Telework Tips: 4 Strategies for Leading Remote Workers - Developing a Culture of Flexibility (
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Developing a Culture of Flexibility The success of telework within an organization is largely dependent on the commitment from
management to make it work.
“Finding
a champion somewhere up there in senior manger is going to b e the most
beneficial thing that you can do in order to get the line supervisors accept it
because if managers and line supervisors don't accept it , it will not happen,”
Stanley said. “They will break it maybe not intentionally, but they will break
it if they don't see the value of it.”
One of
the most effective way executives can exhibit this commitment is leading
through example,
Stanley said. She points to successful
executives such as Accenture CEO Bill Green, who conducts much of his business
from his home office. This example has helped establish a culture making it
possible for most of the company’s employees to also telework.
Establishing
a flexible work environment also means looking for alternative arrangements
when teleworking won’t work for a specific employee or job function. After all,
telework isn’t the only way to offer employees flexibility.
“Not
everyone can telecommute, but there are a whole lot of things in terms of
flexibility that you can do to make people happy,”
Stanley said. “The more flexibility you
offer your organization, the more you are paid back through productivity, less absenteeism, less turnover and
a greater loyalty to the organization.”
These
alternative forms of flexibility include flextime, compressed workweeks, job
sharing, and shift flexibility. Fostering a flexible work environment also
depends on the results-oriented management model that
Stanley emphasized earlier. An
organization that avails itself to this model can afford to give not only more
options for work scheduling and location, but also how the work is done.
Even
simply offering a greater amount of job function autonomy is a another great
way to minimize grumbling from those workers who are not able to telecommute.
“Managers may consider granting greater job
autonomy to those individuals who remain
in the office so that they may not be as adversely impacted by the absence of
teleworkers,” Golden said.
“In other words they may grant them greater discretion
in how they conduct their work activities, the interdependence of their tasks
with others in the office, and perhaps even their latitude in how they schedule
activities so they are not restricted or don't experience additional
restrictions as a consequence of having a larger proportion of those in the
office who telework,” said Golden.
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