Posted by Sarah Lardner on 14 June 2016
Agile reward for agile business
HR Reward | Reward Consultancy | Reward Intelligence | Agile working |
Great Western Railway’s old steam powered hooter, that once called a whole town to work was replicated over Swindon in January, as part of GWR’s 175th year celebrations. This sound was to signal to workers that it was time for work. I can imagine a large crowd of workers entering the factory all at the same time. A punch clock was used in many workplaces, in my memory particularly in department stores, that could record exactly the hours an employee spent in the workplace for payroll purposes. I remember the introduction of flexi time. It was fantastic for me; I would build up hours and then take time off. Not always great for my manager though. Ultimately, the systems were put in place to ensure that workers would be prompt when their day or shift began, that they put the hours required in, and that production rolled on seamlessly.
I am not naive to think these old practices are extinct, but over my working life so far (btw that’s 30 years and more if you count my Saturday jobs), working approaches have changed a great deal. Why? Mainly because of societal changes, through law and regulations, advancements in technology, doing business in a global economy and general employee expectations. Let’s not forget, downing tools at 5pm on the dot doesn’t work in the business world of today. Also employers want emotional engagement from their employees and not just a physical presence.
Typical shift working feels to most, particularly the younger generation, like a dinosaur. The government and junior doctors’ shift working and pay debacle brought to the forefront, the tight balance between employee welfare and the service they can and should provide to patients. Even flexible working as we know it, isn’t keeping up with expectations. If that’s right, what then…? Well, there’s agile working!
According to ‘The Agile Organisation’, agile working is based on the concept that work is an activity we do, rather than a place we go. The aim is simply to create a more responsive, efficient and effective organisation, which ultimately improves business performance and increases customer satisfaction.
Agile working is about operating business in a smarter way, and not just putting policies in that give the perception it’s just for the employees’ benefit. This goes further than flexible working and takes shift working to a more dynamic level. It’s a partnership that ultimately ensures the business remains successful in a more challenging world.
Agility by business looks very different, but it is important to challenge the working practices and patterns you already have in place, by asking yourselves:
- How can we ensure we provide a continuous service, keep production moving, recruit the talent we need outside of our immediate location or effectively interact with our global colleagues that are on a different time span?
- How can we do that and benefit from cost reduction in terms of property space, travelling costs, reducing absenteeism and much more?
- How can we do that and ensure our employees reduce their travel times and costs, improve their work life balance, increase their wellbeing and increase engagement, two-way trust and respect?
- How do you want to manage any reward linked to agile working, for example, removing or simplifying shift premiums?
Innovation can happen in the more traditional shift working environments. Businesses are starting to apply ‘self-rostering’ and ‘shift swapping.’ This is where employees select their own hours within certain shift cover parameters and organise cover between themselves. Adapting reward to take account of this is important. It could be a case of removing shift premiums and tapping into employees who are looking for different working hours to manage family requirements or, simplifying payments by creating another pay range that all shift workers will occupy – no matter what type of shift they are working.
Working location has improved and it’s more than just working from home or hot desking. Team tables, drop in zones or areas, and the renting of external spaces is becoming increasingly popular. This approach attracts a different type of employee looking for different things from their employer; this means wider business collaboration, higher productivity and easier talent attraction.
Such an interesting concept, so many great solutions out there. I would love to see in the most practical and appropriate way, more of a shift (get it!) towards agile working. At Innecto, we’ve had the pleasure of working with businesses that have changed some fundamentally engrained practices to something far more dynamic. If you would like to discuss more about agile working and how to reward in this kind of environment, email me at sarah.lardner@innecto.com.
