The news has been awash with stories about the world’s biggest tech firms and corporate organisations implementing flexible working strategies in response to the changing needs of their workforce.
Most recently some of the UK’s largest accountancy practices highlighted their efforts to introduce flexibility to the working day, but what about the wider pool of mid-sized firms who serve many of the UK’s businesses?
London-based accountancy firm Grunberg & Co is one such firm that has taken a big step towards improving the work-life balance with the introduction of an agile working policy.
The new policy allows staff to work from whatever location they want and at whatever time suits their needs, only with the caveats to ensure the needs of clients and the business are met.
Robert Bean, Managing Partner at Grunberg & Co, said that the policy had not only been formed out of the lessons of the pandemic but also a growing change to the way that the accountancy sector and British industry in general operates.
“Over the last year we have seen that staff can work well and productively from home and in fact, many have put in additional hours,” he explained.
“We also saw the impact that trying to juggle everyday life and a job had on our team and the effect it had on their wellbeing and mental health.”
Whilst not blind to the needs of its team before the pandemic, Robert admits that the firm had never faced such a challenge or necessarily seen the direct benefits from flexible, remote working.
“If we are honest, as a profession, prior to the mandated work from home rules, many in the accountancy industry, thought that the role had to be done from the office.  We had implemented working from home two days a week for managers but there was nervousness about extending that out further to the whole work force. However, COVID-19 forced our hand,” said Robert.
“While we always knew we had a fantastic team behind us, like many other senior leaders and partners at firms across the country there was always some scepticism or perhaps an uncertainty about how well staff could work at home or out of the office.”
Admittedly trust has an important role to play in allowing employees to work without the supervision present in an office environment, which for many employers raised fears about absenteeism and productivity.
Robert added: “Rather than avoiding work, our staff showed how dedicated and resilient they were in the face of immense pressure. As a partner, you always want to keep an eye on your team, as much to ensure their wellbeing is maintained, as anything else.
“But we now have the belief and knowledge that the majority of our team can deliver an excellent service, regardless of whether they are in the office or anywhere else.”
The firm has also been impressed with its ability to assist younger staff members, trainees and new joiners despite the difficulties remote working presented.
Robert explained: “We have been really impressed with how well the less experienced members of our team have adapted to this new way of working.
“Our managers recognised early on that it was important that our trainees continued to develop and shouldn’t be held back because of the need to work remotely.  Although this initially brought about some challenges, solutions were developed, and our trainees have continued to be supported and nurtured to develop their skills and successfully undertake their studies.”
“Inductions for new staff members have also been adapted. It was important that new joiners felt totally supported and integrated into the team right from day one despite having to start their career with us in a remote environment. Feedback from our new joiners has been really positive, commenting that the support and help they have received has been fantastic.  This has given us the confidence that trainees and new joiners can still flourish even when working remotely.”
During the midst of the pandemic, Grunberg & Co held a staff survey to find out what the staff wanted post-lockdown so that the firm could map out its policies with the needs of the workforce taken into consideration.
The survey showed that, on average, staff wanted to continue to have the benefit of remote working but also enjoyed being in an office environment where they could collaborate and socialise with colleagues.
From this survey and its findings Grunberg & Co, developed their new agile working approach, which gives its professionals the choice to go into the office or not, while also allowing them some flexibility in the hours that they work.
“We know we aren’t alone in this approach, that much is clear, but the introduction of these types of workplace policies is less common among smaller and mid-sized firms, for whom the challenge to adapt has probably been greater due to the fewer resources available to them,” added Robert.
He believes that with the rapid implementation of new technologies within many firms, both large and small, an increasing number of accountancy practices will adapt their approach to make their organisation more agile.
“The events of the last year have highlighted the importance of staff wellbeing. A business cannot operate without people and staff continue to demonstrate they are as effective, if not more effective when their needs are met and they have a good work-life balance,” said Robert.
“We are really proud of the systems and policies that we have implemented to make this new work policy possible, as well as the immense effort put in by our team.
“Looking ahead, offering a flexible approach to work, for staff at all levels, is likely to play an important role in attracting and retaining the best talent, so we are glad we have taken this step now.”
To find out more about a career at Grunberg & Co, please click here.