Flexible Working that Works

Freerange Works is a People and Culture Consultancy that was brought to life to meet the demand of the changing workforce.

Millennials and Gen Z rank ‘Flexibility’ and a ‘Positive Workplace Culture’ as top priorities when choosing a company to work for. This is an important thing to consider when businesses are competing for top talent.

Flexible working has moved well past mums or dads returning to work; it is about fitting work into your life rather than the other way around. The 9 to 5 working pattern just doesn’t suit the way our communities operate in a modern world.

New technologies – such as the many cloud-based and mobile apps – are driving the revolution. People no longer need to be in ‘the’ office to be productive. In fact, the opposite is true. When set up correctly the benefits of flexible working are undisputed. However, the barriers to acceptance are still strong.

Driving a Movement

There are misconceptions around what it means to be a flexible workplace; employers don’t always trust their employees, managers lack the tools and training to manage flexible workers effectively, and business owners can be resistant to change.

Being a flexible workplace requires a shift to managing by outputs instead of hours. Business owners and employers need to ask themselves – what would be happening in their business, the results they’d physically see, if everyone did what they were hired to do?

Do they need to SEE their people doing their jobs in order for them to achieve these outputs?

By setting meaningful KPIs with their people and ensuring managers are upskilled and confident to manage by outcomes, it will not matter where and when the work is being done and opens up a whole raft of flexible working options for themselves and their people.