FLEXIBLE WORKING A WIN WIN FOR SMALL BUSINESS

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FLEXIBLE WORKING A WIN WIN FOR SMALL
BUSINESS
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EQUALS ONE ENCORERECRUITMENT

• EQUALS ONE
• Flexible working/Job Share recruitment
• Consultancy
• Winners of Working Families Innovation Award
• 34 of candidates over 45 and experiencing
  discrimination

• ENCORE
• Support for over 45s
• Age Diversity consultancy
• Fair Play for Older Workers project
• Winners of national Age Positive Recruitment
  Excellence Award

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OBJECTIVES

• Identify our internal policies and the business
  benefits to adopting flexible working practices
• Identify the external factors which are driving
  forward flexible working
• Identify solutions to any concerns regarding
  implementing flexible working practices

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EQUALS ONE ENCORE
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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

• In managerial position when had first child
• Wanted flexible hours but not low level part time
  role
• 6 years job sharing at managerial level
• Had to find own job share partner
• No central guidance on how it worked
• Worked successfully in variety of Head Office and
  Customer Facing roles - all roles involved line
  management some involved team formation
• Pursued career as job share partnership
• Set up own business to gain better Work Life
  Balance

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FLEXIBLE WORKING MARKETEQUALS ONE RECRUITMENT

• Set up National Job Share Register and wrote the
  Essential Guide to Job Sharing
• Specialists in flexible working recruitment and
  consultancy
• Growing market particularly since Flexible
  Working Regulations implemented
• More job sharers at managerial level
• Clients include from micro SMEs to large
  corporate companies

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EQUALS ONE RECRUITMENT CANDIDATE PROFILE

• 66 female
• 34 male
• 41 dependant children
• 33 portfolio career
• 34 45

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EQUALS ONE RECRUITMENT CASE STUDIES

• Finding a job share partner for Office Manager at
  Executive Search Selection company (Large
  Corporate)
• Finding a Finance Director for the price of a
  book-keeper!! (SME)
• Finding an HR Generalist expert and a Training
  Development specialist for one full time role
  (Public sector Medium size organisation)
• Finding a retired business man for a Customer
  Advisor role (Large corporate)
• Finding a small business its first admin support
  employee mature candidate (SME)

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WHAT EXTERNAL FACTORS ARE LEADING TO MORE
EMPLOYERS IMPLEMENTING FLEXIBLE WORKING PRACTICES?
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EXTERNAL FACTORS

• Higher Proportion of Women in Employment
• 69 of working aged women are in employment and
  of these just under half work part time
• 80 of workforce growth to 2010 will be women
• 1 in 5 UK workers will be mothers
• EOR 66 women
• 41 have dependant children

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EXTERNAL FACTORS

• Increase in Single Parent Families
• - affects 20 of families
• Increase in Carers of Elderly
• - 1 in 8 provide informal care
• - cause of a third of absences
• Increase in Portfolio Careers
• - EOR 33

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EXTERNAL FACTORS

• Recruitment
• 39 employers introduced flexible working
  practices in response to recruitment difficulties
• 57 of students consider work-life balance as
  priority when choosing an employer
• DTI survey identified almost half respondents
  chose flexible working as top benefit they
  required in next role
• 25 of men and 33 of women would like part time
  work

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EXTERNAL FACTORS

• Ever Ageing Population
• 40 of UK workforce over 45 by 2010
• 48 wish to work beyond retirement age with
  flexible working being a key driver
• 33 of Equals One candidates are 45

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EXTERNAL FACTORSLegislation

• Employment Act 2002 Flexible Working
  Regulations
• Parents given legal right to request flexible
  working
• Implemented April 2003
• 24 of parents have made requests (900,000)
• Employers have accepted 77, with further 9
  agreeing compromise
• CIPD study found flexible working imposed no
  significant additional cost and 68 of employers
  cited positive impact
• 7 in 10 employers surveyed by DTI willing to
  extend flexible working requests to all staff

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EXTERNAL FACTORSWork and Families Bill

• Extend the right to request flexible working to
  carers of adults from 2007
• Enable fathers to take up to 6 months paid
  additional paternity leave during the child's
  first year if the mother returns to work
• Introduce measures to help employers manage the
  administration of leave and pay
• Help employers and employees benefit from
  improved communication during maternity leave

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QUESTIONS

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  ? ? ?
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  ? ?

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What are the different types of flexible working?
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Flexible Working Options

• Part time
• Job Sharing
• Flexi time
• Compressed hours
• Flexible shift working/swapping
• Voluntary Reduced Hours
• Teleworking/Homeworking
• Annualised hours
• Term time working

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What policies do we operate at Equals One?
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Equals One - Flexible Working Options

• Part time
• Job Sharing
• Flexi time
• Compressed hours
• Flexible shift working/swapping
• Voluntary Reduced Hours
• Teleworking/Homeworking
• Annualised hours
• Term time working

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What benefits can be gained from operating
flexible working practices?
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Organisational benefits

• Improved staff retention/loyalty (54 employers
  have introduced flexible working to boost staff
  retention)
• Improved motivation
• Enhanced innovation and creativity
• Reduced absenteeism up to 30
• Flexibility to deal with change and short term
  business needs
• 30 increase productivity and profits

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How has Equals One benefited as an SME?

• Improved staff retention/loyalty - 0 turnover
  in last 3 years
• Reduced recruitment costs
• Reduce risks inherent with business growth
• Reduced absenteeism 0 in last two years
• Flexibility to deal with change and short term
  business needs
• Increase productivity and profits

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QUESTIONS

• ? ?
  ?
• ? ? ? ?
  ? ? ?
  ?
• ? ? ? ?
  ? ?

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CONCERNS?What are the factors you need to
consider when introducing flexible working
practices?
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IMPLEMENTING WORK-LIFE BALANCE PRACTICES
INTEGRATED STRATEGY
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QUESTIONS

• ? ?
  ?
• ? ? ? ?
  ? ? ?
  ?
• ? ? ? ?
  ? ?

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OBJECTIVES

• Identify our internal policies and the business
  benefits to adopting flexible working practices
• Identify the external factors which are driving
  forward flexible working
• Identify solutions to any concerns regarding
  implementing flexible working practices

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WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE!!!