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Workplace Flexibility

Bridging the gap between policy and practice

Often there is a gap between and organisation’s flexibility policy and practice. As managers are the gatekeepers to implementing policy, bridging the gap between policy and practice means developing their knowledge about flexibility, confidence to deal with implementation issues, and practical skills. This article expands on these three core areas of manager's training and development.

Managers are the gatekeepers of flexibility for employees and are therefore critical to the effective implementation of a workplace flexibility policy.

What do we mean by effective?

Effective flexibility means that that flexibility is not just an idea on paper, but an accessible work practice. This means that when an employee starts using their flexible work arrangements, their manager supports them in a positive and practical way and there are no negative consequences (such as missing out on promotions or dealing with snide remarks from fellow workers).

But effectively implementing a flexibility policy doesn't happen by chance. It relies on mangers being:

“Flexibility can certainly help to solve some our human capital challenges, but it requires a mindset change and a much more creative view of possibilities.”

Kairen Harris, GM of HR, Shell Australia and New Zealand)

committed to flexibility and openly supporting flexibility practices;
effective role models for flexibility;
strongly supported by the business for using flexible work practices themselves;
knowledgeable about how to manage flexible work practices; and
confident to manage difficult implementation issues.

How can this be achieved?

What's essential is enhancing managers' knowledge, building their confidence and developing their skills through specialised training.

Enhancing knowledge

A little bit of knowledge goes a long way towards increasing a manager's motivation to implement a flexibility policy.

Managers need to know what's in it for them and understand the direct benefits flexibility will bring to the business. They need to realise that by increasing trust and commitment, flexibility can make employees more innovative in their job, able to identify problems more readily and go that extra mile in their role. In turn, this will help to meet a manager's business objectives.

Increasing a manager's knowledge of the wide range of flexibility options available means they're also more likely to develop a creative solution to the flexibility being sought.

Building confidence

Building a manager's confidence to deal with tricky implementation issues will help them to deal with problems upfront, rather than placing them in the "too hard" basket.

And a little bit of confidence can get rid of unfounded fears about flexibility, such as:

"letting one employee work flexibly will open a floodgate of requests for more"; or
"flexibility is sure to create conflict in our team".

Case studies showing how other mangers deal with similar concerns and problem solving tools can give them the confidence they need. For example, encouraging managers to acknowledge and reward a full time staff's increased workload, if this occurs.

Developing implementation skills

With increased knowledge and confidence, a number of skills can be taught to managers to make the implementation process easier. For example, how to:

talk openly and practically about flexibility options with the employee and the team;
think creatively about job re-design (for example, measuring outputs, not hours worked); and
evaluate the changes to discover the real impacts of the flexible work arrangement.

How can this be achieved?

By giving managers the necessary knowledge, confidence and skills, they'll help to create a business culture that's supportive of workplace flexibility, ensuring that the flexibility policy is implemented effectively.