The Bar Has Just Been Raised on Flexible Work
Featured Guest Blogger November 24th, 2009
Sandy Burud, Ph.D., is a researcher, consultant and author on human capital and work-life. She is the Chief Strategy Officer for FlexPaths, a flexibility-focused software platform for employers and employment portal for individuals. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.
I reported new research at the 2009 Working Mother Congress that reveals where the 100 Best stand in creating cultures in which flexible work can thrive. The headline is that 95% of the 100 Best say that flexible ways of working at their organizations is now considered the new “normal” — their standard way of doing business. Not one or two — 95%. That’s news, and a call to action for any company that competes for labor or reputation or strives to be a great place to work.
Considering that an essential element of culture is what’s considered ‘normal’, nothing could be more telling about how flex work is morphing into simply the way work gets done.
The report, Mastering the Art of a Flexible Culture, explains why these organizations have been working to change their culture to encourage flex … rather than simply ‘allow’ it. Not a response to employees — valuable as that may be, 94% report that it is essential to the business strategy — but an imperative. The business rationale has broadened; 86% include it in sustainability/ environmental strategies, 74% in facilities planning, 75% in disaster planning.
While most say they use every trick in the book to build flex solidly into the way they do business, three untapped opportunities emerged that may be the next step in progress: 1) including flex competencies into manager hiring criteria and compensation, 2) taking better advantage of new online technologies to ensure flex work arrangements are transparent, fair and consistent — critical in the increasingly intense legal environment, and 3) getting a better handle on how to measure the impact on business (not just HR) outcomes.
The research was sponsored by Procter & Gamble and completed by FlexPaths and Working Mother Media with data from the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers award application survey and seven case studies. Procter & Gamble, American Express, E&Y, IBM, Citi, Cisco, and Deloitte shared the lessons learned in building their flexible cultures. Their stories are fascinating, rich with tips and each organization’s unique brand of a flexible culture.
You can download the full report or an executive summary on FlexPaths or Working Mother Media’s websites or by contacting us directly.
Thanks for the link to Working Mother Media’s. The shift to judging work performance based on outcomes, rather than time in the office, has made it easier to validate that Flex Works!
Don’t just “raise the bar” rather cross over it. An office is not location based, it should be performance based. Let’s get to work, not go to work. For companies ready to start implementing flex work, a major concern is the existing real estate. Allow us to offset your overhead by monetizing the unused space.