And it's a wrap...
It was, as always, wonderful to see so many of the fantastic companies we work with or know at our "Flex: A Whole New World" event. As well as listening to some truly inspirational speakers, we had the chance to talk to many of you about the future of your businesses and how you see the world of flex moving forwards. One of the most exciting things that we noticed about the conversations which were taking place yesterday, both formal and informal, was how very normalised flexible working now is. When Helen started 9-2-3 Jobs back in 2015, candidates would come to us feeling anxious about how to find flexible work or part-time jobs, or how to return to work after a career break. Hybrid roles for working parents were still relatively uncommon at that point, and returning to work after maternity leave could sometimes feel like a fraught experience. Clients would speak to us wondering whether it would be feasible to offer part-time jobs for professionals within their companies, or whether it would be possible to offer flexible roles within their industries. Thank goodness, the conversation has moved on in leaps and bounds since then; we're now discussing which specific kinds of flexible working options bring most advantages to our organisations. There has been a profound change - we believe, for the better - in working culture; it seems very unlikely that the clock will ever now be turned back.
The range of topics which arose was so broad that it's not possible to report back on all that was covered, but we thought that it might be useful to sum up some of the themes and discussions of the day, in case they might be of interest. We'll be revisiting many of these issues in more detail in blogs over the coming weeks, so do watch this space as well as our social media channels!
The biggest threads which flowed through discussions and presentations were:
1. The importance of good communication.
a. Firstly, it's sensible to think about the need for communication between businesses and their employees when making changes - if we're trying to increase job satisfaction, improve staff retention and attract great new employees, we all need to create a working culture where everyone can be open and honest about what works for them - and, crucially, where they can speak up if something is no longer working. Stephen Green, of Holland Green, talked about how his team had actually been empowered to design their 4 day week framework themselves, rather than it being decided by the management team;
b. Secondly, communication between line managers and their direct reports on a daily basis is crucial - line managers need to get to know their team well enough to be able to have conversations about whether a particular way of working is helping or hindering an employee in doing their job. Jo Haggas, an experienced HR consultant, talked about the importance of being proactive in helping your business to make future plans. Knowing your people well and having ongoing discussions about how your team member likes to work can enable you to be more agile in finding the most efficient working patterns or arrangements for your organisation. One employee may have chosen to share with you that they have caring responsibilities - others may prefer not to work remotely because they feel uncomfortable having confidential work conversations in a house share. Megan Dawkins of the Old Fire Station agreed that even if your business can't always accommodate, for example, remote working, then knowing your team and their motivations well can help you to think about any smaller changes you can make to help them achieve their professional objectives. And what about those hopefully-rare situations where things go pear-shaped and a particular working arrangement isn't working out? Jo also emphasised the need to build a good enough relationship with your team that you're able to notice any "red flags". Has someone suddenly turned off their screen for zoom calls, for example? Have you perhaps noticed that they're logged in and working all weekend - do they need a gentle reminder to switch off at sensible times?
c. Thirdly, communication with our wider business networks at regular intervals is in everyone's interests; it's always worthwhile putting some time into sharing our collective experiences about what worked well and what challenges to avoid. If someone else has tried something which turned out to be expensive or controversial with their team, it's probably best to be armed with that information before you embark upon a similar path. Even if we put aside for a moment those most obvious, purely financial drivers, the mutual support we can get from building these new business relationships can also be priceless - especially if they can help to guide you through a period of transition in your organisation.
2. The need to appreciate that there isn't a "one size fits all" solution.
There are more different ways to work than we've had hot dinners, and humans being, well, human, they'll often have very different strengths, weaknesses and preferences. Some of your team members will absolutely jump at the chance to work remotely; they may have been wondering how to find a remote job, or how to negotiate a remote role, for years. As Emma McGregor, Commercial Director of Bloxham Mill, pointed out, however, others won't have the mental or physical space at home to do that comfortably - perhaps these individuals might prefer the work-life balance that comes with a hybrid job, or a co-working space . Some employees will be beside themselves with joy at the prospect of a 4 day week - Sadie Patamia, Commercial Operations and Compliance Manager at OXLEP, noted that others may be anxious about whether they will be able to achieve the same outcomes in 4 days as they did in 5. We shouldn't assume that because one individual is seeking a hybrid role, that all of their colleagues will want to follow suit and work flexibly. Again, it's important to really get to know your employees, to think about how they work best. The aim, of course, is to ensure that your best team members will stay with your organisation in the long term - and it's worth putting some thought into what working arrangements would achieve that outcome.
3. The benefits of taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.
Ultimately, we all want to recruit fantastic team members, retain our best staff and build our businesses. Sometimes, it can be hard to find the time to see the wood for the trees. However, 80% of managers now believe that a flexible working offering of some kind - from remote roles to hybrid working opportunities, from part-time jobs to job-shares - is essential in attracting and retaining talent. This gives rise to a new landscape. Can any of us afford not to make the time to consider how to incentivise our teams with effective working arrangements? You might be the founder of a smaller business, like Sarah Stone of Stone Barrell, and able to set your own boundaries from the very beginning. Alternatively, the pandemic may have taken your working practices down a new avenue, as explained by Rebecca Halifax, Commercial and Operations Director at Tech City Teams, which won the UK Company Culture Awards Remote Team of the Year 2023. You may already be on a path to corporate flexibility, or just setting out and exploring your options. Whatever your situation, Rebecca's presentation on remote working really helped to demonstrate the huge benefits to organisations of building flexibility into the very heart of our businesses - in terms of profitability, productivity and team experience.
Moving forward
A number of you mentioned during the event that discussions had led you to think about your own company's flexible working journey. If you'd like to discuss this with us further, we'd love to hear from you. 9-2-3 has been shouting about all things flexible since 2015 - we love to chat about flexible working and how your organisations can offer great flexible job opportunities for professionals, and to hear all about the myriad ways in which organisations are looking at these issues.
Finally...
We had a fascinating morning, talking to companies of varying sizes from a huge range of sectors, and to people who carry out an exciting variety of roles. We came away feeling excited that the future's bright for great talent seeking flexible and part-time professional roles. We'd like to leave you with a quote from one of yesterday's speakers:
“Everyone contributed such interesting ideas and thinking, I left very inspired. 9-2-3 are doing fantastic work around this and I would love to support more however I can. Please do more of these events, a great chance to meet other businesses and learn from each other.”
Megan Dawkins-Cook, Head of HR and Operations at Arts at the Old Fire Station