How Flexible Working Can Help a Small Business
Flexible working has become a popular practice among small firms, with eight in 10 now offering staff the chance to work part-time, from home, or at unconventional hours, according to business campaigning firm peak b.
Nested’s Matt Robinson found his tech start-up’s staff to be more productive after encouraging them to work from home on Wednesdays. “As long as we’re seeing the results that we want, our employees are free to work as they like.”
The working style has also “revolutionised” Heather Baker’s PR agency TopLine Comms. “Employee satisfaction has greatly improved,” says the entrepreneur. “Staff tell us that it’s one of our top benefits.” “They can work from home or come in early,” she explains. “It also makes our workplace more appealing for parents, which expands our potential talent pool.”
Both entrepreneurs use online project management tools to ensure that remote workers communicate and keep in touch. “We use Slack, which helps us to organise projects, teams and ideas into streams,” says Robinson, who also uses Google Drive for easy document sharing. “All of us can work anytime and anywhere – even on our phones.”
But avoid tools that track people or their work, says George Olver of Movidiam, a marketplace for commissioning creative work. They “insinuate a lack of trust, which is vital for strong collaboration and staff relationships,” says the co-founder.
If employees who work flexibly are slacking off, it’s most likely a problem with a company’s culture, he adds. “If you create an environment where staff are accountable and empowered to make decisions, you won’t need a stopwatch on the production line.”
Vocabulary:
Flexible working – a type of working arrangement that gives employees choices about when, where, and how long they work, “The company offers flexible working, so I can work from home twice a week.”
firms – businesses or companies, especially professional ones, “Many small law firms have offices in this building.”
unconventional – different from what is ordinary, normal, or traditional, “She wore a bright yellow wedding dress, which was very unconventional.”
start-up – a newly created company that is designed to grow quickly, “He left his big corporate job to launch a technology start-up.”
revolutionised – completely changed something for the better, “The internet has revolutionised the way we find information.”
Employee satisfaction – how happy and content workers are with their jobs and workplace, “Providing free lunch on Fridays helped boost employee satisfaction.”
entrepreneur – a person who starts a business, taking financial risks in the hope of making a profit, “The young entrepreneur successfully opened her third clothing shop.”
appealing – attractive, interesting, or pleasing, “A clean office with large windows is very appealing to new workers.”
potential talent pool – the group of skilled and qualified people who might be available to be hired by a company, “Offering a high salary helps the company attract the best people from the potential talent pool.”
project management tools – software or apps used to organize, plan, and track work tasks within a team, “We use digital project management tools to make sure everyone finishes their tasks on time.”
remote workers – employees who perform their jobs from home or another location outside of the main company office, “The company has remote workers living in five different countries.”
keep in touch – (idiom) to maintain communication or stay in contact with someone, “We promised to keep in touch via email after the holiday.”
commissioning – paying an artist, designer, or professional to create a specific piece of work, “The museum is commissioning a local artist to paint a giant wall mural.”
insinuate – to suggest or imply something bad in an indirect way without stating it clearly, “Are you trying to insinuate that I made the mistake on purpose?”
vital – absolutely necessary or essential for something to succeed or survive, “Water is vital for the survival of all living things.”
collaboration – the act of working together with other people to achieve a shared goal, “The successful project was a result of great collaboration between the two teams.”
co-founder – a person who starts a company, school, or organization together with one or more other people, “He is the co-founder of the popular smartphone app.”
slacking off – (idiom) working lazily or wasting time when you should be doing your job, “The teacher told the students to stop slacking off and finish their writing.”
culture – the shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and habits of a group of people or a company, “The company’s culture is very friendly, and managers always listen to new ideas.”
accountable – completely responsible for your own decisions and actions, and willing to explain them if things go wrong, “As the team captain, she is accountable for the team’s final score.”
empowered – given the confidence, authority, or freedom to do something and make choices, “The new rule empowered cashiers to give customers discounts without asking a manager.”
stopwatch – a special watch used to measure the exact amount of time something takes, “The coach used a stopwatch to see how fast the runner could complete the lap.”
production line – a line of workers and machines in a factory where a product is put together step-by-step, “The toy cars move down the production line to get painted and packaged.”