Ways to make your workplace more flexible

Flexibility in the workplace allows employers and employees to decide about working conditions that suit them. This helps employees maintain a work / life balance and can help employers improve the productivity and efficiency of their business.  Flexible working arrangements have traditionally been viewed as a special privilege for employees. Here are some of the way’s flexibility can benefit your business and strategies you can employ to make a flexible workplace a reality.

Start with a Plan

Freedom and flexibility will make your employees feel well-treated and respected but maintaining productivity and keeping track of your bottom line really come down to effective management and personal accountability. Don’t start implementing more flexible workplace policy or design elements without establishing a plan to manage how different spaces are to be used, how flex-time will be managed and who will approve it. Be sure to include communication as a cornerstone to your flex strategy. Remember, Flexible doesn’t equal lenient. If you aim to be a truly flexible organization, how and where your team work should be left up to them, but accountability and deliverables should be well-defined and well communicated from the get-go. Source: apexfacility

Think creatively

Your team should be encouraged to explore different avenues for fostering creativity and accomplishing work goals with a new mindset. Those who tend to stick to the same tried-and-true methods are likely to have decreased flexibility and will resist change. Be prepared to give your team a little extra effort. Source: bizjournals

Be Open-Minded

You'll likely find it easier to understand and manage a situation if you look at it from different perspectives. For example, if you're looking to launch a new product, you might first like to analyze it from different viewpoints.

How will it fit into the marketplace, for instance? What will the impact be on your production process, and your sales and marketing teams? How do you think your customers will react to it?

Make it a priority to listen to and understand the views of the other people involved. If your manager asks you to help out on an urgent project, for example, consider how it will benefit the team or your career, rather than simply thinking, "Oh no, not more work!" Source: mindtools

A better work-life balance

The biggest reason most workers want a flexible workplace is to spend more time with their families. Cutting out the commute, cutting down hours (job share) and flexi-hours all help to facilitate more quality family time. If your family’s happy, then you’re happy and usually better equipped to deal with work demands. Source: cpacareermentor

Give employees time to think

Allowing your employees to go for runs may also have more benefits than just making them happy. While we are engaged in aerobic exercise, our brains convert to alpha waves, indicating our brains are in a default-state typically connected to daydreaming or meditation. Research shows that alpha waves reduce stress and boost creativity and innovation — supporting the proverbial “I got my idea while in the shower” notion.

Giving your employees time away from drilling down into email, communicating in meetings or marathon-ing through a project -- the activities associated with beta and gamma brain waves -- allows them the mental energy to individually brainstorm, internalize information and devise some of their best action plans. This means managers should encourage breaks, whether it's a stroll around the block or a face-to-face interaction. Source: entrepreneur

Consider Culture

Organisational and team cultures are critical to the success of workplaces where employees can access flexibility for all roles and for any reason, and can have successful, engaged careers. Source: flexibleworkingday

Establish Good Communication

Communication plays a huge role in flexible work arrangements. One of the main reasons flex work programs fail is because of lack of communication. There’s no excuse for miscommunication, especially with all the available online team collaboration programs. Slack, Yammer, and numerous instant messenger programs are just some examples of software tools that promote consistent and solid communication among telecommuting employees.

Additionally, a regularly scheduled ‘check-in’ via weekly or monthly group meetings can aid managers and leaders in monitoring telework. During the planning phase, institute both formal and informal systems for ensuring that flexible work arrangements are productive. Be sure to include fail safes that end the ability to work flexibly for employees who don’t meet productivity goals. It’s important to communicate to everyone involved that the flexible work schedule is predicated on meeting certain goals and completing assigned tasks. Source: risesmart

Know that not everyone will be a good flexible worker

Telecommuting and working flexible schedules require specific traits that not everyone has. But don't shut down the entire flex-work program just because a few people aren't cut out for it. Instead, consider other perks that can be offered to employees for whom flex work isn't a good option, while continuing to let the majority of employees take advantage of work flexibility. Source: businessnewsdaily