Strategies for Flexible Success – Sussex Companies Lead the Way

Emma Cleary, Flexibility Matters, Winnie Man, Propellernet, Cat Harris Baby to Boardroom/First Central and The Work Links discussion group

 

According to a recent roundtable discussion involving prominent senior representatives of 14 Sussex businesses, with the right implementation, the rewards of a flexible workforce can far outweigh any of the challenges in getting there.

 

Initiated by ‘Work Links’, made up of Emma Cleary, Flexibility Matters, Winnie Man, Propellernet and Cat Harris, Baby to Boardroom, all companies involved shared some common challenges and their strategies for success.  Currently all offer flexible arrangements with part-time, working from home and flexible hours the most widely offered with core hours and job shares the least popular. Comparing this with national statistics sees a similar trend and, with 87% of UK employees either working flexibly already or wanting to, it’s clear businesses increasingly need to consider recruiting flexibly to retain the best talent.

 

Discussions recognised the key implementation challenges facing all the companies were:

• Enabling the flexible working mindset to filter through multiple levels of management, especially difficult within larger more traditional organisations.
• Managing the large variety of work patterns and different needs of regional offices.
• Tackling tech, training and communication issues at a team level.

 

To realise the rewards of a flexible workforce, it was established that five key things are needed:

• A cultural core value shift that requires implementation from the very top, led by example and evident in CEOs and line managers working flexibly themselves.
• Promotion of success stories regarding retention, talent and productivity.
• A clear set of implementation steps and management strategies that act as a guideline.
• Flexible working options to feature within role advertising to attract the best talent.
• Fostering a results-based culture rather than focusing on time spent at work.

 

Flexibility Matters Director, Emma Cleary enthuses: “Following the success of gathering some influential heads in Brighton to discuss flexible working strategies for success, we’re really excited to be now rolling this out across Croydon and Crawley with a view to formulating some best practice guidelines with all findings”.

 

If you’re looking for a flexible and experienced professional, contact Emma and the team at Flexibility Matters on 0781 0541 599 or 01273 842 288.

www.flexibilitymatters.co.uk