W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
Streamlining Flex Time: Staying Competitive
Summary Today’s employees consider benefits to be a top contributor to job satisfaction, influencing employee loyalty, engagement and morale. But as the economy continues to struggle, employee benefits suffer. How can an organization recruit and maintain top talent with a flagging benefits package? Unfortunately, many organizations overlook a key benefit that employees value highly that also offers significant advantages to employers at a relatively low cost. What is this benefit? Flex time. If the thought of implementing and managing a flex-time policy seems to outstrip its considerable advantages, the process can be significantly streamlined with a timekeeping system, improving the consistency, measurability, accessibility and accountability of any flex-time arrangement.
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved.
page 1
W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
Economic Impact on Employee Benefits In 2011, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that 77 percent of surveyed HR professionals said the state of the economy had negatively impacted employee benefits—a 5 percent increase from 2010.1 Consequently, cost-cutting measures leave employees more responsible for managing personal benefits such as retirement, leave and health care.2 Importantly, SHRM also reported employees ranked benefits as a top contributor to job satisfaction.3 This combination of factors, cost-cutting measures caused by a sluggish economy coupled with the influential role benefits play in employee satisfaction, leaves many employers in the lurch when it comes to recruiting and retaining employees. How can organizations attract new talent and retain quality workers with an attractive yet affordable benefits package? One benefit growing in employee popularity can help increase overall productivity and satisfaction and reduce turnover and absenteeism.4 Best of all, it’s a low-cost benefit for an employer to offer. What is this “miracle” benefit? Flex time.
Flex Time: A Benefit on the Rise Mark J. Schmit, SHRM’s Director of Research, reports that flex time is on the rise: “The addition of workplace flexibility programs has been one of the primary tactics organizations are using to offset the benefit losses. These programs can have positive outcomes for both the employee and the organization.”5 SHRM’s employee benefit survey showed that workplace flexibility benefits increased in 2011 with more than half of surveyed HR professionals claiming their organizations already offer flexible schedule benefits (up from 49 percent in 2010). Twenty percent reported offering full-time telecommuting, a 3 percent increase from the previous year.6 SHRM has been researching the wide-reaching impact of “flexible work arrangements” (FWAs) since 2008. Notably, in the executive summary of its 2011 Employee Benefit survey, flex time is one of four strategies (and the only benefitspecific strategy) SHRM recommends organizations adopt to stay competitive.7
Flex Time Defined So what exactly is flex time? Although ultimately defined by the individual organization according to the business’s needs, flex time can include part-time hours, a compressed workweek, telecommuting, break arrangements, shift flexibility, job-sharing, phased retirement, part-year work, alternating locations or flexible schedules (with or without established “core hours”).8 Taking these variables into account, SHRM defines flexible work arrangements as offering employees greater flexibility in three areas: (1) the workplace in general, (2) the scheduling of hours worked, and (3) the number of hours worked.9
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved.
page 2
W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
The Advantages of Flex Time Flex time offers a surprising number of benefits to both employees and employers.
Employees Better work/life balance. Accounting firm Ernst & Young implemented flex time for employees during its busiest time of year: tax season. Because it gave employees more opportunity to balance their work and personal time, allowing them to handle family and personal obligations as well as take time off, employees found their personal relationships were less strained during tax season.10 Improved work/life balance can help reduce stress levels and increase productivity at work. Improved employee morale and higher job satisfaction. In 2010, 67 percent of HR professionals reported that flexible work arrangements giving employees more control over when, where, and how long they work had a positive impact on employee morale, job satisfaction and overall work engagement.11 Positive impact on health and wellness. The United Kingdom’s Durham University studied the physiological health benefits related to flex time. University researchers found that flexible work arrangements seemed to improve employees’ mental health, sleep quality, job alertness, and even lowered blood pressure.12 These findings could position flex time as a possible solution to help employers lower health care costs with programs shown to increase employee health and well-being. Clearly, flexible scheduling is meant to offer significant advantages to employees. However, many organizations that implement flex time enjoy a number of benefits as well.
Employers Improved employee retention. When considering which employees would benefit most from flex time, working mothers are likely the first group that comes to mind. However, according to Cathy Benko, a vice chairwoman at Deloitte, the company found male employees held a similarly high opinion of flex time: “Flexibility is the number one issue for women, but it’s also the number two or three issue for men.”13 Powerful recruiting tool. Even in a down economy, the demand for some workers still outstrips geographical supply. An organization that offers telecommuting as part of their flex time package is no longer limited by geography, allowing them to recruit top talent globally with no need to pay for relocation. Flex time not only makes it easier to recruit new employees, but it also makes the organization more attractive to them, giving the company a competitive advantage over other organizations that only offer traditional work arrangements. Increased levels of employee commitment. Employees who take advantage of their employer’s flex time policies can feel more in control of their schedule and more respected by their employer, increasing the chances they stay with their current organization. A survey by AstraZeneca
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved.
page 3
W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
showed 80 percent of women and 61 percent of men said flexibility was very important in their decision to stay with their current employer.14 Inexpensive benefit. Many employers think compensation and opportunities for advancement are the major motivators for employees. However, Accenture reports flex time was consistently ranked in the top three benefits employers could offer.15 Accommodates a diverse workforce. Some organizations limit flex time to exempt employees, but research shows flex time can also benefit low-wage hourly workers. For example, in the retail sector low-wage hourly workers have very little control over work schedules that tend to be erratic, unstable and rigid, causing turnover rates to be as high as 80–500 percent.16 Flexible work arrangements alleviate the rigidity, giving employees more control over their schedules, which helps reduce the high turnover and absentee rates typical for this employee segment. So, if flex time offers so many advantages to both employees and employers, why aren’t more organizations taking steps to offer flexible work arrangements?
Clearing the Hurdles Despite multiple benefits to both employees and employers, many HR professionals see flex time as nothing but a headache. Even while flexible schedules can be crafted to support the organization and still provide employees with highly valued work/life balance, how can flex time be successfully implemented and managed without significant administrative upheaval? Once an organization has outlined a flex-time arrangement that meets the needs of the business and its employees, HR professionals must look to their timekeeping system to help streamline flex-time administration. Timekeeping systems provide flexible work arrangements with consistency, measurability, accessibility and accountability.
Consistency A timekeeping system can bring consistency to flex-time management by reflecting an organization’s flex-time policies, allowing employees to enter work time and make schedule changes according to the organization’s flex-time program. If an organization’s flexible scheduling requires employees to work “core hours” each day (hours that every employee must be available) the system can be configured to flag exceptions if an employee’s schedule conflicts with core-hour requirements. Predefined flex schedules can also be made available, letting employees choose which schedule they’d like to work.
Measurability An important aspect of implementing flex time is measuring its effectiveness. The ability to generate reports with a timekeeping system on scheduling trends by department, group or team can be useful in determining how flex time is being used. Reports that provide quantitative flex-time usage can correlate with qualitative flex-time data such as employee satisfaction surveys. They can also detail historic data for benchmarking initiatives.
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved.
page 4
W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
Accessibility The key component of a successful flex-time policy is the ability to give employees more control over their work schedules. A timekeeping system must reflect this tenant, offering round-the-clock system accessibility. The system must offer an employee portal that allows workers access to their own personal information including work schedule, time card and benefits information, allowing employees to make changes easily and communicate with their supervisors about schedulerelated issues.
Accountability A timekeeping system that features a manager dashboard assists supervisors in overseeing efficient flexible scheduling in their department, team or group. A dashboard that flags time card exceptions and errors helps supervisors identify and correct scheduling mistakes quickly. Organizations that employ a point system can use their timekeeping system to assign points to employees who misuse or abuse flex time or reward employees demonstrating positive flex time use.
Staying Competitive—Streamlining Flex Time While the economy causes many employee benefits to nose dive, flex time is one benefit that offers advantages to both employees and employers. Employees gain better work/life balance, improved morale and job satisfaction and even better health and well-being. Employers gain a powerful low-cost recruitment tool that improves employee retention and commitment in both salaried and hourly workers. Organizations looking to capitalize on the advantages of flexible work arrangements but avoid the headaches and hassle of administering a flex-time policy must look to their timekeeping system. The right timekeeping system streamlines flex-time management by offering consistency, measurability, accessibility and accountability, allowing an organization to strengthen their flex-time program into a highly prized employee benefit.
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved.
page 5
W HI T E PA PER
Streamlining Flex Time
About Attendance on Demand, Inc. Attendance on Demand supports the labor management needs of thousands of companies and more than a half million employees across North America. Launched in 2006, Attendance on Demand is a rapidly deployed, cloud-based solution that minimizes a company’s risk and technology investment while providing advanced features for securely managing labor data—calculating pay rules, scheduling employees, budgeting labor, and automating recordkeeping for labor law compliance. With standard uptime over the industry average of 99.995% and above average customer retention rates, Attendance on Demand removes the worry of maintaining expensive infrastructure. An extensive North American distribution network helps organizations use Attendance on Demand to reduce labor expenses and improve decision making.
References
To find out how Attendance on Demand can help your
1 SHRM. 2011 Employee Benefits: Examining Employee Benefits Amidst Uncertainty. 2011. http://www.shrm.org/research/surveyfindings/articles/pages/2011employeebenefitssurveyfindings. aspx 2 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). “Economy Negatively Impacted Employee Benefits More in 2011.” PRNewswire.com. 26 June 2011. 3 Ibid. 4 Javitch, Dr. David G. “The Benefits of Flextime.” Entrepreneur. 5 Jun 2006. 5 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). “Economy Negatively Impacted Employee Benefits More in 2011.” PRNewswire.com. 26 June 2011. 6 SHRM. 2011 Employee Benefits: Examining Employee Benefits Amidst Uncertainty. 2011. 7 SHRM. Workplace Flexibility in the 21st Century: Meeting the Needs of the Changing Workforce. 3 Aug 2009. http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/WorkplaceFlexibilityinthe21stCenturyMeetingtheNeedsoftheChangingWorkforce.aspx 8 SHRM. “SHRM Research Spotlight: Workplace Flexibility in the 21st Century.” Oct 2010. < http:// www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/10-WorkFlexFlier_FINAL_Spotlight.pdf> 9 Greenhouse, Steven. “Flex Time Flourishes in the Accounting Industry.” The New York Times. 7 Jan 2011. 10 SHRM. Workplace Flexibility in the 21st Century: Meeting the Needs of the Changing Workforce. 3 Aug 2009. Same note as above 11 Fiore, Kristina. “Employees Healthier When Boss Is Flexible.” ABCNews/Health. 21 Feb 2011. 12 Greenhouse, Steven. “Flex Time Flourishes in the Accounting Industry.” The New York Times. 7 Jan 2011. 13 Tarkan, Laurie. “The Benefits of Flex Time (to Employers).” BNET. 22 Jul 2011. < http://www.bnet.com/blog/health-fit-tips/the-benefits-of-flextime-to-employers/1283> 14 Tarkan, Laurie. “The Benefits of Flex Time (to Employers).” BNET. 22 Jul 2011. < http://www.bnet.com/blog/health-fit-tips/the-benefits-of-flextime-to-employers/1283> 15 Ibid 16 O’Brien, Michael. “Balancing Work/Life by the Hour.” Human Resource Executive Online. 11 Jul 2011.
organization, call 800-465-9980 or visit www.attendanceondemand.com
www.attendanceondemand.com ©2015 Attendance on Demand, Inc. All rights reserved. Attendance on Demand is a registered trademark of Attendance on Demand, Inc.
page 6 10/11 rev 02/15
