What are my flexible options?

Flexible Formats for Employers

There is a range of flexible options that can be applied to most management and professional roles, whether they are ‘office-based’ or in the field. Part-time hours is also a cost-effective option for both growing and established businesses.

Think carefully about job design, the needs of the team and the skills and aptitude you’re looking for in your new employee. Then consider the working pattern and flexibility you can offer your perfect candidate.

Several flexible options can be combined to make your role even more attractive to employees without compromising the needs of the job and the team.

The three basics

Here’s a starting point for designing flexibility or part-time into a role:

Hours

How many hours a week does the role require now?
Might that change in the future?
Does the role require fixed effort every week or does it vary across the month?

Working Pattern

Does the role require working every day?
If so, does it require a full working day, every day?
When does the work need to be done?

Location

How often is physical presence required in an office?
Is the frequency of office or location presence fixed or does/can it vary?

Make sure that the needs of the candidate and the needs of the business are equally considered when coming up with a flexible working solution - then everybody is happy!

Charlie Haward

Optimising IT

Breaking down your options

Just some of the options available. Talk to us to find the solution that works for you.

Perfect Match

Good match

Potential match

Flexible working format	Part-time week	Reduced daily hours	Compressed hours	Staggered hours	Hybrid working pattern
Example work pattern	e.g. 2, 3 or 4 days a week	10am-4pm daily	40 hours over 4 days	Start early/finish early	Fixed/occasional office days or fully WFH
Client facing
Internal collaboration (e.g. project manager)
Internal service provider (e.g. HR)
Autonomous, goal-based role
People management responsibilities
Full-time requirement

Maximise Talent and save cost with part-time

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Flexible formats for Candidates

Know your flexibility

Think through the flexibility you’d LIKE as well as what you NEED when applying for a job. Employers are often flexible but may have operational requirements, policies or team practices that restricts some options.

You may have a particular working format and your ideal number of working hours in mind but if your other commitments allow some flexibility it’s good to keep an open mind.

Here’s a few things to think about:

01

Before applying for a job, consider the amount and type of flexibility you have across working week as well as your ideal number of hours (if you’re looking for part-time). It’s better if you have several options in mind.

02

When applying for a specific job, check the days and hours required by the employer work for you and if it’s not ideal for you, discuss an equivalent alternative that could work for you both. Don’t compromise if you have real practical restrictions but a solution can often be found if you’re right for each other!

03

We often find that people adjust their working hours or patterns once they’ve settled into a job to make it work more effectively for everyone. Arrange a review with your manager to discuss your progress and don’t be afraid to suggest practical improvements.

04

Consider how your capacity and flexibility could change into the future. Employees and employers sometimes work together to increase hours or change working patterns over time, particularly where it’s started as a new role.

Making It Work

Once you’ve found your ideal part-time or flexible role, concentrate on making it work for you and your employer. Here’s a few tips from candidates that found jobs through Ten2Two:

Regularly talk to your manager and colleagues about your objectives and the things that are important right now to ensure you are focusing on and delivering the right things and not yesterday’s priorities.

Liz Ward

Marketing Manager

Always keep in perspective what is important and urgent at work so that you are really achieving the necessary stuff and letting the things which aren’t going to change the world go.

Vicky Woods

Retail Merchandising

It’s important to have a very strong and trusting relationship with your manager so there are no doubts about what is expected of you.

Sheena Coster

HR Manager