Flexible work organization
Work organization
Good, family-conscious work organization means using resources efficiently to relieve employees, reduce stress and work in a results-oriented manner. For employees, this means greater scope for action and greater personal responsibility. Reconciling work and family life is made easier through organizational measures such as flexible working hours, a distribution of work areas in line with interests, multifunctional staff deployment, employee participation and/or teamwork.
Instruments and measures
A wide range of organizational measures and instruments contribute to a better work-life balance, but also to the optimization of work processes in the company. These include the adaptation of work tasks and the reorganization of work processes with the active involvement of employees. No meetings after 4 p.m., substitute solutions and regular communication times can be the results of a family-friendly (re)organization of work processes. Teamwork is central to family-friendly work organization. If possible, mixed teams of single people and family members, preferably of different ages, work very well. Working hours can be better divided up according to personal needs and commitments in these teams. Mixed teams also benefit from a wide range of experience from all phases of life.
Suitable working time models support the optimal organization of work tasks. Team-oriented management, communication and information as well as training are further important instruments for a family-friendly work organization. A detailed description of measures can be found in the document "Measures for family-friendly work organization".
Key questions for adapting the work organization
The following key questions can help on the way to a better and more family-friendly work organization:
- How can the task layout / workflow be optimized?
- How can the interests of employees be better taken into account at the same time?
- How can tasks be prioritized in such a way that stress is reduced and a better work-life balance can be achieved?
- How can quality be increased with an improved organization?
- How can tasks be reassigned according to life phases?
- How can tasks be delegated?
- How can work content be planned in (more) detail? How does this improve resource planning for employees?
- In which management meetings can the scope and content of work be discussed and decided with regard to family matters?
- Which employee groups should be involved in the reorganization of work processes?
- How can employees who want to organize their work themselves according to their family needs be supported by the company?
- What substitution arrangements are required?
- Should teams be restructured or enlarged in order to expand the possibilities for representation?
- Who can train whom and how, so that it is easier to respond to short-term changes in working hours due to family circumstances?
- Are suitable ways and means provided for informing employees and communicating with each other?
Advantages and benefits of adapting work processes
A (re)structuring of work processes towards a family-friendly work organization brings clear advantages. Not only parents and employees with family obligations benefit from the optimization of work processes and areas of responsibility with regard to a better work-life balance. Ultimately, the organizational improvements benefit all employees and therefore the entire company. This is because working hours are better utilized and a work assignment that is in line with interests increases employee satisfaction and productivity.
If employees are further qualified and there are no longer just "individual specialists" in the team, all sides benefit. If work orders can be processed by several employees in a team and this is well documented, this increases the transparency of the individual areas of activity on the one hand. On the other hand, it facilitates substitution arrangements through quick response options. This can prevent work processes from being delayed due to short-term absences (such as illness). The associated stress levels for individual employees are reduced.
The tool for implementation - personnel resource planning
Correct and efficient workforce scheduling is the instrument for organizing and controlling flexible and family-friendly work organization. More than conventional work systems, flexible arrangements require active management. This includes Planning and control of work deployment, the involvement of decision-makers and the inclusion of employees and their wishes.
With good personnel deployment planning, excess hours and overtime as well as periods of underutilization can be reduced and balanced out. In terms of a design that is in line with employees' interests, the employees' right to have a say is of central importance. The best results are achieved when employees are well informed and involved so that they can gradually take over the planning themselves.
The complex requirements for personnel deployment planning under the premise of flexible work organization include Adapting time accounts to the workload; linking personnel deployment with vacation planning; coordinating a wide range of interests, qualifications and skills in a team; organizing deputy arrangements, job enrichments and internal personnel development as well as transparent presentation of work processes. A variety of IT solutions can be used to make these requirements efficient, transparent and in line with interests. It makes sense to use electronic tools that allow employees to enter their desired working hours and vacation times personally.
There are four useful steps on the way to efficient personnel deployment:
- Analysis of the workload
- Personnel requirements planning
- Calculation of the hourly budget and
- Personnel deployment planning
These steps are explained in more detail in the attached document "Steps to efficient personnel deployment".
