Flexibility isn’t just for office-based jobs: how internal comms can help businesses improve their offering for frontline workers
The debate around flexible working feels very negative right now, with stories everywhere of employees being forced back into the office, in many cases because management don’t trust they’re as productive at home. Most of the companies involved are large employers and the data suggests that smaller companies are still much more open to the benefits of flexible- or hybrid-working. But what all these companies have in common is that it’s their desk-based employees they’re trying to bring back. Yet what about the almost half of the UK workforce which often gets forgotten in this debate – frontline workers?
A report from Timewise recently described the rights of this group of people as being ‘frozen in time’ and said that the UK now has a ‘two tier workforce’: those who work at a desk and can enjoy all the benefits flexible working brings – and those who don’t.
At Cosy Meerkat we’d love to see more frontline employees given access to the same flexible-working opportunities desk-based workers enjoy. So, to inspire you, we thought we’d look at what the trailblazers are doing, as well as the role Internal Comms can play in helping to facilitate flexible working for frontline workers.
Getting the balance right
It is undoubtedly much harder to embrace flexible working as an employer if most of your employees work in pubs and restaurants, on construction sites, in warehouses, factories or hospitals. It’s why flexible working, let alone hybrid or homeworking, has never really felt like a possibility for this group. But there are companies who are doing it well. One example is BAM Construct UK.
Flexible working for construction workers
BAM started looking at how to give their site-based staff more flexibility before the pandemic and according to their HR Director, Andrea Singh, their philosophy now is ‘“how can we make flexibility work?” not, “can we make it work?”’
Each request for flexibility is looked at individually and treated on merit. They allow some of their staff to work from home a few days a week where they can, but it’s not just about that. They’ll also consider staggered start or finish times, split shifts, flexible lunch or break times, job sharing and even small things like shared team calendars and having defined times for teams being in the same place for collaboration. The idea is not everyone will get the same flexibility – it does depend on the nature of their job – but that everyone can have some flexibility.
Flexible working trials in healthcare and retail
Other employers looking to improve their flexible working opportunities for frontline employees are Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, as well as Wickes and Sir Robert McAlpine, who all took part in a two-year trial by Timewise to evaluate the impact of flexible working policies aimed at frontline workers. It found it was practically possible even in ‘hard to flex’ roles, but it needed the support of senior leaders and to be driven by teams at a local level. When that happened, workers reported improved health and wellbeing, a better work-life balance, and a desire to stay longer with their employer. What’s more, all the organisations involved in the trial have said they feel it’s been so successful they plan to scale up their flexible working offerings to make sure every employee can benefit.
What IC can do to support improved flexible working for frontline workers
While it has to be senior management who drive a culture change like this, there are things Internal Comms can do to help move things along:
Use your influence. IC teams can influence leadership decisions by surfacing employee voices, and finding both case studies and external research to share. Don’t underestimate your influence: consider using your storytelling skills to showcase success stories from organisations that have implemented flexible working well, helping to build momentum internally.
Listen to employees. If there is interest among management in looking at opportunities for flexible working, survey your employees to find out what kind of flexibility they want. This will help identify any major gaps in preferences between employees and leadership, uncover any concerns or roadblocks that may exist and help you find out what practical support employees need from the company to be successful in a more flexible workplace.
Make sure your comms channels are fit for purpose. Frontline workers’ needs are different to desk-based workers and even if greater flexibility isn’t an option right now you should be prioritising making sure this group is well informed about what the company is doing more widely. Ideally, you want a single channel all employees can access, which provides everything an employee might need to operate remotely: files and templates in one place, access to the latest company news, the ability to host chats and meetings and to respond to messages.
Ensure all staff have the right technology. Different workers will need different devices according to their role, but frontline workers should be able to access your new all-encompassing comms app as easily as any desk worker, with push notifications enabled for critical alerts.
Consider the language you use. If your employees have to work shifts, for example, it might be better to talk about giving people input and choice over their working patterns, rather than ‘flexibility,’ which to some may just mean a formal flexible working arrangement. You want to be clear that the flexibility you’re talking about is for everyone.
Don’t forget your line managers. Be prepared! If frontline workers are being given staggered start times, for example, how will managers be equipped to communicate this fairly? Will there be an FAQ resource or guidance to ensure consistency? Line managers are a key player in so many ways, and IC teams need to make sure they’re equipped with knowledge - answers, toolkits, training - whatever they need!
You only need to look at the large employers forcing people back to the office now that the pandemic is a thing of the past, to see there has to be leadership buy-in if flexible working is to be a success. But Internal Comms can push for change – and be ready to enable it when, hopefully, in the not too distant future, it becomes a reality for more people working on the frontline.
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