Employer's Perspective

I attended a conference today for Human Resources (HR) executives where they addressed current trends and challenges in managing employees. I faciliated a discussion on flexible work and had the opportunity to learn about what kind of flexibility some companies offer, and some of the challenges that employers face.

All of the HR executives were very interested in offering flexible work for a variety of reasons. They all clearly understood that flexible work is something that employees want, and that offering flexible work could improve employee recruitment and retention.

But, they were not all convinced that it could work. The main concern shared by all in the group was accountability. They were concerned about whether or not employees working in an alternate arrangement were really getting their work done.

Many said managers were at such a loss on how to manage workers in a flexible work arrangement, and that they preferred that workers stay on a traditional schedule. But as I asked the group, do you really know employees are working just because they are at their desks? Is an employee sitting at at desk really working, or are they playing computer games? Or talking on the phone? Or just staring off into space?

The key to making a flexible work arrangement work is to have clear measurements of productivity. How can you show your boss that you are productive while working at home? The easier you can make it for your boss to know that you are working hard whether you are working early in the day or at home, the more likely your boss will appreciate that you are getting your job done. And that is what your company cares about.