
Companies that were unable to adapt to the new normal found it incredibly difficult to stay afloat, and it’s one of the reasons why millions of businesses around the globe were shuttered due to the pandemic.
On the other hand, many tech businesses flourished simply because they were able to quickly adapt and make flexi work arrangements.
The flexi work culture is more than just a trend; it’s here to stay. If you want your company to grow, you will want to make sure that you are able to adapt to a flexible work culture.
Why Adapt to a Flexible Work Culture?
There are a bunch of different reasons why companies should consider moving to a flexi work model. Let’s list each of these reasons one by one.
Reduces Operating Costs
One of the major reasons why your company should consider moving to a flexible work model is because it greatly reduces the operating costs of a business. If employees have the option of working from home, you are going to save money on running expenses in your office.
The lights will remain off and basic services needed to run an office will obviously be reduced. Ultimately, you will save a great deal of money in the process.
Employee Turnover Reduces
There’s an entire study that proves that adopting a flexi work model also reduces employee turnover and brings down the number of conflicts in the workplace.
This also links to another benefit: higher employee satisfaction. When employees know that you care about them and are willing to make flexible arrangements in keeping with their needs, they will be willing to go above and beyond for their employers.
Hiring Flexibility Increases
As you can see, there are a whole host of different benefits that you get for implementing flexible work arrangements. A key benefit that you will get out of this is that you will have higher hiring opportunities.
You will notice a major increase in the number of people who will be interested in your company. Companies that implement a flexible work environment are able to choose from a much greater talent pool as compared to other businesses.
Now that you know the benefits, let’s talk about the many steps that you can take to implement a flexi work culture in your company.
Planning
Before you make the announcement to your team, you have to make sure that you plan everything carefully. If you do not plan beforehand, you are effectively leading your company to disaster.
In this day and age, having properly executed schedules and being aware of the responsibilities of each employee is very important. You have to make sure that you set certain timings during the day when every member of your team has to be online.
It’s important that you do not lose the synergy between your team in pursuit of flexible work timings. It’s very important that you plan how the team is going to connect with each other, and make sure that you provide them with a suitable mode of communication.
Establishing Communication
Communication is of the utmost importance when it comes to working on a flexible schedule. As long as your team is able to communicate with each other and make sure that deadlines are not missed, there’s not a lot you have to worry about.
Thankfully, there are now a bunch of different apps that can be used to make a flexi work environment. Team management applications can integrate directly with project management solutions so that you know which employee is working on what.
It is perhaps vitally important that proper channels of communication are opened and maintained, otherwise there is a strong chance that productivity and performance are going to suffer dramatically.
Check-ins
Make sure that you stick to the hierarchy that was originally established within the company. There should be regular check-ins by the team leaders with each member of the team, and a meeting once a day is also important to ensure that everything is coming along smoothly.
On top of that, check-ins should be held with the team leaders and the upper management to discuss any shortfalls or dips in performance. There are going to be employees who will find it difficult to adjust to a flexible work schedule, which is understandable.
You have to make sure that you work with them and see what suits them. If they don’t like working in a flexible environment or if you feel that they are unable to pull their weight properly, it might be a wise idea to set regular timings with them.
Empathy
During the team meetings, you have to be a bit empathetic toward your employees. The pandemic has shown us that the workplace is unlikely to remain the same afterward. However, employees really like working with people who are able to understand what they are going through.
Empathy is critically important. If a worker is unable to deliver something on time, you should ask them why and then judge them based on their reasoning. Don’t take a hard-liner approach to work, as that could backfire drastically. You might end up losing some of your best employees as a result of that.
Be Willing to Adapt
One of the biggest changes that you will have to make to your working ideology is to keep an open mind. When your team becomes flexible and a different working culture is adopted, it is of the utmost importance that you must be willing to adapt accordingly.
There are going to be hurdles and problems from time to time, but as long as you have a dynamic team of professionals who are willing to adapt to anything that comes their way, your company will persevere.
These are just some of the tips to help you implement a flexi work environment.
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