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Scottish and Newcastle Retail (S&NR) is one of the leading pub companies in the UK. It manages more than 1,450 high-quality pubs and pub restaurants, as well as a nationwide chain of budget hotels. To mark work-life balance week, Personnel Today found out how the company is introducing flexible working policies.
The organisation believes it is already ahead of the game when it comes to flexible working. Mandy Blair, head of HR policy and reward, explains: “I read an extract from a recent survey conducted on behalf of the DTI which stated that 46 per cent of jobseekers put flexible working as the top benefit required from employers. Furthermore, this survey showed the number of companies that are considering introducing flexible working arrangements is still relatively small, so increasing numbers of employees are requesting more flexibility.
“This is where S&NR has the leading edge. We believe we are the only pub company investing time and effort into making this work.”
S&NR has obtained DTI funding to enable it to implement some of these trials, and Deloitte & Touché are providing facilitation and project management support. If the trials are successful, the company hopes to roll out these initiatives towards the end of the year.
Changing working practices
In the central offices there are different types of trials taking place in different areas of the business. With more than 850 central employees, it will take some time to give a complete face-lift to working arrangements, but Blair is confident it can be done.
“This is all about changing the way we work; not only ensuring we are aligned to meet business demands but also making people more attuned and engaged to deal with these demands effectively,” Blair says. “Employees should not only be giving 100 per cent to work, but also to their free time.”
Increased productivity
“The only way to optimise productivity is to acknowledge this demand for improved work-life balance. At the end of the day you cannot ignore the statistics, people these days want a more flexible way of working; whether it be those returning from maternity leave or those wanting a six-month s
