British Council
Background
The purpose of the project was to produce a framework statement that brought together all the Council's existing policies on work-life balance and flexible working with the aim of managing all these policies on a more consistent basis and to encourage take up.
In addition, Swiftwork was asked to assess existing policies to ensure they were fit for purpose and could be used as the basis for taking the Council's flexible working forward.
The objectives also included the aim of setting up mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the Council's flexible working policy.
Clear and simple communications were also required as a reference for employees on the updated policies.
Key Initiatives
A three-part process was planned:
- gathering information on current market practices through published information and benchmarking with other organisations that have successfully implemented work-life balance and flexible working policies;
- assessment of current policies and development of a new handbook of guidelines for managers and employees;
- consultation with employees through focus groups and training through workshops;
- trialling of work-life balance initiatives and flexible working through pilots.
The feedback from these processes was to be used to create guidelines and procedures to be implemented throughout the Council.
Key Outcomes
The project manager at the start of the project had undertaken benchmarking with other organisations. In addition, Swiftwork was able to bring to the project direct experience of best practice with a wide range of organisations.
Internally, issues were explored and recommendations sought through a series of focus groups and telephone interviews with 33 managers and staff from a cross section of departments in London and Manchester during March. The aim of the focus groups and interviews was to raise awareness of the programme plan, to create enthusiasm for the project's aims and to identify themes about flexible working. The main themes were summarised in a written feedback report.
Once the output from the focus groups, interviews and surveys had been reviewed and evaluated, a total of six 2-hour workshops for managers were run in order to:
- to increase understanding of and support for the British Council's flexible working project;
- to increase understanding of the business benefits of improved work-life balance for individuals and flexible working solutions for teams and clients;
- to listen to managers' views and concerns about management in a flexible environment from their individual and team perspectives;
- to generate enthusiasm for and commitment to pilot schemes.
A high proportion of people that attended the workshops expressed an interest in developing pilots. Two pilot teams were eventually identified: the Education Teachers International Development Team and the European Schools East Team both in the ETG department.
A half-day pilot surgery was held with each. The object of the surgeries was to discuss with the managers and the teams the issues around their work commitments, service delivery and their own work-life balance and how these can be reconciled to create workable and beneficial flexible working schemes. Teams were also encouraged to develop quantitative and qualitative measures that would monitor the success of their pilots.
Overseas Workshops
Though not part of the original specification, the project manager, together with the management team, decided that, for the purposes of inclusiveness and to extend the learning to the context of overseas offices, overseas offices should be invited to participate in the project. Most of the overseas offices operate with minimal local HR function so support from London is a necessary and valued requirement in spreading, more widely, any issues concerning culture change.
Expressions of interest were received from 16 overseas offices. Of these, four were selected - Malawi, Dubai, Poland and Denmark - on the basis of need, difference in size and operation, geographical spread, and readiness to participate. Workshops were developed along the lines of those created for UK managers, but each was tailor made to specific needs after discussions with the Director of each country. The workshops ranged from the inclusion of the whole office: Malawi and Denmark, to selected staff and managers: Poland and Dubai.
In running these workshops, the Council's objectives were:
- to elicit information and insights about the issues relating to the implementation of flexible working overseas;
- to share good practice examples, hints and tips across the British Council globally;
- to broaden the impact and benefits of flexible working.
In Malawi, feedback was very positive. In general, people felt they learnt a great deal about flexible working options, how to manage their own time more effectively and how customer service can be improved through the implementation of more flexible working.
In general, the feedback in Dubai was positive with most participants reporting they found the sessions interesting, informative and useful. They appreciated the opportunity to explore new ideas about working practices and to interact with colleagues from different departments.
In Poland, the large number of participants at this workshop meant that scope for more detailed discussion of the issues was more limited, but the opportunity to share ideas and concerns across the departments and to learn about the possibilities proved helpful and feedback was positive.
Due to the small numbers in Denmark, the workshops took a more intimate format than usual and there was a high level of participation and engagement (despite initial reservations on the part of the Director that this would be the case) and presenting an opportunity to have a broad discussion about flexible working issues, as well as more general workplace issues. The staff were most enthusiastic about the possibilities for change as a result of the workshop.
Summary
Overall the project was a success, notwithstanding the fact that it did not take quite the form that was originally envisaged.
The focus groups, questionnaire, and Intranet communication about the project in the early stages, served to raise awareness about flexible working generally and to generate some discussions about the Council's existing policies and provisions. Workshops in the UK similarly succeeded in raising awareness amongst managers about the challenges and opportunities presented by flexible working, as well as the potential business benefits to be gained through greater operational efficiency, improved team working and enhanced morale and commitment. Giving managers the space and security to explore these issues amongst themselves and to share ideas and concerns increases confidence and competence to manage in a flexible working environment.
The communication flow was also two-way in that issues, concerns and ideas within different teams were also brought to light, as well as needs in terms of information and support, which would help form the basis of a Flexible Working Toolkit.
The development of an On-line Toolkit for staff will give Council people across the world the information and support they need to develop flexible working schemes which suit their particular needs and meet local employment law requirements. As well as the actual policies, the Toolkit will contain guidance for managers and staff, the pros and cons of particular schemes and case studies from colleagues in different offices. It will also serve to connect managers with similar operational requirements to facilitate the sharing of ideas and good practice.
The four overseas teams that were included provided insights into the issues faced in offices remote from the central HQ hub, as well as creating an opportunity for the Project manager to share information and answer questions related to existing BC policies. It is hoped and expected that the Directors concerned will encourage the development of new ways of working which will, in turn, provide case study material for the Toolkit.
Finally, the project itself served as a useful pilot for a global model in HR policy development. This is a relatively new approach for the Council, but has been recognised for some time as being necessary to inclusiveness, consistency and sharing of good practice. Certainly the fact that we had taken the time to visit these offices and work direct with the staff concerned was appreciated at local level.
Furthermore, where there was scope for a follow up discussion of some sort, the Directors appreciated the support of an HR colleague on site and took the opportunity to air local management challenges. As the Council tries to move away from a UK-centric policy development, this project has contributed to the development of a new approach for the future.