The many benefits of flextime
By Bob Levoy

By a margin of almost two to one, respondents in a recent national survey by Harris Poll said they’d rather have more time off than be paid more money.¹

As a result, one of the emerging trends for engaging time-pressured employees is flexible working hours.

Flextime, as it’s called, basically allows employees to work other than the standard office hours. As a rule, all employees are required to work during the core, or busiest, hours of the practice, which are usually a set number of hours in the morning and afternoon; such as from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The office may be open longer than from 8:30 until 4:30, but employees may, according to their individual circumstances, choose to start work anytime between 7:30 and 8:30 and stop between 4:30 and 5:30.

For example: they may arrive up to an hour before the core time and leave any time after the core hours, provided their job function is covered and they have worked an eight-hour day. The above schedule includes a mid-day flextime such as 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that permits staggered lunch breaks.

Flextime can also be for tasks that are not as time-sensitive such as filing insurance claims, collections follow-up, transcription, secretarial, bookkeeping, and accounting functions. Allowing employees the flexibility to perform these tasks at different times of the day, provided the duties are satisfactorily accomplished, can help attract and retain quality staff.

Edward Norman, an internist and president of Big Thompson Medical Group PC, a 45 physician multi-specialty group in Loveland, Colo., says that nurses and other office staff work in small groups to decide how to cover hours if one employee needs extra time off.

“It works much better that way,” Norman says. “As long as the employees like each other and as long as the work gets done, it’s fine.”

“Other practices have found success in staggering employee schedules,” reports Mike Norbut in amednews.com. “If an office is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., you could have some employees start at 7:30 a.m. and leave early, while others start the day at 10:30 or 11 a.m. and work until the office closes.”

Norbut adds, “Consultants also suggest rewarding employees who cover shifts for their co-workers, and working out deals with those leaving early to stay longer on days they are more available. Perhaps an employee who works six hours on Mondays can work 10 hours on Tuesdays.” ²

BENEFITS OF FLEXTIME

Can flextime work in your practice? Here are some benefits to consider:

• It reduces the strain on time-pressured employees and improves morale, greater productivity, and increases loyalty to the practice.

• It can increase the pool of qualified job applicants who otherwise might not be available. It also helps retain valuable employees because they can adjust their hours to meet personal needs instead of having to use leave or resign.

• Employees may be able to commute during non-peak hours, making their trips less time-consuming and stressful.

• You can better manage periods of peak activity and less busy times so more work can be done in the same number of hours.

• Employees feel more control over part of their work environment so they are more satisfied with their work. Improving satisfaction and morale will result in greater productivity.

• It improves the workplace at no cost. In some cases, improving work planning and scheduling while increasing office hours can eliminate or reduce overtime costs.

Of course, some types of practices are more suited to flextime than others. Solo or small practices with only a few employees may have a limited degree of flexibility. Medium- to large-size groups with more employees may find flextime more appropriate.

Bob Levoy is a seminar speaker and writer who focuses on the healthcare industry. His most recent book is 201 Secrets of a High Performance Dental Practice Elsevier/Mosby (January, 2005). He can be reached by e-mail at b.levoy@att.net.

REFERENCES
1 McClain, DL. “Forget the Raise, Give Me Some Time Off.” The New York Times. July 12, 2000, G-1
2 Norbut, M. “Meet Flex-Hour Requests with Consistency.”
www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2003/08/25/bica0825.htmamednews.com