{"id":8598,"date":"2021-10-14T16:31:07","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T15:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=8598"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:35:05","slug":"support-flexible-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/support-flexible-working\/","title":{"rendered":"How to support flexible working so your workforce can thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">People &amp; Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to support flexible working so your workforce can thrive\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-10-14T16:31:07+01:00\">14 October, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to support flexible working so your workforce can thrive\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/support-flexible-working\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/staceymcintosh\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/11\/Stacey-McIntosh-350-1.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Stacey McIntosh<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Flexible working is the new, well, way of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coronavirus pandemic has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/5-tips-migrating-on-premises-to-cloud\/\">exacerbated the need<\/a> for employers to offer a clear, well-documented policy to attract new talent and keep your workforce performing at their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know that when employees are better able to balance their personal lives alongside their work requirements, they are more productive, more enthused about their jobs, and more likely to go <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/people-company-how-build-business-people-first\/\">beyond for your business&#8217; success.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though a common desire among the workforce marketplace, flexible working is still a new space to navigate for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, we break down the elements of a flexible working policy, how to set it up so it&#8217;s easy for you to manage, and how to build your staff&#8217;s confidence in this new way of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s what the article covers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#what-anchor-link\">What is a flexible working policy?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#how-anchor-link\">How to write a flexible working policy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#cloud-anchor-link\">Cloud software to make flexible working happen<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-4773b6e0-025d-4b25-9748-8df0ca4a0d6b\">Download your free guide, How to boss managing your people and payroll, and give your team the support that ultimately helps your business succeed<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-anchor-link\">What is a flexible working policy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A flexible working policy is the set of formal guidelines that govern how your workforce will plan and document their work schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll want to keep this highly publicised for everyone in the company to see, perhaps as part of your onboarding process and somewhere easily accessible for reference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to be clear about what the term flexible means for your company. This could mean working from home sometimes or working a non-traditional work shift. Your policy should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Layout the available work options<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Detail the steps for selecting and changing a work schedule<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Specify expectations and responsibilities in terms of communicating updates, completing work tasks, and any other considerations that affect what should happen while on company time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-anchor-link\">How to write a flexible working policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because there are so many ways for your company to interpret flexibility for your workforce, there&#8217;s no one-size-fits-all policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are, however, common considerations to capture the general direction your policy should go for your business&#8217; purposes. Here are three of them&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Why does your company need a formal policy?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about what you want to communicate with your flexible working policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you want to show that work flexibility is a high priority within the company culture? Do you want to set the precedent of work\/life balance for new hires?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Considering this will help set the framework for your policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. What kind of flexibility can you support?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Remote working and flexible working are excellent recruiting and retaining tools, but only if you can provide them as a seamless experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have the technology and processes in place to support the flexibility you&#8217;d like to offer, you&#8217;ll need to plan for implementing a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. How can you collect feedback on your policy?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatever your goals are for your flexible working policy, it will be most effective if you include feedback from managers and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you decide what elements to include in your policy, be sure to factor in the opinions of those who will be impacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cloud-anchor-link\">Cloud software to make flexible working happen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a lot of moving parts to flexible working. If your policy includes remote working, you&#8217;ll need to be able to get your employees up and running to do their jobs quickly and without hassle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your flexible working policy means flexible shifts, you&#8217;ll a bird&#8217;s eye view of the shift schedule so you can plan for appropriate coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/hr\/\">Cloud HR software<\/a> can do this and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ditch manual processes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping track of everyone&#8217;s availability is a headache when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/spreadsheets-slowing-annual-leave-processes\/\">using spreadsheets<\/a>. They&#8217;re clunky to manage and prone to manual errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lighten your load with automated data processing built into cloud HR software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Automated data processing lightens your load by removing manual processes and replacing them with digital workflows, giving you complete visibility of your workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of pouring over sticky notes or emails to track employee absences, your employees can submit requests through a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/hr\/app\/\">mobile app<\/a> that&#8217;s much easier to manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also limit the number of shifts employees can request on or off automatically by declining requests after so many are submitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Self-service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With more employees working remotely, the ability to view and change employee information any time, from anywhere is more important than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employees can manage their own time off on-the-go with mobile-optimised HR solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They can use the same app to complete <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/performance-management-continuous-feedback\/\">performance reviews<\/a> and complete engagement surveys all from one secure, online system of record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Communication and engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Help your people stay connected and informed wherever they are and whenever they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a world of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/hybrid-working-manage-remote-workplace-employees\/\">remote and disparate working<\/a>, there&#8217;s a greater need for that sense of belonging and connection at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the absence of face-to-face time, there needs to be even more focus on communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Need to make a company announcement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HR software enables you to communicate effectively through targeted, personalised messages to specific groups of employees or send updates directly to employees&#8217; work mobiles so everyone is informed and engaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This also includes allowing employees to submit feedback to you so communication goes both ways \u2013 an important factor in employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Continuous feedback<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The world of work is always changing. Frequent and continuous feedback gives you regular, up-to-date insights into how your people are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This enables you to constantly improve your processes, and respond to and improve experiences for your staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How annoying is it when you complete a survey only to wait two months before you hear anything back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continuous feedback and regular engagement surveys allow for a rapid &#8216;you said, we did&#8217; approach to engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Migrating to cloud software for HR and payroll helps you to better create and manage a flexible working policy and to become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/people-company-how-build-business-people-first\/\">better people leader in general<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you eliminate manual processes and arm yourself with tools to understand what your staff needs, you have more time to address their roadblocks and help them to thrive at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you do that, your workforce feels respected and appreciated, and more personally invested in the success of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your people will become empowered to give the best of their skills and take pride in their contribution to your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This article was first published in February 2021 and has been updated for relevance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">How to boss managing your people and payroll<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Discover how to help your people overcome some of the challenges they face so they can prosper and your business can thrive.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-4773b6e0-025d-4b25-9748-8df0ca4a0d6b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/eloqua_1200x640_architect_bossit.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/eloqua_1200x640_architect_bossit.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Flexible working is the new way of working. We break down the elements of a flexible working policy and how to set one up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":346,"featured_media":6510,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[45,41],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[69,73,74],"imagine_tag":[163,92,217,109],"coauthors":[353],"class_list":["post-8598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","tag-employee-engagement","tag-hr-process","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Stacey McIntosh","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/06\/Beyers-Chocolate_2018_X3_BB-33.33301.jpg","imagine_tags":{"163":"Employee benefits","92":"HR and Payroll","217":"HR processes","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/6510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=8598"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}