Negotiating Flexibility With Your Employer

Organisations are acknowledging that many employees have a greater need for flexibility to enable them to balance lifestyle and meet other personal and family commitments. Access is a high priority for many employees including parents, students continuing their education, and mature age workers planning their retirement. Importantly, one in four workers in Australia are carers.

Flexibility is often a misused term. Essentially it means any alternative working arrangement to working in the office during core business hours for 5 days each week. So a full time role can be flexible as some hours may be done from home depending on the type of work you do.

Applying for a new job - having the 'flexibility' conversation

• Know YOUR story - Before having the conversation, be confident in your skills and abilities. Know what you are worth, what you want to do, and know what you are goods at. Employers like motivated and confident candidates.
• Do some research - Google the employer. Find out if they are aflexible employer. Do they have a flexible work policy? Connect with your networks on LinkedIn and Facebook - ask if anyone has had any involvement with the employer. The more information you can gather, the more prepared you will be.
• Always ask - If you see a job advertisement that looks perfect for you but it is full time, always find out if the employer if happy to explore flexible work options. The talent pool is getting smaller and the quality of the applicants may not be strong. If you don't ask you will never know.
• Be upfront - Don't wait to get a job interview before finding out if the employer would consider flexible work options. Be upfront about your requirements so your time and the employer's time are not wasted.
• Work with the right recruiters - If you are enlisting the help of recruiters, make sure you are talking to recruiters who understand your needs - and who undertand what flexibility means. Read our tips on dealing with recruiters.
• Be proactive - if the role is similar to another role you previously worked flexibly in, prepare a business case as part of your application.
• At the interview - Treat the interview process as a 360 degree interview. In other words, you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. You are at a stage in your career where you have accrued experience and expertise. Remember that.

 

Negotiating flexibility with your employer

The steps below will assist you in negotiating flexible working arrangements with your employer:

Step 1: Know the facts

Know the facts. Request a copy of your organisation's Flexible Work  Policy. There may also be a Telecommuting Policy. Know your opportunties and limitations. Speak to other employees who are working flexibly. Find out how they negotiated their working arrangements.

Step 2: Negotiating flexibility

Whether it is your current employer or a new employer that you need to approach to discuss a flexible working arrangement, it is important that you feel confident and prepared about negotiating a deal that will work for you. Make an appointment with your manager of HR contact to discuss the option of working flexibly.

Resource: Flexible work options to consider

Step 3: Business Case Proposal

Next, prepare a business case proposal for your manager. A proposal provides formality to an arrangement and can be filed for review at a later date. Use the following questions as a guide to include in your business case proposal to work flexibly:

• Why do you need to work flexibly?
• What type of flexible work arrangement are you proposing? So job share, part time, work from home arrangements etc.  (give at least 2 variations in work patterns)
• What would be the impact on your job responsibilities and tasks?
• Can you recommend any solutions?
• What will be the impact on your stakeholders i.e. customers, colleagues, etc.
• What aspects of your role could be done from home?
• Are there any costs or cost savings associated with this flexible work arrangement?
• Why do you think you can work flexibly in an effective manner?
• What measurement criteria can you propose to measure the success of the flexible work arrangement you are proposing?

Step 4: Making Flexibility Work

When your flexible work arrangement has been approved, consider the following tips:

• Offer a 3-6 month trial period. You then have an opportunity to demonstrate how successful your working arrangement can be. 
• Determine what work will be done differently as a result fo the flexible work arrangement and communicate how it will work with your team, clients and other stakeholders.
• Agree to a regular meeting with your manager to monitor the flexible work arrangement.
• Keep a diary note of how things are going for the first 3-6 months. Identify what is working and what could be improved.
• Resolve and tweak changes to the arrangement as you go.
• Seek feedback from team members and clients every 6 months and implement any suggested improvements.
• Discuss any concerns that arise with your manager.

A game plan to help you find a flexible job