Every organisation will be at a different stage of implementing flexible work.

Adapt these stages to what works for you.

Step 1: Analysis

In this stage, analyse how your organisation currently supports flexible work.

Speak with stakeholders, such as:

  • senior leaders
  • managers
  • unions
  • people who receive your services
  • employee-led networks
  • a diverse cross-section of employees

And run an employee survey, focus groups or a combination of methods.

Think about the concerns and challenges your employees will have with flexible work, such as:

  • how they find your policies and processes
  • what access barriers they may have
  • what skills they may need to develop
  • what skills managers may need to support their team

Organisations may like to do a flexible work self-assessment.

If you deliver services to the community, look at what impacts flexible work may have on how you do this.

Step 2: Design

In this stage, design the materials your organisation needs to implement change.

Vision statement and goals

The vision statement shows employees:

  • the organisation’s commitment to flexible work
  • where the organisation wants to get to with flexible work

The goals are what an organisation needs to do to achieve flexible work.

In writing a vision statement and goals, organisations can think of:

  • how they currently support flexible work
  • how they want to support flexible work in the future
  • how they will get there
  • how they will engage with stakeholders
  • what challenges they may face and how they will overcome them

Communications, policies and processes

Create accessible and consistent communications, policies and processes. And use all leaders to create buy-in across the organisation.

This helps tell everyone what’s changing and embeds flexibility into the culture.

Develop policies and processes that support flexible work, such as:

  • how organisations set and approve informal and formal arrangements
  • how often arrangements should be reviewed
  • how organisations embed flexibility across the employment lifecycle
  • how employees can appeal decisions about flexible work

Your organisation’s policies must comply with relevant enterprise agreements and laws.

Step 3: Engage

In this stage, engage your organisation’s employees using the materials you created in stage 2.

This may include:

  • celebration of success stories
  • promotion of the benefits
  • regular communication from leaders
  • training and development

Step 4: Review

In this stage, review your organisation’s progress towards flexible work.

To do this, it’s a good idea to collect some data, set targets and report on it regularly.

Some data that shows an organisation’s progress may include:

  • the number of employees who use flexible work
  • the types of flexible work employees use
  • how long it takes for employees to have flexible work approved
  • the number of requests rejected
  • the impact flexible work has on productivity, absenteeism and engagement
  • the impact flexible work has on diversity
  • the impact flexible work has on career progression or development