Is flexible working effective working?

2020 has drastically changed the way we live our lives on a day-to-day basis. Over the past six months the working world has had to find a new way to function throughout the coronavirus pandemic as government lockdowns across the world enforced working from home and flexible working measures.

Having introduced flexible working back in 2016, we understand the importance of showing our staff that we trust them, so we were delighted to be among the 32 businesses who were interviewed as part of Flex Appeal’s ‘Forever Flex’ report created by Mother Pukka and Claremont, funded by Sir Robert McAlpine.

The report shows how 1,420 employers have used flexible working throughout the Covid-19 crisis. With over 71% of employers claiming that they were using flex and 53% planning to continue or adopt it, the report looks at how a flexible working approach can be sustainable over the long term by looking at key three themes:

• Opportunity: how to recognise the chance to change.
• Control: how to understand the power dynamics between colleagues.
• Beyond Education: how to use inspiration and practical tips to make flexible working work.

After introducing flexible working at a difficult time for the business, we haven’t looked back. It has been vital to our success, helping us to increase our diversity of talent, improve morale and increase profitability. From a more holistic view it has also helped the team think in different ways and ultimately helped our team better service the needs of international clients by flexing hours around different time zones.

So, when we were asked to comment within the report on how we can make flex work for businesses, we jumped at the chance and as Ben Hewlett (Partner, Infrastructure) says, “When you stop trying to control everything you get more energy, and when you’ve got more energy, you can do more.” Our productivity is at an all time high, and are results speak for themselves: our revenue got to £6 million, our NPS score is currently +61 and our completion percentage is 83%.

We’re delighted to be part of such a forward-thinking report that will hopefully make a huge difference for everyone across all industries, helping us all thrive in our professional and personal lives.

To read the full report, please visit: https://bit.ly/3jVsKaa