re working different shifts or in different locations is essential, and the right technology makes all the difference. Make sure you know what platforms you’ll use for important announcements, project management, customer and order management, tracking billable hours, payroll, etc. And think of the virtual meeting platforms and other learning and development platforms you’ll want to use, too.
Step 7. Allow Your Employees to Make a Real Choice
While you won’t be able to logistically offer every potential flexible schedule option under the sun to every single employee, you should still make a genuine effort to offer them some choices. For instance, offer remote location possibilities and different working hours. Or, let employees decide which days they can work and not work each week, as long as they put in the required hours. Not every employee will want the same flex schedule options, so offer at least two or three options to keep it fair and reasonable. Or, you can simply ask employees in each department what they want or need and then offer options that make the most sense to them, their roles, and other relevant parameters.
Step 8. Train Managers to Handle Flex Schedules and Set a Good Example
To ensure your flex schedules are implemented effectively, train managers across departments. Teach them how to effectively manage their remote employees or employees who start working different shifts from one another via techniques and technology. And make sure they are setting a good example themselves if they’re also participating in flexible scheduling.
Step 9. Continually Evaluate Flex Schedules
If you set out to implement flex schedules to retain more employees, make sure the schedules are having that effect. And if you implemented flex schedules to increase employee productivity, make sure they continue to do that. And so on. Basically, make sure they’re accomplishing whatever you determined they should accomplish in steps one through three.
Follow the steps listed here and in yesterday’s post if you want to implement flex schedules for your employees that work.