Some of our people are “key” people, and we struggle when they are not available – say on a flexi day.

This is a senior management issue. Irrespective of flexitime, it's not a good situation where:

• The tasks of “key” people cannot be accommodated by others for a period ranging between some hours and a day.
• Again, contrasting with the arbitrary 9 to 5 day or a fixed shift, the concept of flexitime encourages people to plan their time more – which is good from the organisation's perspective. This includes key people and those they report to. The VisionTimeWeb system helps this process invaluably.
• The notion of being seemingly indispensable, where execs cannot be missed for a half a day a month or for a Flexible Leave day, is surely even less challenging than what happens when they take Annual Leave. For example, they are most likely already earned through a build up of time.
• A manager taking a day or half day Flexible Leave, under the controlled conditions that apply in a properly constituted flexitime scheme with full and agreed guideline, must help the department to function more effectively in the long run. This is partially because other members of staff have to know and understand what goes on in his/her absence.

So a hidden benefit of flexible working hours is where an element of upskilling that has been reported.

This can also be the beginning of work participation – which can be tapped. This is particularly at the point where flexitime is being launched in the organisation, where people are already showing an openness to new ideas. It will also be obvious that some employees have less flexibility than others because of their responsibilities but it is amazing how people will co-operate to protect their own flexibility.