Once you’ve decided to offer flexible work options for your staff, what’s next? Flexible work arrangements are not a one-size-fits-all solution. In fact, there are nine types of flexible work arrangements.
Flextime
Flextime involves giving staff flexibility on the start and finish times of their working day, typically with a mandatory “core” time in the middle of the day.
Compressed Work Week
A compressed work week allows employees to work 40 hours in fewer than five days, such as working four 10-hour days.
Flexplace
Flexplace is often referred to as telecommuting. Employees may work from home or another remote location on an approved schedule, either for a certain number of hours or days a week, or 100% of the time.
Job Sharing
In job sharing, two or more employees split one position and split necessary work hours between them.
Work Sharing
Often used by companies as a method of avoiding layoffs. The company temporarily reduces hours and salary for a portion of the staff while maintaining the number of employees.
Expanded Leave
Expanded leave gives employees greater flexibility for requesting extended periods of time away from work without losing their rights as employees. Extended leave can be granted on a paid or unpaid basis and may be used for a variety of reasons, including sabbaticals, higher education, community service, family issues, or medical care.
Phased Retirement
The employee and the firm agree on a schedule to gradually reduce the employee’s full-time work commitments. Their responsibilities may be phased out over a period of months or years.
Partial Retirement
Older employees are allowed to continue working on a part-time basis, with no predetermined end date.
Work and Family Programs
Employers provide some assistance to their employees to help with child care and elder care, such as on-site childcare facilities.
Choosing the flexible work arrangement(s) that work for your firm can seem tricky, but taking a systematic approach to implementing your program can narrow down the list of options that will most benefit your firm and employees. Consider using a focus group or a sample survey to figure out which options your staff needs. You may even consider a pilot program to test your options and see if the program needs tweaking.
Remember that flexibility doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing program. It can be a gradual process. Chances are, you’re already providing some informal, flexible work arrangements for certain employees who need to leave early on certain days or work from home on occasion. Now, you just need to take the next step to formalize the policy and extend it to all staff members.
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This article first appeared on the CPA Consultant’s Alliance (www.cpaconsultantsalliance.com).
As a consultant for Boomer Consulting, Inc., Arianna Campbell helps accounting firms challenge the status quo by leading process improvement initiatives that result in increased profitability and client satisfaction.
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Tags: Payroll
