A summary of our Change Agent programme, commissioned by the Scottish Government to improve access to fair flexible work.
In 2020, we were commissioned by the Scottish Government to help improve access to fair flexible working for parents and carers, as part of their Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Having carried out a feasibility study, we concluded that we need to take a systemic approach, equipping intermediaries who were already working with job seekers and employers, so they were able to advise on flexible working.
The result was Fair Flexible Work for Scotland, a two-year programme through which we created a network of Change Agents from 70 intermediary organisations. We trained them up to offer the right support, as well as connecting them to a range of wider experts on flexible working, including the Scotland-based Flexibility Works.
This report sets out how we carried out this work, and shares the positive outcomes from the programme. It’s fair to say that it was a resounding success; highlights include 80% of participants saying they have a better understanding of how to influence employers to enable a fairer, more successful approach to hybrid working, and 76% strongly agreeing that “I am motivated to take action to ensure fairer access to flexible work by more people.” We will continue to monitor the impact of the support that the Change Agents are providing, and are currently exploring the potential of replicating this model elsewhere in the UK.
Published September 2022
Government of Jersey (GoJ) is a complex and multi-faceted organisation which employs around circa 7,000 employees. Their roles span all central government departments and the delivery of all key public services, including prison, uniformed services, police, education, health, and social care.
The challenge and opportunity
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, GoJ were already looking to develop a more systemic approach to flexible working, as a way to improve diversity (particularly gender diversity at senior levels) and to tackle recruitment and retention. The pandemic then acted as a catalyst for increasing flexibility within the organisation, and helped encourage leadership buy-in for making the change.
“Our staff survey responses provided a strong signal that the flexibility employees had experienced during the pandemic was something they wanted to retain and build upon. During the pandemic, many people had gone the extra mile and flexed how they work for the benefit of the organisation and the island. We were particularly conscious of how demotivating it would be for our workforce if we ignored their feedback and simply reverted to old ways of working.”
The Timewise Flex Positive Programme
We agreed with GoJ that our Flex Positive Programme would be the best route to developing a systemic approach to flexible working.
The programme includes an organisation-wide diagnostic to understand the status quo and identify opportunities to enhance flexibility, and workshops to support the development of an organisational vision for flex. These feed into the development of a flex action plan, which is followed by skills development workshops, focusing on job design and creating a culture of flexibility.
“The benchmarking / diagnostic process was really good for us, giving us an independent review of our working practices and helping us see what good looks like. Through the programme, Timewise provided us with a clear roadmap and introduced us to the concept of taking a team-based approach. It helped us to focus on what was important and create an action plan which didn’t seem overwhelming. Timewise bring a wealth of experience and understand what works – without their expertise and guidance it would have taken us a lot longer to make the change.”
Flexible working pilots
We also worked with GoJ to design and deliver flexible working pilots within four departments. These ran between September 2021 and January 2022, supported by monthly coaching clinics led by our team.
At the end of each pilot, we carried out evaluation surveys to gather feedback from participants, to understand their experiences of working flexibly and identify any areas in which they felt flexibility could be further enhanced.
“The pilots have generated learning which has moved the organisation further forward and encouraged others to consider and rethink their approach.”
Key learnings from the programme included:
Trust and an open mindset are critical to success. Start from a place of trust and empower people to balance their needs with the needs of their jobs / team / stakeholders and customers.
A consistent approach from line managers is critical. Upskill line managers across the organisation in flexible job design, managing flexible teams and building trust, to ensure a consistent approach.
“You have to get the managers on board and change their mindsets around flex – if you don’t do that it won’t work. Give them the skills and confidence to take it forward.”
Take a team-based approach. Develop flexible working on a whole-team level so that employees take collective responsibility for ensuring a fair approach. Seek feedback regularly and work together to find solutions to any challenges that may arise.
“We learnt how critical taking a team-based approach is – involve everyone and be open and transparent in discussions you have.”
Learn and evolve. Be willing to experiment; be creative and open-minded about the parameters for pilots, using job design methodology to explore what is possible for each role. Share the experiences of pilot departments with other teams to showcase what is possible, and help to build a culture of flexibility across the wider organisation.
“With pilots, you don’t necessarily get an outcome which will be right first time. It is an iterative process and provides vital learning which helps you evolve and become more creative.”
“We have created a momentum and there is no going back now! We have adopted a more organic approach to flex as an organisation, the conversation is happening now, and flex has become a leadership priority.”
GoJ now proactively promote all jobs as being open to flexibility, both internally and to potential applicants. They are implementing their flex action plan, have delivered training to managers, and developed toolkits and guidance. Flex is now firmly on the leadership agenda.
Through the pilots, they have been able to develop case studies and showcase what is possible to other teams (including flex in senior roles). And, using a team-based approach, they are now rolling out further pilots across other departments.
The feedback we received from pilot participants speaks for itself. On average:
The client’s view:
“I would highly recommend working with Timewise. They bring a breadth and depth of experience which was invaluable, but what I have valued above everything else has been their flexibility and support. They truly operated as a trusted partner and were always there for us, we never felt left to get on with it. They were as committed, passionate and connected to the outcome as we are.”
Published June 2022
By Rachel Parmley, Principal Consultant, Timewise
The deadline for the 2021-22 gender pay gap reporting has now passed, with initial data suggesting that the gap has barely narrowed, going from 10.2% in 2020 to 9.8% in 2021.
Now, perhaps this isn’t surprising, given that we are coming out of a pandemic in which women have been disproportionately affected. A report from the IFS on the first lockdown found that mothers were 47% more likely than fathers to have lost their job or quit, and were far more likely to be interrupted during working hours. More recently, our own research demonstrated that the pandemic has had a particularly fierce impact on part-time employees, the vast proportion of whom are women.
But even within this context, it is hugely disappointing that the gender pay gap remains so persistently wide. And it underlines the fact that, if businesses are genuinely keen to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic, they need to do so in an inclusive way that supports female career progression.
As we have previously explained, a workplace culture that embraces flexible working is a sure-fire way to approach this issue. Of the four reasons behind the gender pay gap, three can be tackled by creating quality part-time and flexible jobs at all levels, across all sectors, that are attractive to ambitious men and women alike.
And given that 9 in 10 workers say they want to work flexibly, doing so will help businesses attract and retain talented people, as well as narrowing their gender pay gap.
So with under a year to go until the next reporting deadline, the clock is ticking, and organisations who are serious about reducing their gender pay gap need to start now. Here are eight actions that leaders can take to get started.
Instead of just handing out laptops or trying to squeeze a full-time role into fewer days, redesign jobs by looking at when, where and in how much time a role is done, preferably taking a team-based approach. Specifically, consider offering part-time and job shares, rather than just homeworking.
It’s true that this is more complex in some sectors than others, but it can be done; we are showing what is possible through action research projects in hard-to-flex areas such as construction, banking, teaching and retail.
Advertise jobs as being open to flexibility at the point of hire. Make sure you are clear about what this flexibility means, and if you are open to job-sharing applicants, say so.
Our latest Flexible Jobs Index shows that only one in four jobs openly offer flexible working arrangements, which is far below candidate demand. In this era of candidate shortages and the ‘great resignation’, being upfront about offering flex will help you gain an edge in the battle for talent.
Ensure there are routes for flexible progression, to help overcome cultural bias. And make part-time roles more attractive to career-driven people, to ensure that career progression on a part-time basis is not only acceptable, but aspirational.
It’s worth getting feedback from any existing part-time workers to inform this process. Ask what they like about their working pattern, and explore whether there is anything that can be done to improve their arrangement and encourage others to consider flexible working.
For most organisations, flexible working strategy still relies on a request-response model which requires an employee to make a request. This feeds into much of the stigma around part-time arrangements, because it pigeon-holes flexibility as something that’s only considered in special circumstances (usually involving women and childcare).
The more flexibility is normalised, the more inclusive it becomes. So talk proactively to your teams about how they would like to work, making it clear that flexibility is something that can be explored, and don’t make assumptions about what they need. You could set up a survey, where employees can give anonymous feedback on their work practices.
A couple of watchouts. Avoid creating a two-tier workforce in which only some employees can access flexible working; whilst not everyone can work from home, you could explore other kinds of flex such as reduced hours, compressed hours, annualised contracts or staggered start and finish times. And for those that can work from home, remember to mitigate against proximity bias, to avoid the impact on their progression.
Gather as much data as you can around flexible working arrangements and requests in your business. This should include:
Given that the link between flexible working and the gender pay gap is clear, understanding your own data will help you make informed decisions about how best to close it.
Having flex role models – people who are effectively working in a flexible way – is critical to helping make the exception become the norm.
If people can’t see anyone working flexibly in a senior role, it’s hard for them to feel they might have flexible opportunities to progress. So champion those who are working in this way, and think about how others can follow in their footsteps.
Our annual Power List does this on a national scale, telling the stories of exceptional people working part-time, to show what is possible. But companies should do this too. By celebrating your staff who are blazing the trail for flexibly, both internally and through case studies on your jobs websites, you’ll open up a talent pipeline for those looking for flex.
Managing a team of people who aren’t all working full-time, or always physically present, isn’t instinctive; it needs to be learned. So teaching your managers the skills they need to lead and support a flexible team is vital, as is making sure they are supported to work flexibly, too.
At Timewise, we’ve developed a tried-and-tested training model that we use with our clients. Find out more through our Timewise consultancy service.
In order to have a tangible impact on their gender pay gap, leaders should not just commit to changing their approach – but also be willing to be held accountable.
So we believe all employers should be required to publish an action plan, as part of the reporting process, which explains how they are planning to address their gap, with a section dedicated to flexible working.
The evidence is clear: flexible working is key to women’s career progression. Done well, it should allow women to access and succeed in aspirational and well-paid jobs that do not require them to be in the office from 9-5, five days a week.
By offering flexible roles, you will not only narrow your gender pay gap, but also attract and retain the best talent, helping your business grow by remaining ahead of competitors. And at a societal level, you will support the creation of a healthier, more equitable society.
Of course, leadership is critical to sustainable change; so it’s important to get your organisation’s senior team on board with your plans, and vocally supportive. Make sure you’ve got that in place, then start working on the eight actions suggested above, so you’re ready for the next set of reporting in April 2023.
Published June 2022
By Emma Stewart, Development Director, Timewise
These days, most employers have moved beyond the question ‘is flexible working beneficial?’ It’s generally accepted that yes, it is, for both businesses and their people. But many employers in frontline sectors are still prone to thinking ‘it just won’t work in a firm like ours’. To change their mindsets, two hurdles must be overcome: first, proving that flexible working is possible for frontline workers; and secondly, proving that there will be a commercial return on the implementation costs.
Timewise has already proved the first of these over the last 6 years, through our pilots with trailblazing organisations in retail, teaching, construction, the NHS and domiciliary social care. And now we have pretty much proved the second – launching a new report that demonstrates how soon the cost of investment in flexible working can be recouped through savings on sickness absence and replacement costs related to high staff churn. The answer is that so little change is needed, so quickly, that investing in flexible job design really does seem like a no brainer for any frontline business employing around 200+ staff.
Frontline workers have been completely left behind in the hybrid working revolution that has happened during the pandemic. Unable to work from home, they have had to carry on commuting, in roles that are often low-paid and physically and mentally challenging. Little wonder that many employers are concerned about the increasing disparities between their frontline and office staff, and are showing an interest in ways of levelling up.
While location-based flexibility has become the norm, time-based flexibility (which might take the form of flexible start and finish times, greater input into shift times, or part-time working), can go some way towards providing equity for those unable to work from home. Timewise’s pilots in the five aforementioned sectors have explored the viability of flexible hours of work, and evidenced that frontline workers really do value having a greater sense of autonomy over their working lives.
This is backed up in independent research by Understanding Society, which shows that job satisfaction improves significantly as the degree of control over working hours increases. And the same research also points to a link between job satisfaction and staff retention: three quarters of workers with the lowest satisfaction levels say they would like to leave their job within the next year.
Timewise has shown that it IS possible to fix the lack of flexibility for frontline workers – in the sectors where we ran pilots, we were able to find ways to design frontline jobs with different working patterns that met operational requirements, maintained client expectations, and improved workers’ work-life balance and well-being.
The organisations which took part in the pilots have witnessed the potential that flexibility has; but vast numbers of employers in frontline sectors still struggle to see it as a commercial priority. Currently, 95% of frontline workers are unable to formally work flexi-time. There’s a huge amount of potential to improve job satisfaction and retention rates.
Of course, getting flexible working right requires staff consultation, new job design that meets business and employee needs, trialing the changes, and then evaluating and rolling out. The investment of time and money can seem daunting, so Timewise decided to map out how the return on investment might look, to prove the effort is likely to pay dividends.
Working together with the Institute for Employment Studies, we undertook break-even analysis to determine what level of savings would be needed over what timeframe, to cover the level of investment in each of our pilot programmes with firms in the five frontline sectors (retail, teaching, construction, the NHS and domiciliary social care). The savings we considered were those made through reduced staff absences and staff churn, and the results showed that very modest reductions would recoup the costs in just a few years.
For example, in a construction firm of 200 employees, 68 will typically leave each year (based on the average industry retention rate) at a total cost of £204,000. The break-even analysis showed that all it takes is for 7.5 fewer staff to leave each year for the investment in flexible working to be recovered within 3 years.
The same size firm will typically lose £177,000 in sickness absence per year, based on the industry average. So, alternatively, it takes just 1 day less of sick leave per person per year to fully recover the cost of investing in flexible working over 3 years.
And that is before any wider benefits resulting from improved flexible working are taken into account, such as improved well-being, increased diversity, wider access to talent and improvements in performance.
Moreover, for larger firms which are embedding flexible working across their whole workforce, the gains would scale up dramatically. Based on the calculations above, we estimate that employers with over 1000 workers could each save over £1m PER YEAR if they invest in flexible working programmes.
Surely, given the state of the labour market for these sectors, and rising inequality between office and frontline workers, this is the moment for action. Employers, industry and government can no longer afford to ignore the cost of not investing in flexible working. There is now a commercial as well as social imperative to consider how we can extend the autonomy of office workers to their frontline colleagues.
When frontline workers are given access to more flexible work, their job satisfaction is likely to improve, and they are more likely to stay in their jobs. These five sectors all suffer from acute skills shortages, and between them they employ over 8 million people. Improving retention will therefore have a massive impact on both business profits and working lives.
While employers in frontline sectors need to get flexible working onto their board agenda, intervention will also be needed at a higher level to catalyse change. The Government could help by creating a challenge fund for businesses in frontline sectors, to support workplace trials on flexible job design, in the same way that they provide business with funding for skills development. And industry bodies need to advocate flexible working – not just hybrid working – loudly and clearly, supporting employers with guidance and sharing practical case studies of good practice.
In the meantime, we at Timewise will continue to build more evidence of ‘what works in practice’, to help drive scalable action. This summer we will be launching a major new programme, supported by Impact on Urban Health and Barclays Life Skills, to track the long-term impact of taking a fairer more consistent approach to flexible working on workers well-being and business performance. We will be working with three large frontline employers across the NHS, construction and retail, and are delighted to announce our first partner will be the leading construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine, who will be testing and embedding flexible working for site based teams. If you’d like to find out more about our plans do get in touch.
In frontline sectors, which often run on tight margins and with an acceptance that staff churn is high, it’s particularly difficult to make a business case for investment in flexible working. But frontline workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic, whilst seeing other workers reap the benefits of increased homeworking and flexible hours. In the face of acute skills shortages, employers need to level up by seeking flexible solutions for frontline workers, or risk losing even more of them.
Following on from successful pilot programmes in five frontline sectors (retail, construction, social care, teaching and the NHS), Timewise commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to undertake a break-even analysis of investing in flexible working. IES calculated how quickly the benefits of improved retention and reduced sickness absence could offset the costs of a typical programme.
The findings make a strong case: within just a few years, savings begin to outweigh the costs of implementing flexible working, and begin to deliver financial returns.
We hope this powerful analysis will help fill the evidence gap on flexible working ROI, and provide the impetus for employers and policymakers to prioritise investment in changes to working patterns, for the benefit of business, the individuals they employ, and society as a whole.
Published April 2022
The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter sets a high standard for jobs in the region, promoting practices that support diversity and inclusion, and encouraging fair pay. Flexible working is a core part of the charter, and this report by Timewise looks at how well the region is doing when it comes to openly offering flexibility at the point of hire.
The answer is: very slightly better than the national average (at 27% versus 26%), but with some interesting granular differences. For example, in Greater Manchester, flexibility is most available in jobs paying over £60k. This is in sharp contrast to the UK as a whole, where flexibility (mainly in the form of part-time arrangements) has always been most available in low-paid jobs.
And home-working, which is now commonplace for office-based staff, is being offered in only 11% of the region’s job adverts.
There is a clear need for employers in Greater Manchester to do more, and faster. Flexible hiring can reach a wider talent pool – essential in today’s challenging jobs market, where applications are in short supply.
More importantly, flexible working is essential to creating fairer, more inclusive workplaces. It should need no explanation that inclusivity must start at the point of hire, and not be restricted to existing staff. Nor must it be restricted to certain types of jobs or salary levels.
We hope that the Flexible Jobs Index for Greater Manchester will inspire the region’s key anchor institutions to champion flexible hiring as part of their wider inclusive growth strategies. And we hope it will galvanise Greater Manchester employers to consider flexible working as a matter of routine when they advertise jobs – alongside salary, pension and other benefits.
Since March 2020, a workplace revolution has taken place. Pandemic-enforced lockdowns have triggered a huge uplift in remote working, which appears to be here for the long term; at the time of writing, large numbers of employees who previously worked in offices remain home-based, and many companies are offering hybrid working arrangements for their teams.
But while much has been written about the move towards location-based flexible working – that is, people working from home or in other off-site locations – there has been little, if any, attention given to time-based flexible working, particularly part-time. Put simply, the voices of people who cannot work full-time, and their experiences during and after the pandemic, are not being heard.
This report sets out to remedy this omission; to listen to the experiences of part-time workers and job seekers, and understand how the pandemic has impacted them. It builds on the quantitive data from our first Fair Flexible Futures report, providing real-life insights that will help employers, policymakers and labour market intermediaries drive more inclusive policy and practice.
In this next pandemic phase, the hiring market must undergo an about-shift to keep pace with the times. This report from Timewise Jobs is for recruitment professionals, employer brand specialists and people leaders who want to best position their organisations to attract a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Amongst its many findings, the research highlights the scepticism that flex-seeking candidates have towards job adverts with generic promises of a flexible working culture. It also provides a vital reminder that remote working is just one form of flexibility, and that candidates’ strong appetite for part-time must not be forgotten in the rush to adapt to hybrid working patterns.
The report concludes by providing clear recommendations to businesses, on how best to articulate flexibility in order to increase job applications and develop employer branding for our new working world.
By Emma Stewart, Co-Founder, Timewise
There are many reasons why increasing the opportunities for flexible working within construction is a good plan. For starters, there are very few women in the industry; just 14% of employees (and only 1% of those working in operational roles) are female. Work-life balance is negligible, and burnout is common, with a negative knock-on effect on mental health and family life.
The industry as a whole has invested a huge amount of work, effort and passion on various initiatives, with the aim of tackling skills shortages, attracting a more diverse talent pool and addressing wellbeing. But until relatively recently, far less attention has been given to flexible working, in particular for site-based roles. And that’s largely due to some sizeable operational and cultural barriers.
Construction has been known to have a long-hours culture; there’s a pervading view that ‘that’s what you sign up for’, and that anyone working less than full-time is less committed (and unlikely to climb the ladder). Additionally, the fact that frontline workers tend to be paid by the hour makes some wary of any changes to ways of working that might impact their pay.
And the commercial need to deliver ‘on time and on budget’ means that operational needs can restrict more innovative approaches to improving working practices and well-being from being trialled, however good leaders’ intentions may be.
So when we were approached by Build UK to develop a flexible working pilot for the industry, we knew we’d have our work cut out. But having worked with organisations in other, similarly hard-to-flex sectors (including retail and the NHS), we also knew it would be possible. And as the report shows, our efforts, and those of our four pioneer partners and Build UK themselves, have well and truly paid off.
We began by setting two clear goals for the project. Firstly, to improve access to flexible working for frontline construction workers, and so enhance their work-life balance, health and well-being, by giving them more input and control over how they work. And secondly, to enable construction employers to improve working practices and job quality, in order to tackle talent shortages and attract a more diverse talent pool, including more women.
We then started working with our four pioneer partners – BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK, and Willmott Dixon – to explore their specific challenges and identify which flexible working patterns would help solve them. And what we found was fascinating. In addition to the top-level barriers mentioned above, there were other constraints, such as the interdependency of roles, the varying attitudes of managers, site operating times, employee travel times and long-held beliefs such as the immoveable status of the whole site morning briefing.
Armed with this information, we then worked with each pioneer to develop a team-based approach to working patterns, with four clear goals:
• Changing cultural attitudes and behaviours
• Improving workers’ input into their working patterns
• Improving manager capability to implement flexible working
• Increasing homeworking for site workers
The pilots included a range of adjustments to working practices, including output-based scheduling, late starts and early finishes, and allowing staff to cover for each other and to take back unpaid overtime. Critically, we supported each partner to create their own model, to ensure that it worked within their individual operational constraints. We also provided managers and supervisors with training on how to design flexible roles, and manage the changes within their teams.
Having surveyed our participating workers, managers and leaders before and after the pilots, we were able to note some specific attitude changes. For example, the number of people who agreed with the statement “My working hours give me enough time to look after my own health and well-being” jumped from 48% to 84%.
We also received hugely positive qualitative feedback, including from one employee who told us: “The real positive has been to be able to have more time at home and more involvement with the children and it would be fantastic to be able to keep some of this.” Similarly, a supervisor noted: “There has definitely been a positive impact on productivity. Morale is much better, and the guys are working harder.”
And from a purely commercial perspective, the pilot showed that flexible working doesn’t have to be a barrier to delivery. All of the pilot projects remained broadly on time and within budget; as one supervisor noted: “People are more energised and working faster. If you are being paid for a 10 hour shift you will make it last 10 hours but if there is an incentive to still get paid a full shift but finish quicker, you are focused to get the work done.”
It’s clear, then, that construction is not un-flexable. If leaders take a proactive approach, and create a clear vision and pro-flex culture; if managers are equipped in how to design and manage flexible roles and teams; if employees are encouraged to take a different perspective, and if new approaches are trialled carefully before being rolled out across an organisation, flexible working can be hugely positive for all concerned.
We’re talking to the Construction Leadership Council to see how our findings can be implemented more widely; and alongside our report we’ve produced a 10-point action plan, to support other construction firms to adopt them. In the meantime, if you would like to know more about making this kind of approach work for your organisation, and get some practical help from us, please get in touch.
Published June 2021
Site-based construction work is a particularly tough nut to crack for flexible working. With its location based work, inter-dependent team roles, and a long hours’ culture created by rigid deadlines, the options for flexibility are more limited than for most sectors.
The demanding working patterns are believed to contribute to a troubling record on mental health and wellbeing, as well as challenges with gender diversity, so the sector has increasingly been searching for solutions.
In this programme of pilots, we tested a variety of flexible options that gave construction teams greater control over their working patterns. As our report shows:
We hope our learnings will inspire other construction firms to trial and roll out flexible working, in order to address skills shortages by attracting a wider audience (especially women), and look after the health and well-being of the workforce. Our report includes a 10 point plan with guidance for employers on how to do this, and also recommendations to the Construction Leadership Council to catalyse change at scale.
Our thanks go to BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK and Willmott Dixon for their pioneering involvement in the pilots. Also to Build UK, Barclays LifeSkills and CITB for their support in making the programme possible.
