With the consistent influx of technology that continues to bring a tremendous revolution in contemporary management designs, organizations worldwide are transforming their old school managerial approach through new and upgraded strategies, tools, and organizational policies.
The tasks that were previously considered as solely a human job are effectively being performed by computers and automated systems. Similarly, that transition of physical and hardware organizational systems to the cloud has made it easier for organizations to opt for a more lenient and employee-oriented approach, and offers them a flexible working environment.
Flexibility at the Workplace – A Choice or Necessity?
A flexible working environment allows an employee to change, alter, or modify their conventional working patterns or schedules to perform their assigned tasks at their own convenience, in terms of time (when), place (where), and the manner (how) in which an employee works. Flexibility at the workplace reduces unplanned absenteeism and ensures that the pace of performance is sustained as per regular targets and goals.
In a research conducted by JP Morgan Chase to find out the correlation between workplace flexibility and employee morale, 95% of employees working in a flexible working capacity were found to be more motivated towards exceeding their manager’s expectations as compared to those employees with little to no flexibility in their job design. This validates that leniency in job designs and working procedures only brings a fair share of benefits not just for employees, but for the entire organization.
Managing Workforce in a Flexible Working Environment
Flexibility brings a variation in the operational status quo. Different working arrangements for different employees, designed as per their convenience, require extra and more intricate and elaborate planning to ensure that all tasks and processes are completed in a timely fashion.
It may also alters the regular shift mechanism and turns out to be a critical task at the manager’s end to ensure that each shift and each operational area has sufficient workforce for the smooth and hassle-free execution of tasks.
A manual handling of all these additional responsibilities in tandem practically exceeds the human multi-tasking capability. Hence, automated software programs, like Time and Attendance System, is always the best bet for organizations to manage the workplace without making a mess of their regular working operations.
An automated Time and Attendance System maintains an accurate and real-time account of each employee’s working hours, productivity, and overtime, and also looks after the time-in and time-out functions. The recorded information about each employee is readily accessible to the managers and employees at a single click.
Hence, while it enables the employees to keep track of their leaves, absences, and overtimes, it also allows the managers to opt for a proactive approach in the case of an unplanned leave, or when allowing the employee to work at his own convenience, from home or any other place, at a suitable time. Furthermore, it keeps track of the performance, productivity, and the timely completion of tasks in flexible working arrangements, so as to ensure that the organization achieves its targets and goals.
