A flexible work arrangement programme can be rewarding and beneficial for both employer and employees as part of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed flexible work arrangements, particularly telework, in the spotlight and remote working has become a commonplace phenomenon. Although Medshield was already in the process of this progressive integration as early as 2018 with the Fast Lane project, it became critical for the Scheme as a healthcare service provider to hit the accelerator and weather the COVID-19 storm by transcending from run-of-the-mill conventional work philosophy to championing a dynamic Flexible Work Arrangement programme throughout the organisation from 1 April 2021.

Fast Lane – the origins of a Flexible Work Arrangement

In 2018, Fast Lane was introduced as a voluntary strategic initiative to motivate staff through an alternative incentivised flexible working arrangement to improve individual and departmental Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and the backlog in turn-around times, daily targets and quality error rates which led to an increase in queries and overtime.

The initiative entailed a slight increase in daily targets and, in turn, awarded participating members flexible working hours. The staff participating in this pilot phase were allowed to start earlier than regular office hours and leave earlier in the day, as long as daily targets were met. Motivation soared, with staff members indicating that they have time to attend to personal issues and the project increased work-life balance, whilst targets were being surpassed and staff actively worked toward decreasing error rates. This arrangement eventually transformed into a four-day work week instead of five days of full-time office hours, with increased targets and fewer errors, which ultimately improved overall customer satisfaction, minimised queries and eliminated backlogs and overtime payments.

With the introduction of Fast Lane pre-COVID, we definitely saw an improvement on turn-around times, daily targets and SLAs, with most staff exceeding the quality criteria. The success achieved through the Fast Lane project proved the remote working concept that allowed for the 2019 Operations strategy rollout into various departments. In turn, the successful outcomes of the 2019 wider Fast Lane rollout led to the 2020 Work from Home proposal. Once the pandemic hit in March 2020 we already had a tried and tested ‘recipe’ for the implementation of remote working. Once we transitioned into the formal Flexible Work Arrangement, we found that we had even more success and achieved one of our highest departmental SLAs at the end of 2020.

Implementation and success of the hybrid Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Programme

In line with the changing landscape of work, lockdown regulations mandated employers to adopt ‘physical distancing’ measures and the Occupational Health and Safety directions presented the Scheme with an opportunity to formalise flexible working arrangements. In terms of South Africa’s Occupational Health and Safety Directives, employers must ‘as far as practicable, minimise the number of workers at the workplace at any given time through rotation, staggered working hours, shift systems, remote working arrangements or similar measures in order to achieve social distancing’, and Medshield continues to adhere to these protocols with strict efficiency.

There are such organisations which think that, come the end of the pandemic and the lockdown in its various phases, remote working will be a thing of the past, but this is unlikely. In contrast, there is an increasing push by the ever-growing Millennial workforce for flexible working arrangements.

It is important to note that flexible working arrangements are not limited to remote working arrangements. Flexible working is a term more broadly used to encapsulate any working arrangement which deviates from the traditional norm of a rigid 9-to-5, five-day week structure. Medshield has adopted a hybrid model of flexible working, where only specific roles have been identified for the suitability of the arrangement on all occupational levels. This implies that, in addition to the flexible work arrangement, a sum of highly skilled employees will still remain office based, as their designated roles are not able to be executed away from the Scheme’s premises.

In regularising flexible working arrangements, Medshield carefully formulated a workplace programme to ensure compliance with all COVID-19 regulations relating to the incremental re-introduction of the economy and addresses inevitable business-specific challenges, such as unreliable internet access, remote working set-up and safety, as well as social isolation. A number of candidates on the programme have expressed that although the policy has awarded them flexibility and demands a lot in return, working from home inspired their self-motivation, discipline and concentration skills in order to reach maximum productivity.

Through constructing the business case and orchestrating the internal workshops for the policy rollout, we acknowledged that the Flexible Work Arrangement programme would not be a success if the Scheme did not have solid processes and systems in place as a pillar of support.

Other than the regulation of practical and logistical arrangements, the Scheme’s flexible work programme has established structured daily check-ins between managers and teams and provides opportunities for remote “physical” interaction, particularly via video calls.

Although the virus remains devastating, it has catalysed a restructuring of traditional ways of going about life, resulting in the development and use of innovative methods to communicate and collaborate to ensure that all business and personal goals are met.

A Flexible Work Arrangement employee commented: “Since working from home, I am relaxed and happy as I no longer have a long commute to the office, which has drastically increased my productivity. My relationship with my Supervisor has improved vastly, and I enjoy our interactions; when I need assistance she is a phone call or WhatsApp text away. I am less distracted at home as I have created a tranquil working space that has become very comfortable.”

Another commented: “The FWA has a positive impact on me. It is time-saving, unlike going to the office. I can start working anytime and continue because I don’t have to rush to get home before the traffic. My productivity has improved a lot. Finally, I feel so privileged”.

This “social isolation” has unveiled one truth – that we can work very productively and effectively whilst being in the warm embrace of our homes. Trust plays a big role in the success of the arrangement. Given the challenges that employers may face in “policing” any misconduct or poor performance, Medshield managers have been upskilled to manage remote workers, while making use of and adapting to virtual platforms which support and optimise remote working.

Flexible working will be extremely rewarding for employees and organisations alike. Even in the absence of a pandemic, flexible work arrangements can improve recruitment and retention efforts, augment organisational diversity efforts, encourage ethical behaviour and help the organisation’s efforts to be socially responsible.

Angela Blackburn is the Executive: Operations and Marumo Bogoshi is Manager: Human Capital at Medshield Medical Scheme.