Scheduling Troubles?

SamanthaQ

Hello fellow forumites! I was the one who posted the question about whether being one minute late counted as tardy or not. Obviously, we have policy application consistency issues at my workplace and I am in the process of sorting through them and trying to find ways to get our supervisors on the same page.

I have another rookie question! We are an office work environment. We do have a maintenance specialist position that is non-exempt, full time. This person maintains property grounds, does building maintenance, as well as fixing minor plumbing, electrical, and HVAC issues. He also works with contractors and vendors for services we purchase related to his area.

In the past he has pretty much been able to come and go when he pleases - as long as he puts in 40 hours. There was and is NO written schedule.

I'm thinking if he has no schedule then how do we know when he is late/tardy etc...? In past discussions he has said that it's better not to have a schedule so he can come in early on days when snow needs to be plowed or in the summer the some days may become hot later and so coming in really early would make a better outdoor work environment. Any suggestions or ideas on how to handle this? I'm thinking he should have a written schedule so we can track his attendance etc...but there seems to be much resistance on this issue from him.

Parabeagle

We are a corporate HQ, small office w/ a small maintenance staff (3 maint. techs). Our situation is similar to yours. However, we do not tie the employees to a "schedule" but we do make them track their time so we can ensure they don't exceed 40 hours/wk. Also, they are all available via cell phone, so they're never really out of our "sight."

It is beneficial during summer and winter months to be able to vary the hours accordingly since much of the work is outdoors. Ultimately, though, it comes down to whether or not your folks are trustworthy and mature enough not to abuse the situation they are in.

Hunter1

I agree with the Beagle. A flex schedule in this instance is a good thing, but, remember, the needs of the business should come first. Are there good reasons that you need to have him there on a 'regular' schedule, or is it better for him to be able to flex his hours to fit the needs of the position?

SamanthaQ

I just wanted to make sure we were consistently applying the attendance policy. Some days he comes in at 6am, some 6:15am, some 6:30am, sometimes 7:00am. Does this seem like he needs a flexible schedule daily?

Also - I've never really been exposed to a flex schedule - does that mean they can make up their own hours? (i.e. no set written schedule?)

Parabeagle

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-18-04 AT 05:40PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I think that's up to your culture. Many companies are control-oriented and would not be comfortable with a very flexible schedule; for other companies, flex is fine. As Hunter1 asked, is there any particular reason you want to make sure he's there at a specific time? Is the inconsistency in your other supervisors' applying your tardiness policy driving this matter? ("Johnny doesn't get here at 6:00 am, why should I have to?")

Different jobs have different requirements. A flexible schedule works great in a maintenance environment (for us, anyway). Our bookkeepers, managers, AAs, etc. don't care what time they come or leave, as long as the HVAC works, the grass is mowed, the leaves are raked or the snow is shoveled.

edit: Re how a flexible schedule works, a common arrangement is to have "core hours" during which an employee needs to be there (e.g., 9 am - 3 pm); the employee can then decide when they want to arrive before 9 am and when they want to depart after 3 pm, as long as they get in 8 hours.

SamanthaQ

Parabeagle you hit the nail on the head with the consistency issue. This flex idea is new to me and I didn't know that was a possibility! The maintenance specialist we have is a good worker.

I'm struggling with what attendance consistency looks like in our organization. Some departments can have more of a flex schedule than others and that is okay - this what I am understanding from the forumites comments. I guess consistency is good as long as the flex schedule is defined as to who has one and who doesn't - does that mean I should have a policy for this type of thing?

Parabeagle

Before you codify your flex schedule setup in a policy, I would suggest you try a pilot program first to see if it's even feasible for your company. If, as you mentioned in your post, an individual is considered tardy when he's one minute late, you may find that your office environment is too controlled to accommodate flexible scheduling. That's precisely what happened in my office when we tried flex scheduling for the office workers. Supervisors (and I mean this in the nicest possible way) were too controlling of their people and the fact that employees could set their hours (even with supervisory approval) just drove them crazy.

Come up with a plan, decide which departments would benefit from flexible scheduling, define the parameters and set a time frame for the trial program (e.g., 90 days, 180 days, whatever you're comfortable with). Then launch it and if it doesn't work at the end of 90 days, go back to the way you're operating now.

The SHRM website has a wealth of information on how to launch flexible scheduling and I highly recommend you visit for more background.

Good luck.