How To Make Work Flexibility Work For Your Company

20+ years ago it was pretty difficult to make a viable work-from-home policy or to make work flexibility part of the company culture. The technology just wasn’t there yet. Now between Slack, email, and document management systems like Rubex by eFileCabinet, being able to work from home is now not only possible, but in certain circumstances, it might be the better option.

Whether we’re talking about a pandemic, a natural disaster, or a personal life event, sometimes coming to work in the office just isn’t reasonable, even if you can carve out the time and effort to do your work.

Having the right technology stack (and teaching your team how to use it properly) is one of the most important steps towards creating an effective work flexibility policy for your company because, as long as people know how to work and communicate from home, you can trust them to do it.

Make Sure Your KPIs Make Working From Home Viable

Every company measures success a little differently. Obviously the most important KPI is going to be somehow tied to sales, but depending on your industry, those sales may be placed in a context of how much it cost to make the sale. Easier, small sales may be more profitable in the long-run than larger, more difficult sales.

Your employee’s success shouldn’t be measured by how long they’re sitting in the office or who went home last. At the end of the day, these kind of old school metrics don’t equate to sales or profitable work.

Make sure that you understand what each team member does, how that work is ultimately tied to company profits, and measure their success by how much closer they get the company to earning more money. Make sure the employee understands how their job makes the company money as well so they can focus on what’s most important instead of worrying that you’re thinking they’re being lazy by staying home.

Set Up Expectations About What Work At Home Should Look Like

As long as the employee’s KPIs are being met, it shouldn’t really matter when or where they work, but it might matter for some of their coworkers.

If you need them to be responsive during “normal work hours,” then include that rule in your work flexibility policy. That way, they may do their actual work when their kids are asleep or after their spouse gets home from work, but they can at least provide necessary information and input throughout the day as needed.

It’s important to explain these rules clearly with your employees so they understand what your expectations are. Review them from time to time or build a series of video courses and have them review them quarterly or annually.

The frequency is less important than their ability to remember the work flexibility policy, so alter the schedule as needed.

Follow Through With Your Plans & Iterate

It’s worth revisiting your work-from-home policy from time to time to see what is and isn’t working. Ask for feedback and ask for what problems it’s causing people. Always be sure to iterate and test new ideas out to see if you can improve upon the policy that you have.

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Katie Casaday is a marketing content writer at eFileCabinet where she specializes in computer software and document management topics. She graduated from Utah State University with a BA in Global Communication. She has experience writing about B2B technology companies and besides enjoying writing, she loves nature and taking hikes with her companion, a Border Collie named Margo.