By Mike Klockenbrink
Are you flexible? No really? Are you flexible?
Today’s working environment is ever changing. Businesses open earlier and close later, seven days a week. With software changes allowing employees to work in the cloud, a lot of work can now be done anywhere anytime. So how do you schedule for this or even manage it?
The front desk gets a call from someone on staff letting them know they are working from home or off-site today. I understand that on any given day “life happens.” Trying to juggle schedules for work, school, family, friends and personal time. So I have to ask myself again, am I flexible with work schedules? In regards to having the ability to do a lot of this work in the cloud, I have to say yes. That doesn’t mean I keep my head in the clouds. I just need to put some guidelines in place for this to be successful.
I realize there are times when I can be more productive working on a project when I’m not in the office. But what is the right balance for working on-site vs. off-site?
How much time do you expect your employees to be on location to do their work? It really depends on the job or project they’re working on. I expect to have the front desk receptionist there all the time. You cannot greet people waking in the front door from off-site. But If I have an employee working with a tight deadline on a project, I may choose to let them work off-site. This will allow them to focus and eliminate majority of the typical distractions that surround them at the office.
During the summer months when kids are out of school, some of our staff change their schedules to meet those needs. Instead of working from 9:00am to 1:00pm, some staff will work 6:00am to 10:00am most of the week and one day from home. This could be changed up many different ways. The question is: Are you flexible to meet the ever changing needs? If you’re not flexible, I have to ask: Do you really trust your employees to get the job done?
I will trust you until you give me reason not to. That’s another discussion.
Mike Klockenbrink is chief of staff at Lakeside Church, Folsom, CA. [ www.lakesidechurch.com]
