New Best Practice Report proves particularly timely

The latest Best Practice Report from our twin site workingmums.co.uk has been launched to coincide with International Women’s Day.

But with the coronavirus outbreak forcing firms to look at implementing flexible and family friendly working its examples and advice are particularly topical.

Request your copy of the Best Practice Report.

The Best Practice Report is packed full of reports on companies innovating in the world of family friendly working. Aviva, who won our Best for Dads award last year, are the focus of the dads section. They’ve seen men take an average of five months of paternity leave since introducing equal parental leave.

The Best Practice Report seeks to focus on concrete examples of what is working well. It also looks at some of the challenges companies have had to overcome to achieve best practice.

Disruption

Learning from best practice in flexible and family friendly working is essential in the face of the sort of disruption caused by the current coronavirus crisis. Issues such as the climate emergency are likely to alter how we work going forward. Millennial dads and Generation Z workers increasingly demand flexibility in the workplace. So the companies that thrive and attract the best talent will be those with the best approach to flexible and family friendly work.

The employers represented in workingmums.co.uk Best Practice Report 2020 all scooped gongs at last year’s 10th anniversary Top Employer Awards. They cover a range of sectors, from teaching, disability support and social listening to gardening, technology, finance and local government.

Our most recent annual survey shows access to flexible working continues to be a huge issue for parents. Many dads felt their careers had stalled because they couldn’t find another job with the same degree of flexibility they need. And four out of five parents were in favour of a four day week.

The Best Practice Report focuses on employers who talk about how they successfully altered workplace practices and culture. And it features case studies of employees which show the positive impact this has had.

Top Employers

The employers featured are:

Vodafone UK – who talk about their global returners policy which enables those returning to do so on a reduced week at full pay and also their Global Domestic Violence and Abuse Policy

London Borough of Waltham Forest – the first large employer to introduce premature baby leave

Food Standards Agency – who talk about the way they have transformed their workplace culture by trialling and embedding different ways of working through three different contracts – home-enabled, multi-location and office/site based

Social listening company Convosphere, highly commended for its highly flexible approach which enables staff to work remotely, including from their home countries when they travel abroad

HP Inc UK – recognised for its approach to promoting more women to senior positions

Aviva – recognised not only for its pioneeering equal parental leave policy, but the measurable success this has had

Now Teach – highly commended for its innovative approach to getting people from diverse backgrounds into teaching and promoting flexible working in the profession

Motor dealership Arnold Clark – who talk about the way they have changed their shifts, reducing the traditional six-day week for sales staff and bringing in more women

Independent Living Fund Scotland – which has a highly flexible workforce, many of whom are home-based, and has led the way in tackling issues such as the menopause at work

Gardening firm Carty Services – recognised for its flexibility and family support

The judges named Carolanne Minashi, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at UBS, their Working Mums Champion. She speaks extensively about the challenges and successes associated with embedding a more flexible and supportive culture at the bank.

Benefit

The Best Practice Report is sponsored by construction firm Morgan Sindall Infrastructure. HR Director Katie Smith said: At Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, we want to ensure we are supporting all our employees so that they can design their own work life to suit their individual needs and look forward to coming to work. This Best Practice Report highlights some fantastic case studies and ideas that all employers should be able to benefit from and use in their own workplaces to make this a reality.”

Gillian Nissim, founder of both workingdads.co.uk and workingmums.co.uk , said: “The Best Practice Report traces developments over the last 10 years in flexible and family friendly working and highlights practical ways employers can embed the kind of work culture needed to address the challenges of the 21st century. We hope it will promote discussion and inspire other employers. We recognise that changing to a more flexible culture is not easy, particularly for older organisations, and that employers need support to move things forward and reap all the business benefits it can bring. Recent events have shown that good, well thought through flexible working is absolutely vital in an age of continuous disruption and skills shortages.”

The 2020 Best Practice Report can be accessed free by filling in the form below.

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