Second, for smaller companies to experiment with FWAs, a strong system for on-the-job training is important. Such a system must include tasks codified in training manuals and taught to managers who, in turn, teach them to new employees.
Structured on-the-job training allows flexi-workers to skill up systematically and take on more duties over time. This way, service levels are not compromised with a greater pool of part-timers.
Third, companies concerned about the complexity of managing a diverse composite workforce can consider HR software with smart algorithms to first schedule full-time employees, then flexi-workers, based on their availabilities within prescribed constraints such as man-hour costs.
NEW JOBS, NEW HABITS
But the key to change is in thinking of the kind of jobs that companies offer in the first place. When Henry Ford implemented eight-hour shifts in his factories in the 1920s, little did he realise that workers reporting to a physical location for eight hours (or longer) will persist well into the 21st century.
Companies today have the opportunity to not only think about what tasks get done, but also where and when they get done, and ultimately, how work can be deconstructed so that it’s done in an optimal manner.
Unravelling this requires process re-engineering that goes beyond simply cutting up a job so that different people can do it. There are repercussions on supply chains, service levels, accountability and even governance.
For instance, a marketing executive, who opts for part-time work to care for their family, may end up with the same volume of incoming emails but less time to respond if supervisors do not change the way they assign tasks. So companies have to factor in what they can absorb or not when staff go on FWAs.
Source: Channel News Asia
