FLEXIBLE WORKING: IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION AN EMPLOYER SURVEY

Transcription

1 Survey report February 2005 FLEXIBLE WORKING: IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION AN EMPLOYER SURVEY

2 Contents Summary of key findings 2 Research findings 4 Range and availability of flexible working 5 Motivations for using flexible working 8 Perceived effects of flexible working 9 Take-up and evaluation 11 The challenge of communication and implementation 15 Flexible working in context 21 Background to the survey 24 Further reading 26 Acknowledgements 27 Flexible working: impact and implementation 1

3 Summary of key findings The Flexible Working: Impact and implementation 2005 survey explores how organisations are making use of flexible working practices, their motivations for doing so, and the effects they are seeing on their businesses. It also seeks to understand some of the challenges around the effective implementation of flexible working. HR professionals from 585 UK organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors took part in the survey. A working party was set up in association with the CIPD s research into flexible working. This included HR professionals involved in managing flexible working in their own organisations, academics, and representatives from the Department for Trade and Industry, all of whom have driven recent legislative developments in this area. This group contributed to the preparation of the survey questionnaire and their comments in response to the survey findings are used in the report s commentary. Range and availability of flexible working Organisations offer a combination of informal and formal arrangements for flexible working. The most prevalent flexible working practice is parttime working, with nine in ten survey respondents offering this option to their employees. Four in ten organisations enhance the statutory right to request flexible working, for example, by making it available to carers or to all employees. Over half of the organisations in the survey offer maternity provisions which go beyond minimum legislative requirements. This includes one in four businesses with less than 50 employees. Motivations for using flexible working Survey participants are most likely to report helping retain staff and meeting employees needs as reasons for using flexible working practices. Forty-seven per cent and 43% of organisations respectively cite these as very important reasons for making use of flexible working practices. One in four survey participants cite supporting business needs as a very important reason for using flexible working. The same proportion believe that meeting customers needs is a very important reason for flexible working. More than three in ten respondents report helping recruitment as a very important reason for using flexible working practices. Perceived effects of flexible working Retention is most likely to be affected positively as a result of implementing flexible working practices. One in three survey participants (27%) perceive flexible working to have had a major positive effect on retention and a further half (47%) believe it has had a positive effect. Two-thirds of HR professionals (70%) perceive employee motivation as having benefited from the implementation of flexible working practices. Over half of those surveyed believe that recruitment has benefited from the implementation of flexible working practices. 2 Flexible working: impact and implementation

4 Take-up and evaluation Survey respondents estimate that just over a quarter (26%) of their employees currently make use of flexible working arrangements. Take-up is reportedly highest in the smallest (less than 50 employees) and the largest (more than 5,000 employees) organisations. Both report take-up by 29% of their staff. An increase in the number of employees making use of flexible working arrangements in the last three years is reported by almost two-thirds of those surveyed. The increase in uptake is on average 20%. Flexible working in context In terms of family-friendly provisions, over a third of survey respondents (36%) make special arrangements for employees who have caring responsibilities. Childcare provision is also made available by a third of organisations in our survey. Eldercare provisions, however, are only offered by a very small number of employers (4%). In terms of encouraging functional flexibility, employers are most likely to give their people extra training to enable them to cover other jobs (46%). Private sector services are most likely to report an increase in take-up over the last three years. Monitoring flexible working take-up is most likely to take place on an ad hoc basis. The challenge of communication and implementation The most commonly reported constraint on implementing flexible working practices is operational pressures. Over two-thirds of those surveyed believe this is a very important constraint. Concerns about line managers ability to manage individuals working more flexibly and their attitudes to flexible working also emerge as major constraints. Almost half (45%) of survey respondents say line managers report difficulties implementing flexible working practices. Senior-level support and the prevailing organisational culture also pose significant challenges. The CIPD believes that flexible working arrangements can play a valuable role in organisational performance. HR s role is not to promote flexible working as an end in itself, but to look for opportunities to use flexible working where employee needs and business needs coincide. A central issue is how to implement and operate flexible working policies in practice, to create a positive and supportive culture and to deliver the potential benefits they offer, in terms of competitive performance and employee well-being. This Survey Report provides an insight into organisations experiences and challenges when it comes to managing the impact and implementation of flexible working. The CIPD is currently preparing a practical Guide on this subject which will follow up on the issues discussed here. This will be available on the CIPD website in summer Flexible working: impact and implementation 3

5 Research findings This research follows the CIPD survey, Flexible Working and Paternity Leave: The full rate for fatherhood, carried out in October Whereas the previous survey was based on employees perceptions and experiences, this research focuses on HR professionals experience of flexible working in their organisations. At the CIPD we were keen to look beyond the endorsement that most organisations give to flexible working at a rhetorical level. We wanted to understand more about their motivations for doing so and the challenges of making flexible working arrangements work in practice. This research therefore aims to improve our understanding of: the range and availability of flexible working practices motivations for organisations use of flexible working organisations perceptions of the effects of flexible working how organisations are monitoring take-up and evaluating flexible working practices the challenge of communication and implementation. 4 Flexible working: impact and implementation

6 Range and availability of flexible working We first wanted to capture the range of flexible working practices that organisations in the UK are using. Flexibility in the workplace is a nebulous concept. For the purpose of this research we provided participants with a definition of what we mean when referring to flexible working practices in our survey questionnaire. or from home) of work. It also explores the areas of flexible working that involve the individual spending time away from the business, by considering careers breaks, secondments and time off for community work. For the purpose of this survey, flexible working practices refers to the length of time an employee works, where they carry out the work, and the pattern of working, including leave or other absence taken from work. The CIPD working party also felt it was important for this research to begin to develop an understanding of how organisations are more broadly applying the principle of flexibility. Information gathered on this related subject is included in Flexible working in context (page 21). Table 1 (pages 6 and 7) shows current practices in the area of flexible working. Part-time working, unsurprisingly, is the most common form of flexible working. In fact, the UK is one of the European countries with the highest proportion of part-time workers. The CIPD working party commented that in many organisations part-time working is now so ingrained it no longer appears to represent an example of flexible working. The rest of the table provides information about the extent to which organisations offer other options on the timing (for example, flexitime) and location (mobile In practice, flexible working doesn t operate as a straightforward basket of options from which employees pick and choose. In reality, organisations make decisions about which employees are able to work flexibly (for example, in view of the nature of the work they do and the operational requirements of the business they are in). Some forms of flexible working are driven by business needs rather than the employee s. Annual hours frequently falls into this category, as can part-time working. In addition, a form of flexible working being widely available in theory doesn t necessarily mean that it s widely used by employees. This issue was explored in more detail in the CIPD s Survey Report, Flexible Working and Paternity Leave, carried out in It found, for example, that only one in ten employees who have the option available to them use job-sharing. The current Survey Report examines take-up of flexible working practices among men and women and across different occupational groups (pages 12 13). Table 1b demonstrates that formal policy is not the only means by which organisations operate flexible working practices. Flexible working can be seen rather as a series of arrangements both formal and informal that you make with the people you employ. In recent years, a sequence of new legislation has come into force relating to flexible working practices. Flexible working: impact and implementation 5

7 In the run-up to the 2005 General Election, the political parties are making statements regarding the action they would take in areas such as maternity and paternity leave and the right to request flexible working, introduced in April Members of the CIPD working party emphasised that making policies available that go beyond the minimum required by legislation is an important part of their employment brand and a valuable recruitment and retention tool. As Table 2 shows, of the organisations that took part in the survey, almost four in ten have extended the right to request flexible working beyond the current legislative requirement (which covers parents with Table 1a: Organisations current practices regarding flexible working: availability (%) Total availability Available only to some staff Available to all staff Part-time working Term-time working Job-share Flexitime Compressed hours (eg 4-day week) Annual hours Working from home on a regular basis Mobile working Career breaks/sabbaticals Secondment to another organisation Time off for work in the community Base: 585 Table 1b: Organisations current practices regarding flexible working: formality (%) Formal policy No formal policy: informal arrangements Part-time working Term-time working Job-share Flexitime Compressed hours (eg 4-day week) Annual hours Working from home on a regular basis Mobile working 9 16 Career breaks/sabbaticals Secondment to another organisation Time off for work in the community Base: Flexible working: impact and implementation

8 Table 1c: Organisations intentions to introduce/withdraw flexible working practices (%) Considering introduction Considering withdrawal Part-time working 1 0 Term-time working 4 1 Job-share 2 0 Flexitime 3 1 Compressed hours (eg 4-day week) 3 0 Annual hours 3 0 Working from home on a regular basis 4 0 Mobile working 1 0 Career breaks/sabbaticals 4 0 Secondment to another organisation 2 0 Time off for work in the community 2 0 Base: 585 Table 2: Areas where organisations operate policies that go beyond the level required by legislation (%) Offer more than statutory minimum Extended availability Extended length Enhanced pay Right to request flexible working Maternity provisions Paternity provisions Parental leave Dependants leave Base: 585 children aged under six, or under 18 where the child is disabled). Among organisations represented in the working party, this option was frequently made available to employees with caring responsibilities. Over half of the organisations participating in the survey already enhance statutory maternity provisions, most frequently by enhancing maternity pay. Smaller organisations are often portrayed in the media as struggling to meet legislative requirements in this area. We found that, in fact, 37% of organisations with fewer than 50 employees did enhance statutory maternity provisions. One in five organisations have already enhanced statutory paternity arrangements. One in ten organisations have improved the level of pay available, which recent CIPD research, published in the Survey Report, Flexible Working and Paternity Leave: The full rate for fatherhood (2004), found was the main barrier to new fathers taking their paternity leave entitlement. The extended availability of maternity, paternity and parental leave provisions refers to organisations that make these available prior to qualifying periods specified in law. To qualify for additional statutory maternity leave and paternity leave, 26 weeks service is required. For parental leave, the statutory qualifying period is one year. Flexible working: impact and implementation 7

9 Motivations for using flexible working We also used this research to understand the reasons why organisations were making use of flexible working practices. Participating organisations were asked to rate a range of possible reasons on a scale of 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). The results in Figure 1 below demonstrate that organisations are certainly not driven by legislative requirements alone. In the eyes of the HR professionals completing the survey, helping recruitment and in particular retention are powerful motivators for using flexible working. Being seen to meet employees needs is clearly an important part of this (highlighted as a very important reason by 43%). The working party commented that the public and notfor-profit sectors were more likely to be motivated to use flexible working as a recruitment and retention tool, as they didn t always have the capacity to offer the same levels of pay as the private sector. In 2004, the CIPD Survey Report on recruitment, retention and turnover also showed that these sectors experience the highest levels of recruitment difficulties. Meeting customers needs and supporting business needs also emerge as important drivers. Of the organisations surveyed, 39% selected meeting customers needs and 38% selected supporting business needs as very important reasons for using flexible working. This could be, for example, businesses using different employees desires to work at different times to extend opening hours or increase service levels. Figure 1: Reasons why organisations make use of flexible working practices Base: Flexible working: impact and implementation

10 Perceived effects of flexible working We asked survey participants to rate the effect of implementing flexible working practices on their organisation in a range of different areas. The results are shown in Table 3. A desire to improve retention is the most popular motivation for making use of flexible working practices and HR professionals appear to believe they are seeing results in this respect. Almost one in three participants (27%) perceive flexible working as having had a major positive effect on retention and almost half (47%) say it has had a positive effect. The psychological contract emerges as the next biggest area to have benefited positively from the implementation of flexible working practices. The psychological contract is the relationship of mutual obligations between employer and employee. Issues such as fair treatment and trust lie at the heart of this relationship. Seventy per cent of survey respondents believe that implementing flexible working practices has a positive effect on employee motivation. Over half of organisations feel that recruitment has benefited from the implementation of flexible working practices. The positive effect of flexible working in this area will bring broader benefits. CIPD research has shown that a positive psychological contract results in high commitment to the organisation, high motivation, and a sense of satisfaction and well-being. Table 3: Effect of implementing flexible working practices on the organisation 1 major negative effect major positive effect Mean Retention Motivation Recruitment Psychological contract Productivity Absence Customer service Teamworking Knowledge-sharing Base: 574 Don t know Flexible working: impact and implementation 9

11 Productivity is another area where HR professionals see positive effects. Understanding how a positive impact on productivity has been achieved by organisations is outside the scope of this report. However, the CIPD s research, published in Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the black box (2003), is relevant here. Work life balance is identified as one of those HR policies or practices that is particularly influential on employee attitudes. Where this influence is positive, employees are more likely to exhibit discretionary behaviour or to go the extra mile for their organisation. The beneficial effects of flexible working on managing absence levels were noted by almost one-quarter of survey respondents (24%). The CIPD working party made the observation that when, for example, individuals are equipped and able to work from home, they may feel able to do some work on occasions when a long commute would not be possible. One member of the working party commented that, in her organisation, responsibility for devising the staffing roster has been handed over from the manager to team members. This has contributed to an improvement in absence levels (for example, employees were more easily able to swap shifts when necessary). Only a small proportion of those surveyed have experienced any negative effect on customer service levels as a result of flexible working. Teamworking was slightly more problematical. 10 Flexible working: impact and implementation

12 Take-up and evaluation The survey explored the extent to which flexible working arrangements are being used by organisations employees, how they are monitoring the take-up of these new ways of working, and what formal evaluation of their flexible working arrangements organisations carry out. We asked organisations to approximate the percentage of their employees currently making use of flexible working arrangements (see Table 4). The results demonstrate that the proportion of employees working flexibly is highest in the public sector (42%) followed by the not-for-profit sector (33%). Manufacturing and production makes least use of flexible working. It s helpful to consider these results alongside the CIPD s recent Survey Report, Flexible Working and Paternity Leave (2004). It provided an insight into the relationship between the availability and the take-up of flexible working practices. Seven in ten workers (70%) take advantage of their employers offer of variable working hours, whereas just one in ten with the opportunity actually use job-sharing. We also explored the take-up of flexible working arrangements in organisations of different sizes. As shown in Table 5, this was highest in the smallest organisations (fewer than 50 employees) and in the largest organisations (more than 5,001 employees). In these organisations, 29% of employees make use of flexible working arrangements compared with an average of 26% across all organisations surveyed. Table 4: Estimated percentage of employees currently making use of flexible working arrangements, by industry sector Manufacturing and production 11 Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Table 5: Estimated percentage of employees currently making use of flexible working arrangements, by organisation size Fewer than 50 employees , ,001 5, ,001 employees + 29 All organisations 26 Base: Private sector services 19 Public sector services 42 All sectors 26 Base: 530 The CIPD working party suggested that this could be because the smallest organisations are more likely to operate cobbled together, informal arrangements that reflect their size, and the largest organisations are more likely to have sophisticated, well-communicated policies in place. Flexible working: impact and implementation 11

13 Table 6: Changes in the total number of employees making use of flexible working arrangements compared with three years ago (%) Manufacturing and production Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Private sector services Public sector services All sectors Increased About the same Decreased Don t know Base: 557 Our research sought to understand how HR professionals see the future development of flexible ways of working. We asked whether they expect the current proportion of employees working flexibly to increase in the next three years. Sixty-eight per cent of respondent organisations expect an increase, with private sector service organisations most likely to agree (72%). The average predicted increase, based on survey participants responses, is 18%. We explored, on the basis of gender and occupational group, which individuals within a company are most likely to take up flexible working arrangements. The results are shown in Figure 2. Unsurprisingly, most organisations (78%) report that women make more frequent use of opportunities to work more flexibly. Table 7: Estimated increase in last three years (%) Manufacturing and production 16 Voluntary, community and not-for-profit 24 Private sector services 22 Public sector services 19 All sectors 20 Base: 530 We asked organisations which occupational groups are able to access flexible working opportunities. Findings are shown in Table 8. Manual/craft workers are the least likely to have access to these opportunities with two in ten survey respondents (18%) reporting that flexible working isn t available to these employees. Where flexible working is available, senior managers and graduate trainees are the least likely to make use of it. People working in administrative, secretarial and Figure 2: Difference between the proportion of men and women making use of flexible working arrangements (%) 12 Flexible working: impact and implementation

14 Table 8: Take-up of flexible working by occupational group (%) Flexible working is available to this group Take-up High Medium Low Senior managers Professional staff Middle/junior managers Administrative, secretarial and technical Sales and customer service Manual/craft workers Graduate trainees Base: organisations employing the relevant occupational group technical areas are the most likely to take advantage of the flexible working arrangements available. The CIPD working party suggested that enabling all employees to request flexible working arrangements (rather than just parents with young children, as identified by current legislation) is helpful in demonstrating fairness to all employees. If expectations are managed, this doesn t mean creating an entitlement culture. Rather, it means that everyone can see that their requests are being considered on the same basis, and bearing in mind the operational needs of the business. This can also help make it easier to accommodate requests for flexible working. Once there is a critical mass of people wishing to work flexibly not only parents this increases the chances of finding a workable solution for the team. This is because not all those seeking to work flexibly will want the same kind of day-time hours, when childcare facilities are more readily available. In some circumstances this could help deal with business challenges such as extending opening hours or the times at which a member of the team is available to handle internal and external customer enquiries. Figure 3: Monitoring take-up of flexible working (%) Flexible working: impact and implementation 13

15 The survey explored what kind of monitoring and evaluation takes place in organisations. We found that where this was taking place, this was most likely to be on an ad hoc basis. As Figure 3 shows, over onequarter of organisations carry out formal monitoring. The CIPD working party commented that the ability of employers to monitor the take-up of flexible working arrangements would be partly dependent on the sophistication of their HR information systems and the quality of the management information available. One-fifth of organisations (22%) had carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of one or more of their flexible working practices in the 12 months up to the survey. We asked what factors those organisations had considered when carrying out the evaluation. The results are shown in Figure 4. The findings demonstrate that employers take into account a combination of factors when reviewing their flexible working arrangements. These range from metrics such as absence and turnover through to more qualitative information gathered using staff attitude survey findings and feedback from focus groups. One factor in Figure 4 makes reference to the proportion of flexible working requests declined. Previous CIPD research among employees touching on this subject suggests that in practice requests are rarely declined. Flexible Working and Paternity Leave suggested that 87% of individuals who asked for more flexible working arrangements had been granted their request. Evaluation and monitoring of this kind by HR is vital if the benefits of using more flexible working practices are to be recognised and promoted by the wider business. Figure 4: Factors considered in evaluating the effectiveness of flexible working practices (%) Take-up rates for flexible working practices Employee opinion/staff attitude survey findings Absence rates Percentage of women returning from maternity leave Exit data Business outputs Turnover rates Number of flexible working requests/appeals against those declined Employee focus groups Information from staff appraisals Use of resources Don't know Base: 124 (organisations that had conducted an evaluation in previous 12 months) 14 Flexible working: impact and implementation

16 The challenge of communication and implementation The CIPD Research Report, Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the black box (2003), discusses the rhetoric reality gap that can exist between HR policy and practice. This survey explores the challenge of operationalising flexible working practices. We asked survey participants to assess the levels of awareness among their employees of flexible working policies (see Figure 5). Results varied according to industry sector. Awareness was judged to be highest among public sector respondents. This is indicative of the effort parts of the public sector have invested in high-profile initiatives, such as Improving Working Lives in the NHS. The need to clearly allocate responsibility for the awareness and delivery of flexible working practices was noted by the CIPD working party. This was significant in the context of the changing face of the HR department. Where, in the past, local HR representatives may have driven awareness, support for line managers will in some cases have been replaced by advice via a remote HR service centre. This means that it s now more important for front-line managers to be supportive of flexible working and able to promote it to their people. It was also suggested that there s a need to ensure follow-through after the initial establishment of flexible working arrangements. After the flurry of activity surrounding the launch, it s important to embed the idea of ongoing monitoring and evaluation. We asked organisations about the channels they use to communicate their flexible working policies. The findings are shown in Table 9 (page 16). Once again, the public sector is most likely to publicise policies at the recruitment stage and during induction. Figure 5: Awareness of flexible working policies, by industry sector (%) Base: 578 Flexible working: impact and implementation 15

17 Table 9: Ways in which employees are made aware of organisations policies regarding flexible working arrangements (%) Via the employee handbook Manufacturing and production Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Private sector services Public sector services All sectors During induction In recruitment interviews Intranet In the employee contract In recruitment advertising Training managers to communicate policy Base: The CIPD working party felt that this reflects the public sector s desire to flag up to candidates the benefits of flexible working because they can t always match private sector levels of pay. One member of the CIPD working party highlighted the need to ensure that managers don t inappropriately and enthusiastically over-promise regarding flexible working options at the recruitment stage. His organisation had encountered operational difficulties after a new team member had been taken on to do a shift pattern that didn t fit with the needs of the business. However, the willingness to make this option available was due to the line manager s desire to use flexible working to aid recruitment in a tight labour market. The survey looked at factors that constrained the implementation of flexible working practices (shown in Table 10). Operational pressures are the most significant constraint for organisations when implementing flexible working practices. This includes concerns about damage to service levels and ensuring continued productivity. Evidence elsewhere in the survey suggests that, while concerns in this area can act as a barrier, in reality they are not always born out. Table 3 (page 9) shows that in practice, customer service levels and productivity benefit from flexible working practices in most organisations. This is likely to be as a result of careful planning and management regarding employees take-up of flexible working. Line managers ability to manage individuals working more flexibly and the attitudes they have to flexible working practices are also major constraints. This reflects the findings of Bringing Policies to Life: The vital role of front line managers in people management, a CIPD Executive Briefing (2004), which emphasises the importance of line managers in translating formal policy statements into practice. Senior-level support is a significant factor when implementing any major initiative. The current survey s findings demonstrate that this still poses an important challenge for many organisations with regard to introducing more flexible working practices. Organisational culture is also a significant factor, according to our findings. The CIPD working party agreed and emphasised the importance of management style when seeking to implement and embed flexible working practices. For organisations with a command and control style of management, flexible working 16 Flexible working: impact and implementation

18 Table 10: Main constraints on implementing flexible working practices (%) 1 not important very important Mean Operational pressures Customer/service requirements Line managers ability to effectively line manage flexible workers Line management attitudes Existing organisational culture Lack of senior level support Don t know Financial restraints Technological constraints Employee lack of interest Employee resistance Base: 556 practices can be seen as a threat to management authority. Close supervision and managing employees on the basis of their presenteesim (ie time spent at their desk) is difficult to reconcile when operating more flexible working arrangements. For these to be effective, a more participative style is needed and the relationship between employee and employer requires more trust. The findings in Table 10 suggest that employee resistance or lack of interest in flexible working policies is rarely a problem (although this report has already noted the fact that men are less likely to take up flexible working arrangements than women). As discussed on page 16, the role of line managers is crucial in bringing flexible working policies to life. Among the HR professionals taking part in the survey, 45% said that line managers in their organisations report difficulties implementing flexible working practices. This figure should be treated with a degree of caution. For example, HR professionals are more likely to hear about difficulties in implementation (which may be in the minority) than when a request for flexible working had been dealt with smoothly. The working party also raised the point that some managers will already have been informally operating flexible working arrangements with their people over the years, as they have instinctively seen the value in this. Where a large organisational initiative is being rolled out, it will be important to make sure these people buy into the overarching company policy and approach to flexible working, rather than continuing to operate a series of ad hoc arrangements. Flexible working: impact and implementation 17

19 Figure 6: Problems reported by line managers when dealing with flexible working requests (%) Base: = not reported as a problem, 5 = reported as a significant problem The most frequently reported concern was demonstrating fairness between different employees (see Figure 6). As discussed on page 13, enabling all employees to request flexible working arrangements was identified by members of the CIPD working party as being helpful in this respect. Without this process in place, there is a danger that some employees will be unfairly burdened with late nights and tight deadlines, while those with children will not. of criteria against which flexible working requests are assessed is clearly important in these circumstances. The challenges of demonstrating fairness to different groups of employees can sometimes be addressed by making use of self-rostering. When the roster for a team is devised by its members rather than a manager, people are better able to recognise the importance of balancing business with individual needs. Members of the working party also emphasised the importance of having a fair and transparent process so that employees feel they are being treated equally. The decision-making process in one organisation was discussed by the working party. It involves taking three main factors into account: the individual (for example, their working skills, style and preferences), the nature of their role (for example, how much time is spent out of the office and working with office-based colleagues), and the needs of their team. As well as reporting difficulties in implementing flexible working practices, line managers express concerns about their ability to manage a team with a larger number of flexible workers, particularly about controlling workflow and effectively managing the performance of their team. Some managers also see communication with their team as generally more difficult. With this in mind, HR professionals should be aware of the need to ensure that line managers have adequate skills in performance management when introducing It emerged that in some organisations difficulties had flexible working practices. arisen when competing requests for flexible working had been received, and where accommodating both was not supportive of business needs. A transparent set 18 Flexible working: impact and implementation

20 Table 11 shows a variety of support for line managers. Training courses are used by only 14% of organisations. The CIPD working party s experience suggests that these are most effective when they are short and punchy. An important element should be the business case for flexible working, so managers understand what s in this for me? when it comes to managing flexible working in practice. Supplementary information from an employee perspective is available in the Flexible Working and Paternity Leave Survey Report (2004). It revealed, for example, that 77% of those surveyed had never requested more flexible working arrangements. The main reason for this (cited by 61%) was that they were happy with their current working arrangements. Figure 7 provides an insight into HR s view on why employees might be inhibited in asking for flexible working arrangements. This reflects the perception of the HR professionals taking part in the survey. There are no significant differences in the responses. Table 11: Support provided to help line managers deal with requests for flexible working (%) Coaching/feedback from HR 86 Information about legal requirements 79 Written advice/guidance 66 Advice/guidance on intranet 41 Training courses 14 Base 566 Figure 7: What factors prevent employees asking for flexible working arrangements? (%) Base: 570 Flexible working: impact and implementation 19

21 Figure 8: Steps being taken to address employees concerns about requesting flexible working arrangements (%) Base: 477 Figure 8 provides information about the kind of action employers are taking to allay concerns that employees may have about requesting flexible working. Following the survey s findings regarding awareness levels of flexible working policies among employees (page 15), the most popular initiative is improving communication (mentioned by 62% of respondents). Staff opinion surveys are also being used by around half of the organisations to gauge how employees feel about their employer s flexible working practices. Over one-third of respondents are highlighting flexible working arrangements in job advertisements. Concerns about the effective performance management of employees working more flexibly have already been mentioned in this report (page 18). Employers are taking steps to prevent this challenge inhibiting employees from requesting flexible working. This includes placing emphasis on the quality of an individual s work rather than the time they are present at work (37%), and focusing job descriptions on outputs (29%). Encouraging managers to act as role models by taking up flexible working options themselves was also mentioned by around one-third of survey respondents. 20 Flexible working: impact and implementation

22 Flexible working in context Flexible working can be interpreted in a number of ways. Until now we ve focused on flexible working practices relating to the length of time an employee works, where they carry out their work, and their pattern of working. The final part of this report will go some way to placing this form of flexible working in a wider context. Figure 9 demonstrates the availability of family-friendly provisions among the survey participants. In view of the Government s suggested changes to the right to request flexible working to include carers, it s interesting to see that over one-third of organisations already have special arrangements for those with caring responsibilities. A similar proportion make some form of childcare provision available. As discussed in the CIPD Change Agenda, The Challenge of the Age (2003), employers face major challenges associated with an ageing population. Eldercare is the area where employee demand will grow most in the future. At present, only 4% of the organisations taking part in this survey make eldercare provision available. The CIPD working party discussed how short-term employer assistance in areas such as childcare could really make a difference. For example, it s likely to be impractical for a smaller employer to provide a crèche. But making emergency childcare provisions available (for example, for employees to use when their regular childminder is unwell) can really make a difference. Figure 9: Availability of related family-friendly provisions, all sectors (%) Base: 568 Flexible working: impact and implementation 21

23 Table 12: Availability of family-friendly provisions, by industry sector (%) Special arrangements for those with caring responsibilities Manufacturing and production Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Private sector services Public sector services Childcare provision Eldercare provision None of the above We also looked at which practices organisations operated relating to functional flexibility. The CIPD working party discussed how the operation of more flexible working practices can be linked to initiatives relating to less rigid ways of working, which enable employees to carry out a broader range of work. Examples include multi-skilling, reshaping job roles and encouraging employees to take on more ownership for the way their team operates. Tables 13 and 14 provide a snapshot of this aspect of flexibility across industry sectors and in organisations of various sizes. Table 13: Operation of practices relating to functional flexibility, by industry sector (%) Employees are given extra training to cover other jobs Employees are asked to carry out a greater variety of work Work improvement groups/quality circles Manufacturing and production Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Private sector services Public sector services All sectors Job rotation None of the above Base: Flexible working: impact and implementation

24 Table 14: Operation of practices relating to functional flexibility, by organisational size Employees are given extra training to cover other jobs Employees are asked to carry out a greater variety of work Work improvement groups/quality circles Fewer than 50 employees ,000 1,001 5,000 5,001 employees Job rotation None of the above Base: 562 Flexible working: impact and implementation 23

25 Background to the survey This survey was carried out in October/November The questionnaire was sent to HR professionals in the private, public and voluntary sectors. In total, 585 responses were received, 552 paper-based and 33 electronic. Figure 10: Locations of staff (all respondents) A profile of the survey respondents is provided in Figures 10 and 11, and Table 15. Note on the tables in the report: All figures in the tables in the Survey Report have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. Figure 11: Breakdown of sample, by organisation size (number of people employed by organisations in the UK) 24 Flexible working: impact and implementation

26 Table 15: Industrial sector of respondents Manufacturing and production Percentage of respondents Number of respondents Chemicals, pharmaceuticals and oil 3 18 Construction 1 3 Electricity, gas and water 1 6 Engineering and metals 4 22 Food, drink and tobacco 2 11 General manufacturing 4 21 Paper and printing 1 5 Textiles 1 6 Other manufacturing/production 5 28 Private sector services Call centres 1 4 Communications 2 10 Finance, insurance and real estate 7 38 Hotels, catering and leisure 2 13 IT services 3 15 Media and publishing 2 12 Professional services 7 40 Retail and wholesale 6 33 Transport and storage 2 12 Other private services 7 41 Voluntary, community and not-for-profit Care services 1 3 Charity services 4 25 Housing association 3 17 Other voluntary 2 14 Public sector services Central government 6 33 Local government (including police/fire) Education 6 35 Health 9 51 Other public sector services 4 23 Flexible working: impact and implementation 25

27 Further reading Free for CIPD members to download from the Information Resources section of the CIPD website: CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2003) The challenge of the age. Change Agenda. London: CIPD. CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2004) Flexible working and paternity leave: the full rate for fatherhood. Survey Report. London: CIPD. CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT. (2004) Recruitment, retention and turnover 2004: a survey of the UK and Ireland. Survey Report. London: CIPD. The CIPD is planning to publish a Guide on implementing flexible working practices for members. This will be available in summer Available from the CIPD online bookstore: CLUTTERBUCK, D. (2003) Managing work life balance: a guide for HR in achieving organisational and individual change. London: CIPD. HUTCHINSON, S. and PURCELL, J. (2003) Bringing policies to life: the vital role of front-line managers in people management. Executive Briefing. London: CIPD. PURCELL, J., KINNIE, N. and HUTCHINSON, S. (2003) Understanding the people and performance link: unlocking the black box. Research Report. London: CIPD. STREDWICK, J. and ELLIS, S. (2005) Flexible working. 2nd ed. London: CIPD. 26 Flexible working: impact and implementation

28 Acknowledgements The CIPD is grateful to all the organisations that participated in the survey. In particular we would like to thank members of the CIPD working party for flexible working who helped shape the survey questionnaire and shared their observations on the research findings. CIPD flexible working party members Anne Woolcott, Head of HR Policy and Practice, Serco Limited Chris Brown, Director, Hawridge Consultancy David Clutterbuck, Clutterbuck Associates Debbie Whitton, Change Project Manager, London Borough of Sutton Diane Houston, Professor of Psychology, Work Life Balance Research Group, University of Kent Kieran Scott, Employee Relations Manager, Telewest Mark Pullen, Employee Relations, Assistant Director, DTI Peri Thomas, HR Policy Manager, Loop Pete Jeffery, Director of HR, St Mungos Simonetta Manfredi, Co-director, Centre for Diversity Policy Research, Oxford Brookes University Teresa Kavanagh, Diversity Manager, Centrica plc John Stredwick, Luton University Julie Fisher, Project Leader: Improving Services, Balancing Lives, Sheffield County Council This Survey Report was written by Rebecca Clake, CIPD Adviser, Organisation and Resourcing. Flexible working: impact and implementation 27

29 Notes 28 Flexible working: impact and implementation

30 We explore leading-edge people management and development issues through our research. Our aim is to share knowledge, increase learning and understanding, and help our members make informed decisions about improving practice in their organisations. We produce many resources on people resourcing issues including guides, books, practical tools, surveys and research reports. We also organise a number of conferences, events and training courses. Please visit to find out more. Issued: February 2005 Reference: 3257 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 151 The Broadway London SW19 1JQ Tel: Fax: [email protected] Website: Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered charity no Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2005