Flexible Work Environment
Smashing the clock at BestBuy.com….wow…read this article. Is your work environment anything like what is happening at BestBuy? May be your business can’t operate the exact way, but how open are you to creating the necessary flexibility that fits your business.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013001.htm
In reading this article, I learned an innovative and effective way to managing employees. What I gathered from this article is that the manager is most effective when they help their employees become ‘accountable’ for their performance. Today’s manager has to be focused on results and not on the employee’s presence in the workplace. That is when flexibility in the workplace becomes a viable option.
Read the article and form your own opinions. Don’t get bogged down in their specifics, but rather allow yourself to appreciate the work environment and how it promotes accountability, flexibility, loyalty and ultimately the bottom line for the company.
So having said that, let’s look more at workplace flexibility.
What exactly is a flexible workplace? Generally it includes flexibility around hours worked, days, physical space where you work, part-time hours or job sharing. Creating the right program for your company depends on you, your employees, your culture and the willingness to let go of established business policies.
What flexible workplace options do you now have in place? Evaluate how they are working and whether you can enhance them or should further market your programs to your employees.
A flexible work environment actually creates more employee accountability. A parent is focused when they can work late tonight to complete a project and then can go to their child’s performance the next day. This type of flexibility creates a strong working relationship between managers and employees. It is not the only criteria for employee loyalty, though it does add significantly to higher performance levels. Whenever we promote ‘accountability’ in employees, we win on the performance levels.
Before assuming that you can’t change the current structure and that work in the office between 9-5 is the only model, it is helpful to brainstorm on other possibilities. There is an art to creating possibilities. Being open to a flexible work environment doesn’t mean that you have to make major changes right away. Rather, you can create small steps that build on change.
Check out the book “The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life” by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. The Authors open the door for you to explore ways to create a new perspective. Whenever we make a change in our perception, we grow as professionals and members of our community.
Take some time to brainstorm around flexibility in your workspace. Bring a group of employees together from different departments or different passages in their lives. Give them the charge to come up with as many suggestions around workplace flexibility as they can. Allow them the freedom of creativity.
Final Thought
It’s important for you to be mindful that how you managed employees in the past is not going to keep you competitive in business or in the talent market.
Next Topic
Member Suggestion: How Does The New Manager Handle The Existing Manager They Are Replacing?
Pat
Other Topics:
Manage By Listening
How To Tell If You Are A Micro-Manager
Are You A ‘People Friendly’ Manager?
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Brian Tracy speaks to corporate and public audiences on the subjects of Personal and Professional Development, including the executives and staff of many of America’s largest corporations. I have purchased several of his CDs and have found that he presents the information in a clear, systematic and informative manner. “The Science of Self-Confidence” is great to purchase for yourself and your employees. Bring the tools in house so that employees can focus on building their confidence.
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