Saffery Trust’s flexible working policy, without the restriction of core hours, has been hailed ‘a game changer’ following an anonymous staff survey.
The removal of core hours was introduced in June 2022, offering staff greater flexibility over their working hours. The only condition placed on team members was that their use of flexible hours needed to be agreed with their managers to ensure client service was not disrupted.
The survey, which was completed by 73% of the firm’s workforce, sought to identify how staff
were utilising their flexible hours.
The results showed that 92% of respondents had used their flexi-time to attend an appointment, 91% to have an earlier finish to their working day, and 72% to take time for themselves. Other uses included extending annual leave/weekends, travelling in non-peak hours, childcare, pet care and volunteering.
Some respondents also highlighted that they utilise flexi-time to take time for well-being. The policy gives staff the freedom to take time out to rest when they may be tired or distracted by personal circumstances, but not to the point of requiring sickness leave. Through this, the firm hoped to support good mental and physical health and well-being.
Alongside flexible hours, the award-winning firm also made substantial investments implementing a ‘one device strategy’, providing all staff with the necessary hardware, software, and training to work remotely.
Saffery Trust People & Culture Associate Director, Sharon Coburn (pictured), said these initiatives enabled staff to create their own healthy work-life balance. “At Saffery Trust we recognise that our people are our most valuable asset. By taking a holistic approach to staff wellbeing, we ensure our team members continue to be supported and motivated in delivering a first-class client service, which is paramount,” said Sharon.
“As a forward-thinking firm, we understand that traditional working hours are not necessarily conducive to a healthy work-life balance for all staff. In seeking to ensure that our people can meet both their professional and personal commitments, we identified the removal of core hours as being beneficial to staff wellbeing, without impacting the delivery of our services. We employ team members who reflect our core values and, in doing so, were confident that we could trust staff to use freedom over their hours responsibly.”
The survey also offered staff the opportunity to leave an anonymous comment about the firm’s policy.
One team member commented: “Flexi-time is an absolute godsend. As a single mum, trying to do my hours and the school drop-off/pick-up around core hours would be almost impossible.”
Another said: “The Saffery Trust flexi arrangements are excellent and make us stand out in industry as a firm that cares about its staff welfare and work-life balance. Having flexible hours has alleviated a problem for people with busy lives.”
Sharon said the results of the survey were encouraging: “Seeking feedback from our people is hugely important to ensure that our efforts to support wellbeing are having the desired effect.
“The results from this survey were a joy to read and a clear indicator that we made the right choice to offer our staff more freedom and flexibility over their hours.”
