Develop a Flexible Work Program for IT
Balance organizational and employee needs to retain top IT talent.
Contributors
- Judi Casey, WorkLife Consultant and former Director, Work and Family Researchers Network, Boston College
- Carol Cochran, Director of People & Culture, FlexJobs
- Lilian De Menezes, Professor of Decision Sciences, Cass Business School, University of London
- Chris Frame, Partner – Operations, LiveCA
- Kidde Kelly, OD Practitioner
- Claire McCartney, Diversity & Inclusion Advisor, CIPD
- Rose M. Stanley, CCP, CBP, WLCP, CEBS, People Services Manager, Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC
- Dr. David Chalmers, Adjunct Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University
- Teresa Hopke, SVP of Client Relations, Life Meets Work – www.lifemeetswork.com
- Shari Lava, Principal, Vendor Research, Info-Tech Research Group
- Dr. Kenneth Matos, Senior Director of Research, Families and Work Institute
- Kashmira Nagarwala, Change Manager, Siemens Canada
- Mark Tippey, IT Leader and Experienced Teleworker
- Kim Velluso, VP Human Resources, Siemens Canada
- Dr. Isik U. Zeytinoglu, Professor of Management and Industrial Relations, McMaster University, DeGroote School of Business
- In recent years, some organizations have outright banned flexible work, reporting it to be a failure.
- Research shows consistent challenges: programs are ad hoc; minimal assessment of the suitability of jobs for flexible work; and a lack of information and support for managers and employees on how to work differently to make it a success.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Do your due diligence when it comes to developing a flexible work program: assess which options are actually feasible for the organization and identify the options employees would use. This way, the program will simply need to be tweaked to work out any kinks rather than scrapping it entirely.
Impact and Result
- Make a business case to leadership about how flexible work can solve specific organizational pain points, rather than following the latest trend.
- Balance employer and employee needs by assessing the feasibility of various flexible work options and determining if the options are something employees would actually use.
- Equip managers and employees with information and guidance setting them up for success and address key implementation issues and cultural barriers.
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should develop a flexible work program, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
1. Set program direction
Determine roles, set metrics, identify employee segments, and gain leadership buy-in.
2. Create a shortlist of options
Review common types of flexible work and shortlist options for feasibility assessment.
3. Assess feasibility
Assess shortlisted flexible work options, gain leadership approval and investment, and identify implementation issues and cultural barriers.
4. Implement the program
Equip managers and employees to adopt flexible work options while addressing implementation issues and cultural barriers and aligning HR programs.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is an eight call advisory process.
Guided Implementation #1 - Set program direction
Call #1 - Review metrics to track program success.
Call #2 - Discuss tactics to gain leadership buy-in.
Guided Implementation #2 - Create a shortlist of options
Call #1 - Clarify the types of flexible work options.
Call #2 - Discuss the impact of flexible work options and establish a shortlist.
Guided Implementation #3 - Assess feasibility
Call #1 - Review the feasibility assessments of the shortlist and determine the final list.
Guided Implementation #4 - Implement the program
Call #1 - Develop strategies to address implementation issues and cultural barriers.
Call #2 - Customize the flexible work guide for managers and employees.
Call #3 - Plan for ongoing program evaluation and improvement.
Book Your Workshop
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Assess Feasibility of Flexible Work Options
The Purpose
- Set metrics for the flexible work project.
- Discover options and determine their feasibility.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Flexible work options determined
Activities
Outputs
Analyze the data.
- Data analyzed
Identify program goals and metrics.
- Program goals and metrics identified
Identify employee segments that may need separate flexible work options.
- Employee segments that may need separate flexible work options identified
Brainstorm flexible work options.
- Flexible work options brainstormed
Assess feasibility of options.
- Feasibility of options assessed
Finalize option(s).
- Option(s) finalized
Module 2: Plan for Implementation
The Purpose
- Work through potential risks.
- Plan for program rollout.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Manager guide created.
- Action and communication plan outlined.
Activities
Outputs
Brainstorm solutions to implementation issues.
- Potential solutions to implementation issues brainstormed
Identify how to overcome cultural barriers.
Define roles and responsibilities.
- Roles and responsibilities defined
Design manager guide prototype.
- Manager guide prototype designed
Align HR programs to support flexible work.
- HR programs aligned with flexible work
Develop an action and communication plan.
- Action and communication plan developed
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this Blueprint, and what our clients have to say.
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Werner Co.
Guided Implementation
9/10
$12,562
5
Reiter Affiliated Companies
Guided Implementation
10/10
$25,752
20
British Columbia Institute of Technology
Guided Implementation
8/10
N/A
3
AgCountry Farm Credit Services
Guided Implementation
9/10
$12,562
2
