Flexible Thinking in Relation to Working Practices - 2011

8/4/2019 Flexible Thinking in Relation to Working Practices - 2011

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Global Flexible Thinkingin relation to working practices

What is the business case?

Being a global organisation GSK operates 24/7 and has a diverse array of employees,

customers and patients. In order to meet the needs of the business going forward we need

to draw on the differing knowledge, perspectives, experiences and working styles that exist

in our global community. We need to trust and empower employees so that they feel

motivated to work at their optimum level and to ensure that we attract and retain the best to

create a sustainable succession of leaders with the skills and expertise to support our

strategy, values and behaviours.

Flexibility is embedded in the Spirit of GSK (link to Spirit). It can help reinforce some of the GSK

Values and Behaviours to achieve far reaching benefits and is linked to the Strategy through

encouraging a culture of Individual Empowerment and Building Trust. Our values underpin

decision making at GSK and the way our employees are expected to work. In particular,

related to flexibility are the values of Respect for People; Transparency; and Integrity. In our

values-based company, we seek people who have high integrity and will make good, honest

decisions with patients in mind. With regards to the GSK Behaviours those that are

particularly relevant to Flexibility include, of course, Flexible Thinking but also relevant are

Customer Driven and Developing People.

Why the focus on flexibility now?

Flexibility in relation to working practices exists now, but the benefits of introducing greater

flexibility and acceptance within our working culture are far reaching including:

Creating a more trusting and empowered workforce Improving productivity through the discretionary effort put in by fully engaged,

resilient employees Helping us retain and attract the best talent, and helping us become the employer of

choice Generating cost savings that will benefit us all, for example in freeing up space,

cutting down on employee travel and reducing absenteeism

Creating an environmentally friendly and people friendly workplace, helping us builda legacy for our future growth, health and sustainability

Maximizing productivity and innovation through creatively thinking about andimplementing more efficient ways of working

For GSK to be a leading global player in a 24/7 highly competitive environment, flexibility is a

must especially when seen as a business solution and imperative rather than purely as a

soft employee benefit for working parents. Put simply it will enable the business to deliver

more for less. This is the future of work.


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Global Guiding Principles

Enabling us to deliver our strategic business objectives through maximisingproductivity and innovation by focusing on where, when, and how we work.

Productivity notPresenteeism

it's outputs that are thecurrency not time

Its good for our healthits good for the business,

for employees &for our customers

It's for everyone as long as

there is no businessdetriment

Its informal as well as

formal

Good managers empowerhigh performers & manage

poor performers

Flexibility does not limitcareer progression

Flexibility gives somecontrol back to the

individualto deliver their outcomes

on their terms

Managers define thechallenges & the team

deliver the results

Flexibility requires clear,active communication


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1. Productivity (engagement) not Presenteeism

What does this mean?

Its about the effectiveness of the individual

Having fully engaged employees

Work being an activity not a place

Willingness of the employee to give discretionary effort

Its about the quality of the outputs

Its not about just being seen in the office

Exploring possibilities, creating options, evaluating different courses of action

Breaking free from habitual thinking ("I know best how to do this")

Quotes

Stories

"I work in projects.There is no such

things as a 4/5s of aproject to do in my

four days. I probablywork harder and

smarter than I waswhen doing five days

a week but I ampleasantly surprisedthat it is possible to

do it in 4 days"

"My clients arebased in APJEMand so there is

no point meworking 9-5 from

GSK House - I

usually work lateat night"

Internal: GSK Costa Rica supports working from home one day per week. Due to a country-widegreenhouse emissions initiative that only allows cars to travel on the roads 4 days per workweek, e.g.certain auto licenses are not allowed to drive on one day per week. Without work-from-home, some

people would not be able to get to work and/or they would have had to come up with an elaboratecarpooling scheme that would have resulted in some employees being in the bus for hours ofunproductive time. Contact Kattia Gonzalez-Chacon, HR Director in CR

External: At Microsoft people are now getting used to the output management culture and arebecoming far more accountable for their results than they have ever been. When people first startedworking from home they would be logged in to the system all day because they still had a

presenteeism attitude to work. Now as long as they keep their Outlook calendar up to date managers

are not worried about where and when people are working. In fact they can probably find someonemore quickly now through the technology than they ever could if they were working somewhere inthe building.


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2. Its good for our healthWhat does this mean?

Business perspective:

Helps us attract and retain key talent in the business and supports GSK to become an employer

of choice

Creates a more trusted and empowered workforce

Research shows likely to improve productivity through discretionary effort put from fully

engaged, resilient employees

Reduces dead-time staff choose to work when required to met business needs

Generates cost savings such as freeing up space, cutting down on employee travel and reducing

absenteeism

Customer/patient perspective:

Company is more responsive to their needs

Creative thinking drives innovation therefore delivering more value to the customer/patient

Employee perspective:

Gives the employee some degree of control of their whole life and thereby reduces stress and

leads to greater resilience

Helps build trust which in turn leads to employees with improved motivation and energy for

performance

Empowers and engages employees

Quotes

"Flexible working cancut churn rates for

employers, allowingthem to retain the besttalent, maximise their

productivity and ensurea motivated workforce

as we come out ofrecession. Andrew

Milliard Director of ecommerce for EMEA at

Citrix

"I can spend 3hours a day intraffic or the 3

extra hours at mylaptop. I can see

the clear benefitsin avoiding a

lengthy commuteeveryday and I

am so lessstressed"


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Stories

The BT Workstyle project is believed to be one the largest flexible working projects in Europe. It involved 70,000 BTemployees. Cost savings included 725 million euros per annum through reductions in office estate, and the 11,66homeworkers saved the company 104 million euros a year in accommodation costs and are on average 20% moreproductive than their office based colleagues. For customers this means that their issues are dealt with moreimmediately.

Key talent are choosing which company they want to work for by how flexible that companys ways of working are.

Feedback from GSK Spain is that when recruiting staff are as interested in the flexible working options as the benefitspackage. If GSK is not seen to be flexible then we may lose key talent or not attract them in the first place.

A few words on trust. Trust is the smallest word that makes the biggest difference. "It underpins and affects thequality of every relationship, communication, project and effort. Organisation's that maintain imrpoved levels of trustexperience greater business performance" says William Johnson, of The Great Place to Work Institiute. Also CaryCooper Professor of Ogansiational psychology and health at Lancaster Universty says " If there is trust it means workerscan be relied upon to get the job done to a high standard wherever they are - whether that is at home, in the office orat the airport"


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3. It's for everyone as long as there is no business detrimentWhat does this mean?

Can be considered for all levels / grades of staff

Variety of options to be considered

Creative thinking may be required for some groups eg production line It does not need a reason it may be a life choice

Costs may increase to provide technology?

As long as there is no business detriment in terms of productivity, safety or cost

It is NOT an entitlement though this is something that is agreed between an

individual and their manager and an individual and their team when it is appropriate

With flexibility come responsibilities to ensure that business needs are covered

This isnt limitless on the side of the employer or employee and this needs to be

recognised

Quotes

"Because I haveteam memberscoming in early

and finishingearly I can have

the officecovered from7am until 7pm

"Challengethe

perceptionthat jobs

cannot bedone in aflexible

way"


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4. Its informal as well as formal


Formally policies and working practices operate in many countries

Managers / individuals can make decisions informally without any formal changes toterms and conditions

Business needs are to be considered

Can flex over time dependent upon business and employee needsits about being

adaptable and this can change with changing business circumstances

Quotes

"Managers need to be empowered tomake the decisions - HR policies are

there for guidance in many

circumstances and should not overridethe rights of the manager and team to

make the decisions - formally orinformally if that is right for the team and

the business - except where there arelegal requirements"


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Stories

"Senior people here do work flexibly but many staff would not see them as flexibleworkers. They are often out of the office but no one questions whether they are workingfrom home or in a meeting "

In Ireland there is a flexible hours in place which defines the core hours that must beworked and can be flexed around - staff need to be availalbe between 10-12 and 2-4outside of that they can flex there hours - this can be done either in the office or at home

In a number of the business in GSK Spain employees formally have the choice to start work

between 8.00am-9.30am and leave between 5.30-7.00 and finish at 3.00pm on Friday - inSummer months employees can start at 7.00am and leave at 4.30pm if they wish. In additionto this there are many many examples of informal flexible working practices in place


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5. Good managers empower high performers & manage poor performersWhat does this mean?

Leadership capability is key

Leaders must be visible in changing their own ways of working

Clear PDP process is key to ensure that objectives are delivered against and ideallyshould become a real working document which is discussed regularly at 1:1s and

not a once/twice a year process

Clarity of expectations and ways of working

Clear and honest feedback

Managers know how to get the best from individuals by understanding what

motivates them

Regular communications

Managers need to make tough decisions and manage poor performance

May mean changing decisions on flexibility if its not working or the pattern is not

right for the individual or team

Quotes

"Managersneed to

manage notcommand

andcontrol"

"Once I saw mymanager working

more flexibly Ithought I wouldtry it and I feel so

much moreenlightened fordoing so. I feel

more able to thinkoutside the box"

"Poor performers and flexibleworking are two separateissues - people dont workpoorly because of flexibleworking - it would happenanyway and needs to be

managed"

"in a manufacturingenvironment, presenteeism is

inextricably linked toproductivity. In this context,

innovative approaches to teamflexibile"

"Overcomingmanagment mindsetthat employees won'tbe productive if not

visible is key"


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Stories

More than 40% of Commercial IT staff at GSK work remotely from their manager so it is

key that the PDP process is robust. It's outputs that people are assessed on when youdon't see your boss face to face - Sophie Jackson IT HR

When I worked in Malaysia my staff and I had to interact with managers who manage staffin the IT centre who are based in UK/Europe and USA - I adjusted my working activitiesdepending on the needs - some days I started work in the afternoon as was on calls untillate at night - some days I took the afternoon off to persue personal activiites and loggedback on in the evening when UK/US are on line - I adjusted my personal life and work life tomet the needs and enjoy the degree of flexibility it gave to me and also encourged my team

to do the same.


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6. Flexibility does not limit career progression


Individuals will be included in talent reviews

Individuals will be considered for development opportunities

Quotes

Stories

"Take the timeto network - itcan be doneremotely as

well as face toface"


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7. Flexibility gives some control back to the individual


This is about choices an individual has in delivering the outputs within the

boundaries of the needs of the business choices in how they deliver their work andhow they structure their time

Feeling less stressed eg. Logging in first thing to let the traffic die down then

coming into the office later on having achieved a great deal at home and feeling

much happier and productive when in.

This is about respect respect for the individual and respect for everyone else and

allow people to make their own choices

Drives engagement and motivation

QuotesStories

"I stayed at homeworking until thewashing machine

repair person had beenand then drove into

the office - It made somuch sense"

"I am training for a marathon and

recently started training during theday - I find this boosts my engery

levels and when I return to my worklate afternoon I am so much more

productive than had I sat at mycomputer without taking the exercise- I am now encouraging everyone that

they should take some exerciseduring the working day"


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Semler: At Semco the HQ was disbanded to 4 hubs across town where people booked themselves into dependentupon where they lived, who they were meeting that day or which restaurant they were going to that evening. Thecontrol moved to the individual to decide and it also eliminated the insecurity of the boss who controlled throughglancing, glaring and gloating.

In the 7 day weekend Ricardo Semler talks about a shipping and receiving clerk who once thanked him for the

new flexible working hours available on the shop floor. This individuals group had decided to start work well

before the morning rush hour to avoid traffic and at the other end of the day they left for home much earlier. Forthe first time in his life he was able to pick his grandchildren up from school. He had never been able to pick hisown children up and that period of their lives had been lost forever. He was more moved by the unexpectedfreedom to be at the school than he was about beating the rush hour.

"At a sombre teleconference one of the participants suddenly cheered "welldone" on the line...transpires hewas sitting in his car partaking in the teleconference but watching his daughter play an important hockey matchand she had just scored a goal! He didn't want to miss either and so made sure he had the right technology tobe able to do this"


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8. The manager defines the outcomes and the team deliver the results


The manager communicates clear objectives

The team contracts on how the work gets done with input from the manager Team discuss ways of working and review and adjust as necessary

Team trust each others individual contributions

Team need to be able to air concerns and have honest conversations

Team needs to be willing to adapt and flex as required to support business and

individual needs

There may well be different patterns within the team

Quotes

Stories

"Considerworking

practices inthe context

of the whole

team. It isTeam

performancethat is key"

"As a team we took the timeout of the office to

brainstorm and review ourworking practices - went to a

team members house andspent day in garden

brainstorming and thinkingabout what to change- this

enabled us to fully focus withno distractions - we would

never have been as creativeor focussed in the work

environment and it was fun"

Flexible working arrangements are typically negotiated between manager and the individual.Managers need to consider working practices in the context of the whole team and facilitatea discussion with the whole team about how, when and where work needs to be done.Discussion as a team promotes transparency and fairness and promotes a view of flexibleworking as a tool for achieving business objectives rather than a benefit for workingmothers.

Dispersed teams at GSK are already doing this - the manager defines the goals andaspirations and shares these at a face to face meeting with the team and then the teamagree how best to achieve those goals. They divide into sub-groups and hold monthly VTCsand/or TCs.


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9. Flexibility requires clear, active communication


Regular 1:1s

Agreeing Ways of Working Forming and communicating with manager, team, customers, stakeholders own

personal communications rules

Employees staying up to date with company / team communications

Depending on the communication considering the most appropriate

communications channels eg) face to face, teleconference, video conference,

Communicator , email etc

Quotes

Stories

"Settingpersonal'rules' are

key"

At Microsoft people are using instant text messaging as a way of chatting informally.

When you see that someone else is available you may send them a sort note in thesame way you would have done when meeting them in the corridor. This is providinga lot of short snappy communications between people.

At GSK Biologicals in Belguim as people were working all hours it has been agreed that emailsare NOT sent at the weekend so that people don't feel under pressure to respond back overthe weekend.

We have many different working practices that operate across our team - however asa team everyone must work at minimum in the office on a Tuesday and Thursday andthis time is used to ensure the team connects and have face to face interactions.


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Additional information

Case Studies

BT Workstyle project (add link here).The BT Workstyle project has enabled the company and its people to become more

flexible (they term flexible working as Agile working)and efficient, in order to meet

increasingly demanding and varied customer expectations in a 24/7 market.

BTs Transformation Bringing it together; Agile Working (link)

This presentation from BT shows the journey they have ben on, the benefits theyve

seen as a result of Agile working; some barriers and challenges as well as some key facts.

Deloitte Drivers for Change of mindset (link)

Generation X /Y. The Workforce has changed but the workplace has not.

Surveys

Research shows the difference in output performance between engaged and unengaged

employees (Link).

Surveys from around the different regions showing differing working patterns in place

and explaining some of the barriers - Outputs from Flexagility project 2009 (Link).

Changing work to meet the future UK Equal Opportunities Commission report sees

flexibility as the way to go (link).

Out of Office II: Building teams for an agile future (link).

A survey by Opportunity Now, an organisation that works with employers to accelerate

change for women in the workplace, surveyed 1500 managers and team members to

understand their attitudes to flexible working (agile working). The research showed a

clear link between agile working and employee engagement but also a career penalty for

agile workers (Link).

CHPD study on GSK behaviours (link)CHPD finding that Flexible Thinking is GSKs weakest behaviour

CLC research: Driving Performance and Retention through Employee engagement (link)

Books

Maverick by Ricardo Semler

The Seven Day weekend by Ricardo Semler

The Future of Work by Richard Donkin

When Cultures collide by Richard D Lewis


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Glossary

Presenteeism = being seen. Being visible in the office but not being very effective. Just

because you are in the office doesnt mean that you are working.

Discretionary effort = effort over and above. The employee decides how far open to

turn the valve. The employee decides how much effort they are going to give to each

task and to everyday of their employment says Bob Rosen author of The Healthy

Company. If you create an environment that motivates employees to turn the valve to

full throttle, you can outperform any competitor any day of the week. Because its the

creativity, the ingenuity, the longevity, the loyalty of the employee base that makes it

all happen.

Agile working = working flexibly

Hot desking = no dedicated desk in office ability to work from any desk/location SMART working = thinking creatively about way of working/space/location to drive best

results

Teleconference = facility to have multiple people on a call have interactive meetings

via telephone technology

EVP= Employee Value Proposition

Flexible Thinking in Relation to Working Practices - 2011

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