Flexible Working Arrangements: The Best Ways to Stand Out
- August 7, 2023
- Posted by: Hannah Ingram
- Categories: Employee Engagement, HR Advice & Support
Flexible Working Bill Tips
As this new flexible working bill comes into effect on 6th April 2024, it will set apart businesses that are ahead of the game in their flexible working arrangement. Here are some ways to help you stand out. First up…
What is flexible working?
Flexible working allows employees to tweak their working arrangements to suit their work and home lives and when done right can increase motivation, performance and wellbeing.
Types of flexible working can include job sharing, remote working, working from home, hybrid working, part time and compressed hours. It may also comprise of flexitime arrangements such as choosing their start and end times (the employer may have core hours for example 10-3pm to help with customer support and team collaboration). Annualised hours and staggered hours are other flexible working arrangements mentioned by Gov.UK
Flexible Working Arrangements: How to Stand Out
Internal Communication
You may wish to make an announcement to your employees informing them of the changes, once the 2024 date for compliance is announced. This will help you build trust with your employees by being transparent.
Hybrid Working Development Sessions
There are several ways you can get the most out of your hybrid team. One of the ways you can achieve this is by using development sessions. Ideally through an organisational consultancy team. For example, we offer insight sessions on:
- Creating good habits for remote working
- Re-energise yourself – An antidote to the exhaustion of hybrid working
- Triggering flow – Activate a state of pure, positive motivation
Transparency in hiring
You can gain a deeper understanding of your potential hires preferred ways of working. This will allow you to:
- Access if the job role is right for them
- Plan ahead for how their preferences might fit with the existing team
However you need to be careful not to discriminate against people, for example against neurodivergent people or those who disclose that they have kids. Therefore the questions you ask in the hiring process need to be considered carefully. You can explore inclusive hiring and HR practices with our team if you need support.
Attracting new talent
“By using the tagline ‘Happy to Talk Flexible Working’ in job advertisements, employers can open up recruitment to wider talent pools and create fairer and more inclusive workplaces. This transparency supports workers to ask for flexibility and helps to normalise the conversation for all groups.
Many organisations are facing the dual challenges of skills shortages and talent retention issues and we know that offering flexible working can go a long way towards tackling these problems.” Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD and Chair of the Government’s Flexible Working Taskforce.
Go above and beyond
As people’s rights around flexible working increase it will be harder to stand out as an employee.
Our blog on the 4-day working week and 9 alternatives allows you to consider other ways to attract and retain staff. We help businesses explore ways to attract great talent, hire brilliant people and create better employee experiences.
Speak to us if you’d like to explore how to stand out as an employer, make the most of flexible working or discuss any HR support you may need around this.
We love inspiring people and delivering results.
N.B. Please note that the information in this blog was created based on the integrity of reputable links at the time of publishing. These blogs should be used for guidance only, you should always check information further before taking action as sources may update over time. Talk Staff holds no responsibility for implementation or loss
