Scottish firms urged to flex for the future

CIPD conference to highlight flexible working as the best way to connect with an increasingly 24/7 world

TO many of us, flexible working is still something of a vague concept, confined to co-workers with caring responsibilities. The truth is that it can bring a massive change in a workforce, with benefits for employers and for employees at all stages of their career.

As Lee Ann Panglea, Head of Scotland and Northern Ireland, CIPD says, the big question now is how flexible working is implemented more widely through Scottish business.

It’s one of many topics that will be covered at the CIPD Scotland Annual Conference, on Thursday, March 5, in Edinburgh. A one-day event for those interested in developing their workforce to ensure their organisation is focused on driving fair, meaningful and productive work.

One conference session explores how flexible working can be used as a powerful organisational tool to enhance employee attraction, engagement and retention, and in particular the positive impact a flexible and remote working culture can have on your organisation.

Flexible working is a term that describes a type of working arrangement which gives a degree of flexibility on how long, where, when, and at what times employees work. It’s as simple as that. These arrangements can be formal or informal, in agreement with employee’s line manager.

“Many consider flexible working to be just part-time working but there are so many options to suit people at every stage of their lives and when life requires a different solution to the normal workplacebased routine such as compressed hours, term-time working, job sharing and flexi-time. CIPD’s evidence, from its UK Working Lives Survey 2019, suggests Scotland still has a lot to do in terms of adopting flexible working practice and its overall performance in worklife balance, compared with other UK nations and regions. CIPD Scotland believes flexible working should be the norm rather than the exception for Scottish workers.

“The business case is clear, as well as being attractive to new talent and creating a higher level of job satisfaction, flexible working is shown to encourage commitment,” adds Lee Ann. “It can reduce absence rates and allow employees to manage disability and long-term health conditions, as well as the positive impacts on mental health by helping to reduce the amount of stress and pressure employees feel under.” This can be achieved through informal flexible working, with employees working from home on an ad hoc basis.”

Additional benefits can include savings on office space through home working, and a better match between business resources and demand with flexible working patterns – such as alternative shift patterns serving customers on a 24/7 basis increasing efficiency.

The potential benefits to both organisations and employees, as well as wider society, are clear. So what are the next steps to increasing the flexible working practice over time to make work more accessible to all and allowing fair opportunities?

With so few vacancies advertised as flexible, employers are missing the opportunity to attract a more diverse pool of talented workers. CIPD encourages employers to advertise jobs as flexible by using the strapline “Happy to talk Flexible Working” in their job advertisements regardless of level or pay grade. We also need to recognise the important role line managers play in building trusted relationships with those working flexibly and the support management needed to make practice work.

Lee Ann Panglea says that the “why” has been satisfied but now we need to look at the “how”. The current state of the quality flexible jobs market in Scotland needs to be looked at closely. “We need a different approach to workforce planning and job redesign,” adds Lee Ann. “And that needs more practical guidance, tools, best practice examples and support. CIPD has a range of advice and solutions for businesses of all sizes already adopting or considering adopting flexible working practice.”

Ultimately, we need the policy actions required to stimulate better quality, flexible work in Scotland.

The CIPD is the professional body for HR and people development. The CIPD Scotland Annual Conference takes place on Thursday, March 5, at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. For more information and tickets visit events.cipd.co.uk/events/ scotland/

Lee Ann Panglea, Head of Scotland and Northern Ireland, CIPD