Amanda Alexander is correct in many of her observations. I founded a consultancy, Silverhawk Partners, to help clients to access flexible talent at a senior level. There are many cultural and economic benefits in offering people flexible working opportunities.  My background briefly, is that I ran a communications consultancy, Clarion Communications, which was acquired in 2001 by WPP. PR is a career that attracts many women who have the excellent communications and client handling skills required; it is, however, a client service dedicated business that operates 24/7 with deadlines, demands and expectations.

Family and work

As we grew, we had an increasing number of women who needed to combine family and work; my option was to lose these talented and experienced people in whom we had invested training and experience.  And both internal and external teams prefer continuity and enjoy working with people they know. 

Flexible workforce

Our mode therefore, was to offer all of our staff the opportunity to work flexibly. Our teams worked together to establish working routines, within agreed guidelines. It made for an excellent working environment with unparalleled levels of staff retention within our industry. When I sold the company, I myself, who as Chairman/CEO had worked three days per week for five years, found it extremely difficult to find interesting and challenging work on a flexible basis.

No more wasted talent!

So the idea for Silverhawk was borne out of the realisation that there were many professionals like me who had reached a point in their careers where they want to work more flexibly and that companies and organisations were missing out on vital talent opportunities by being too rigid in their employee conditions. It is not just women with children who need flexibility, although this group were certainly the trailblazers. 

An enlightened employer who embraces flexible working throughout the organisation will be able to attract and retain the best quality talent; individuals who are committed and able to deliver results whilst integrating work into the demands of running a young family. This applies to men and women. It is often the culture of the organisation that prevents them from being effective and encourages the perception of them feeling sidelined, and somehow “parking” their career aspirations.

HR should drive change | flexible working

It is true to say that the new legislation mitigates against women of child bearing age and it is very tough for operators of SMEs, the lifeblood of our economy. The solution has to lie in employers redrawing the essentials of the workplace. Flexible working offers both cost and culture benefits. With the advance of technology and changing social demands, it is vital for HR departments to implement policies that will genuinely change culture. 

There is an underlying belief that if someone is not in the office, they are not contributing; this is simply not the case. People who work flexibly are committed to getting the job done; they approach their work with a positive attitude and are keen to deliver.

Flexible working - the business benefits!

Enlightened organisations, particularly in the current economic climate, will see that it is better to pay 80% of someone’s salary and have 110% commitment, as is the case for most people who work flexibly. The alternative is the drain of talent, intellectual capital, and years of training and development, not to mention frustrated, highly qualified individuals who simply cannot find the solution to their working lives and would rather opt out altogether than be forced into a full time role.

Are you a forward thinking organisation? 

Silverhawk Partners has a talent pool of almost 1000 highly qualified and talented senior professionals across a range of professional functions and from a wide variety of industry sectors who have opted to work flexibly. This is an extremely valuable source of talent; the majority of these candidates are not available through traditional recruiting channels and HR should take note that these people provide vital weaponry in the war for talent!

Our clients seldom request a flexible worker; they demand a skill-set; but when they see what can be gained by creating a flexible role to accommodate both candidate and hiring manager they are clearly impressed with the outcome. A forward thinking organisation will have flexibility embedded in its culture, with genuine take up and respect for those that have chosen the flexible option.

It is important to work with clients to demonstrate how flexibility can reap benefits within an organisation and to understand the challenges that are faced. We work with companies and public bodies who have all the policies and practices in place but rarely get sufficient take up. This is mainly because employees are not keen to hold up their hands for flexible working in case they are sidelined for promotion. 

HR - be an enabler not a blocker

Recent research undertaken by Working Families showed that the majority of flexible working arrangements within organisations are made on an informal basis. We would urge HR to integrate this approach into working policies. In order for flexible working to be effectively integrated throughout the organisation, HR needs to be seen as an “enabler”, not a “blocker”. Open communication is critical.

Teams work much better and more supportively if they are allowed to work out a system that supports the entire team. HR can work with managers to ensure that there is genuine take-up and respect for people working flexibly, but also awareness of the impact on other team members.

HR can also ensure that clear guidelines are set from the outset for both sides (manager and person working flexibly) to understand what is meant by flexibility. If there is an agreed set number of days in the office, try to maintain that timetable. Don’t structure a full time job in four days and expect the individual to perform. We offer workshops for teams to go through all the issues that can be faced to ensure that everyone’s concerns have been taken into account.