The challenge is not about writing the company policy, but rather normalising the practice.
This obstacle was something engineering firm GHD identified from the outset and aimed to change. In a male dominated industry, GHD realised that a key factor in hiring and retaining more women would involve more than just offering flexible work: it needed to normalise flexibility to the point where both male and female employees used it regularly.
As General Manager, Phil Duthie aptly noted, “A company can have a flexible working policy, but unless it is actually being implemented and modelled, it just sits on the shelf.”
Instead, Duthie told Women’s Agenda that GHD’s focus has been “on creating cultural acceptance of flexible working” as a legitimate and valuable way to deliver outcomes for clients and business.
Flexibility is also a key component of GHD’s gender equality initiatives, and is already seeing results. In the 12 months to December 2016 GHD’s proportion of women in its leadership team grew 16% to 36%, with 40% of all new starters now being female.
Acknowledging that normalising flexible work is largely dependent on the example set by company execs, Duthie said he and his senior leadership team are conscious to work flexibly on a regular basis, to “give others the confidence to ask for non-traditional arrangements that suit them.”
Encouraging male employees to work flexibly was also a crucial part of the process for GHD, to stop the practice being perceived as a “women’s issue”. For Duthie, the results have been eye-opening, with male employees seeking flexible arrangements on a regular basis to study, keep up with family obligations and other commitments outside of work.
But this hasn’t had a negative impact on productivity or business success. “The link between more flexibility, diversity and better business performance is well known” said Duthie, adding it was part of GHD’s drive toward better business outcomes. The framework was also shaped by Duthie’s own “personal experience of how diverse teams enrich the strategic conversations and team dynamics.”
Encouragingly, Duthie added the firm is now seeing more women who’re working flexibility being appointed to and expressing interest in leadership roles. “There’s now much greater acceptance that business outcomes can still be delivered outside the traditional fulltime in the office model.”
So what can other businesses do when it comes to normalizing flexible work? Duthie said every business and industry needs its own tailored approach to make it work for their employees. There are then some common things all businesses should note: “The right environment, building awareness of how people can make flexibility work for them and most importantly leadership by example” are the crucial elements.
“It’s relatively easy to announce a new policy, but changing the culture is the biggest challenge,” he said.