FLEX is a Four-letter Word

Wednesday, May 20, 2015 1:34 PM by Betty Brennan in Other


Nobody likes change.  Well, pretty much nobody.

A while back we asked our staff what we could do to continue making constant improvements around the workplace, and they responded with “offer flextime.” We cringed. How could we coordinate so many individuals’ schedules? How would we keep track of when people are here and not here? How in the world can we meet our deadlines with people working odd hours? This was a certain path to chaos.

Highly Rated Benefit

Flexible work schedules are one of the highest rated benefits that a company can offer to staff.  After this suggestion was made, we began researching and exploring, and ultimately decided to entertain the suggestion.

After initial research, we completed a pro/con analysis, and then decided to move forward one step at a time. We took our time and made sure this was well thought-out; it’s not exactly the type of thing you want to give your staff a taste of, only to decide it doesn’t work and ultimately take the benefit away.

Success!

Though we were completely terrified apprehensive at first, flextime has been a big success. We’ve had 99% (in my completely unscientific estimate) success with the flextime policy that we developed and implemented.

Some details on what’s working for us:

  • We established “core” hours when all staff is required to be in the office.

  • Arrival to work is a 2-hour window, and departure is a 3-hour window (depending on how staff uses their time for lunch).

  • We allow staff to choose their weekly schedule – 8-hour days/5-day per. week, 4 nine-hour days and a half-day on Friday, four ten-hour days with Fridays off, etc.

We have some exceptions and limitations to this policy, as we must remain flexible given the nature of our project-based business.  We did, however, gain an unintended benefit: we use our outlook calendars far more effectively now.  It’s really turned out to be a win-win for the company and for our staff.

Of course, if and when flextime is offered, it needs to be developed to meet the needs of each individual company, and may not work for everyone.  Rules and policies may need to vary.  For further reading, check out this article from Entrepreneur.

Do you have a flex-time policy? How does it work for you?

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