Future-Flex: Mainstreaming Flexibility By Design (Retail Guide)

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What is Future-Flex?

Future-Flex is a new DCA initiative comprising evidence-based practical guidelines for HR and diversity practitioners and managers and team leaders, on how to implement and mainstream flexible work through job and work (re)design. Future-Flex is a new way of thinking about workplace flexibility and is about more than just accommodating an individuals needs “ it is about re-designing work at a team or organisation level to maximise performance and wellbeing.

Future-Flex creates organisations in which employees can access flexibility across all roles, for any reason, and can have successful engaged careers. This involves flexibility in time, leave, place and choice, which improves the performance and wellbeing of organisations, teams, and individuals.


What is Future-Flex Mainstreaming Flexibility By Design?

DCA has developed new Future-Flex tools to build flexible teams, jobs and organisations, with a specific focus on retail environments. The tools were developed following a review of international and national industry and academic literature about workplace flexibility and the future of work; interviews and liaison with staff working in a retail environment; and our own extensive experience assisting workforces make flexible work and flexible careers standard business practice.

When to use the Future-Flex Mainstreaming Flexibility By Design Guidelines

This Guide has a particular focus on the retail environment including retail organisations (both corporate offices and retail outlets) and organisations which have a retail network (such as banks).

The Future-Flex Tools can be used to address a number of challenges:

  • When you or your team want to explore what flexibility options are possible in your work area and how these can be introduced
  • When you or one of your employees want to work more flexibly
  • When your organisation wants to improve organisational, team, and individual performance and wellbeing through flexible working.

The three Tools step you through a process of designing work, jobs, and organisations for flexibility. They are based on a ˜work design mindset about flexibility.

Find out more:

DCA members can access the full research report. The Full Report includes detailed information on:

  • Each of the three Future-Flex Tools
  • How to use the Future-Flex Tools in your own organisation
  • The business case for Future-Flex, including all research references
  • Case studies and practical example of Future-Flex leading practice

Want to use our research?

Materials contained in this document are © Copyright of DCA Ltd, 2016. If you wish to use any content contained in this report, please contact DCA at research@dca.org.au, to seek consent.

Where you wish to refer to our research, it must be correctly attributed to DCA.

  • Formal attribution to DCA is required where references to DCA research material are in a written format.
  • Citing DCA as a source will suffice where the reference is made in a verbal format.

Suggested citation: Diversity Council Australia (Russell, G., O’Leary, J., Tilly, J., Brown, C.) Future-Flex: Mainstreaming Flexibility by Design – Redesigning work to make flexibility standard business practice in Australian retail workplaces, Sydney, Diversity Council Australia, 2016.

 

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