5 minute read
Sustainable flexibility: Turley
by CMI_
Adam Gale
It wasn’t at all clear, in March 2020, that everyone would actually be able to conduct their business without a physical place of business. Would the IT work? Would the broadband hold? Could a human being realistically spend all day in video meetings?
One firm that found the transition easier than most was Turley, an employee-owned planning and development consultancy with offices in 14 locations across the UK and Ireland. Turley first embraced flexible working in 2015, and now every single person in the business has either a formal flexible contract (about 10 per cent of the team) or a bespoke, informal agreement negotiated with line managers (the rest).
These effectively set out when and where you’ll generally be available or unavailable. It could be that you walk the dog at 9:30am every day, pick your daughter up from school at 4pm, or do power yoga on alternate Tuesday lunchtimes. The point, explains Chrysta Poppitt, Turley’s senior director for HR, is that you’re able to balance the things going on in your life with what works for clients and for the company.
Originally, this flexibility was fairly structured. “Our purpose is being in business together so that our people, places and performance will flourish, and if you think about it, you can’t be too prescriptive with how people should flourish,” Chrysta says. But the early feedback in 2015 was that Turley’s employee co-owners appreciated some boundaries.
Chrysta Poppitt, senior director for HR at Turley
A consultation process at the time drew responses from 80 per cent of co-owners, resulting in the company’s Freedom and Responsibility Framework. This has evolved recently to a blended flexible working model which is less structured and more informal and which enshrines certain guiding principles, including that some face-to-face contact is vital for culture and client service.
It also sets out what kinds of behaviour are acceptable – and what isn’t. “You can switch off at 3pm without feeling guilty, or you could work flexibly from different locations to balance life and work: coffee shops, visits to family, or from different office locations,” Chrysta says. “I’ve been able to go to the hairdresser during the typical working week to get a much-needed appointment, because that’s life. I just let people know.”
The informal agreements that were introduced in 2019-20 begin with open conversations with line managers, whether you report to a senior consultant or the chief executive. Managers encourage their team members to suggest how flexibility would help them, but also how they intend to mitigate any challenges that arise as a result for the team or clients.
“All that we ask is that you exercise good judgement and stewardship, and ensure that you meet client expectations and prioritise face-to-face time with your clients/team through open discussion with your team, line manager and project team,” Chrysta says.
The informal agreements are designed to be fluid, changing as circumstances change. In 2018, a co-owner survey revealed inconsistencies in how people experienced flexibility. “Some people had written their own rules in their heads about who could or couldn’t do certain things, and around needing to be in the office because they might not get the same opportunities if they weren’t,” Chrysta says. She was also concerned that, for some people, flexibility was another way of saying they never shut off. These challenges will continue into the new normal working environment, and Turley is working hard to ensure every co-owner benefits from continued flexibility and equal opportunities, development and progression.
This feedback reinforced the need to define and share expectations of what people could expect from their line managers – such as regular check-ins, a focus on results rather than time spent working, and a consideration of personal circumstances. This approach is important to address presenteeism and ensure people are supported to have time out and focus on their wellbeing. The firm also decided to vocalise the message about flexibility by finding role models for it at the top.
At a recent all-hands virtual company conference, Turley’s chief executive Dave Trimingham was asked what to do when clients set meetings outside of someone’s usual hours. His response was that, just as with a meeting in the office, you should exercise your own judgement or take soundings from your line manager or colleagues about whether to make an exception.
“It’s about giving people the support and encouragement to say that just because you’re working from home, you don’t have to be available 24 hours a day. That’s not healthy. You just need to communicate it well,” Chrysta says. “One thing that our experiences over the past 18 months have taught us is that we’re all human.”
Turley has updated its email signatures to refer to its blended flexible working model, communicating to recipients that its co-owners will respond during their working hours, which may differ from the traditional working day. “I’m not sure many people will be working nine to five,” Chrysta adds.
Turley’s plan to return to the office envisages roughly 50 per cent occupancy post-COVID, compared with 70-100 per cent before, with hybrid meetings as standard and attendance managed through a desk booking system. New starters are asked what days they plan to go in and to make sure there are other team members around.
Office attendance is focused on collaboration, sharing and learning. One team set up a “co-working time” where co-owners buddy up with someone else in the team and dial in for a couple of hours while they complete their own work. “It’s about recreating that sense of spontaneity and connection you get from being in the office,” says Chrysta. “Even if you’re not going in as often, that sort of innovation needs to happen.”
After nearly six years of flexibility, Turley has no intention of going back. “It leads to higher levels of engagement, and these arrangements support inclusion and diversity, because we’re giving people what they want: work that fits with their personal lives and fits with our clients. And that in turn will help retention,” Chrysta says. “I’ve had people say to me that this approach to flexible working has been instrumental in them being able to carry on in consultancy life.
“It feels like such a backward step when businesses request everyone to come back in all of the time and expect people to work traditional hours. For me that just isn’t long-term thinking. Flexibility is definitely the future.”
