If you’ve raised a teenager you must have heard this phrase: “Give me some space!” It is mostly used by those you feed fenced in or the one who is frustrated by a lack of power over their own situations. It is important to remember that phrase in the work ethics as well because your best employee may require elbow room and flexible working hours and they won’t stay for long if they don’t get it.
How space-friendly are you? Are you using time tracking apps effectively? We have gathered some most requested queries from talented employees and suppose that you are their boss. To which of these requests would say a straight “No”? And to which one would you take into consideration.
- I want to come an hour earlier and leave an hour earlier for three days a week.
- I want to try a new way to get this task done.
- I want to complete the first three steps of this project before you analyze it.
- Rather than taking a course, I got an instructor to teach me several skills.
- I want my holiday photographs on my office desk.
- I want to work from home twice a week.
- I plan to work on Saturdays for a couple of weeks to get the project done on time, during those days I want to bring my well-trained dog.
- I feel more comfortable in casual clothes, rather than a business suit.
- I’ve always done my projects solo, but I want to put together a team this time because I believe we will do the job better and more quickly.
- I want 7 weeks off work(Unpaid) to build my own home.
- I want to bring my new baby to the office for the first 7 weeks of her life.
In many organizations, every one of these requests would receive a positive response. But the contrary is true in many offices and those organizations have trouble retaining talent.
So, in what ways you can provide your employees with the freedom they need? You can try the following ideas.
Teleworking
Teleworking is here to stay. As a recent article in CFO magazine explained:
“Not everyone agrees on just what aggregates a telecommuting. The international Telecowork Association & Council defines one as an employee who works at home, at a client’s office, in a satellite office, a telework center, or on the road at least one day per month, there re 23.5 million teleworkers in the united states. Most corporations with a large number of teleworkers report productivity increases, not delines. ‘A number of companies fear their workers will be at home with their feet up in front of the TV, and that just not the case.”
Freedom
Giving freedom requires the managers to let go and trust their talented employees to manage and continuously improve their work, without micromanagement.
The retail giant Nordstrom knows a lot about giving its employees space and empowering them to make a decision and manage their own work. Actually, supervisors credit their corporate culture for one of the highest recollection rates in the retail enterprise. The fundamental rule, stated in Nordstrom’s employee guidebook, is this: use your good sense at all times.
Because workers are allowed to make sure the customer is pleased, Nordstrom customers typically endure remarkable service. The employee who finished the new t-shirt a customer needed for meeting and the one who gift-wraps items a customer had bought at Macy’s are both examples of how Nordstorm employees provide great customer service. They have the space to manage their work in their own unique and creative ways.
Adjustable Workings Hours
All the research points to the fact that developing workers want flexibility in working hours. So what companies are doing in this response? According to Hewitt Associates, a human resource consulting firm, in 1990 about half of the employer’s studies offered some type of flexible scheduling. A decade late it was 75%.
Many organizations take help from time tracking apps to adjust their employee’s working hours and ensure flexibility.
Tasked with developing an excellent, assorted workforce, the office of Personnel Management offers alternative work schedules as a way for federal agencies to increase productivity, to lure talent away from the private sector and keep workers happy. With the program, companies can scarp regular eight-hour days and a 40-hours week in favor of an organization tailored to individual needs. (That’s according to Federal Computer Week, March 2004, “ Flextime: Not a Bad Stretch” by Megan Lisagor.) By discovering a better balance on the personal or professional alternation, workers are expected to achieve higher success on the job.
The Bottom Line
Job sharing, flextime, teleworking, and designing one’s own workspace are not accommodation or pampering. There are ways to meet your business goals. That means listening to what people want. Going to battle for their needs, and ultimately giving them options and opportunities to do things differently. Truly listen to the unique requests your employees bring you. Make an honest attempt to win flexibility and improved work conditions for your people.
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