Flexi-timings

ANALYSE THIS

Strategy issues seen through cartoons.

Hambone isn't alone. The nine to five regime is passe, and quite a few companies all over the world are banking on a new magic wand "" flexi-timings. And India Inc isn't far behind, as the number of knowledge workers increase rapidly.

Says Manish Sabharwal, chairman, TeamLease Services: "The one-size-fits all, nine to five regime is no longer valid. The diversity of the Indian work force is changing, hence more and more companies are adopting flexible timings."

Anita Ramachandran, CEO, Cerebrus Consultants, agrees. Says she, "While the extent may be limited, most organisations today are comfortable with the 'come in early and leave early' way of working. These measures are increasingly used in fields like IT and advertising."

For business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, which are contending with a growing challenge: how to retain people in a business where employees change their jobs virtually as often as they change shirts, flexi-timings can play a big role.

That explains why quite a few BPOs offer employees an array of choices: a four-day week instead of the normal five, hourly rates with a minimum number of work hours in a week. Also they're trying to woo housewives and other part-time workers who will sign on for 30-hour weeks.

In the service sector, the reason for the change is more need driven. Take retail, for instance. During weekends, sales nearly double in most large format retail stores. Hence the stores require additional staff on weekends alone.

Similarly, call centres too require additional customer service executives during specific peak hours. Hence these companies hire employees only during their peak requirements. Top retail outlets like Shoppers' Stop, Fabindia and ITC's Wills Lifestyle have all adopted this strategy.

The companies hire employees "" largely housewives "" on a weekend-only basis and pay between Rs 200 and Rs 500 per day per employee. According to industry experts, initiatives like these reduce the fixed cost and also help in attracting talent.

In India, the labour force sees a 40 per cent drop in participation from women in the age group of 25-35years "" commonly referred to as child break. Experts believe that flexible timings and work from home options can help tap this pool. Besides housewives, it also attracts retired persons and students.

Says Sabhharwal, "In Europe and many other developed nations the drop in participation due to child break has dropped drastically as companies allow women to work from home."

Analysts however believe there are some pitfalls to watch out for. Says Ramachandran, "Any organisation that plans to use this approach must first have a well defined system of monitoring and measuring work."

Companies, however are positive. Take IT services company Wipro. The company has been experimenting with the idea of flexible timings.

In 2005, it started with a pilot batch of 1,500 employees. Employees of the chosen division were presented with two options. Some were allowed to work from home "" tele commute"" and others were hired for half-day shifts. The company found that it neither experienced a loss of productivity nor did it find employees to be lackadaisical.

Pratik Kumar, vice president, human resources, Wipro, says, "The results are encouraging, flexibility allows a better balance between work and personal life. Since the responsibility lies with the employees they act in a more mature fashion."

The company also believes that the initiative can help enhance productivity, and is in fact planning to extend its experiment. Says Kumar, "We are at a stage where we will soon be extending this approach to the rest of our organisation."