Two years ago the ability to work from home for one day of the week was likely considered quite a luxury for many. And the concept of a four-day working week probably seemed just that – a concept.
Indeed, just 5 per cent of SMEs operated a four-day week, according to a survey last year from Be the Business, a not-for-profit organisation. However, 17 per cent said the idea was under consideration, and 29 per cent said they would consider it in the future.
But in a client-oriented industry – in which almost a quarter (23 per cent) of clients say the pandemic has changed what they want from their adviser, namely more frequent and proactive communications, according to a report from St. James’s Place and Boring Money – is a four-day week compatible with client expectations?
Our view was that we did not anticipate such emergencies as you would have in a hospital or doctor’s surgery that would require immediate attention.Marlene Outrim, Uniq Family WealthAdopting a four-day week
Simon Harrington, senior policy adviser at Pimfa, says it is increasingly difficult to look at a working week in terms of “allotted blocks of time behind the desk”, given the level of flexibility recently introduced into the workplace.
Uniq Family Wealth is starting to trial a four-day week this month, during which the business will continue to monitor service levels and key performance indicators.
Marlene Outrim, Uniq Family Wealth founder and managing director, says: “Our view was that we did not anticipate such emergencies as you would have in a hospital or doctor’s surgery that would require immediate attention.
“A client requesting a cash withdrawal, say on a Friday, would most likely not have the instruction executed until the following Monday, which is within the bounds of ‘best execution’.”
Amy Butterworth, consulting director at Timewise, a flexible working consultancy, highlights the importance of setting clear expectations of a four-day working week.
“Are you talking about advisers working longer hours across four days, or working more efficiently to deliver their role in four days rather than five, or some combination of the two? You need to be sure that the job is the right ‘size’, ie achievable in the number of hours allocated to it.
“You must also consider what your clients expect and require – how accessible and available do advisers need to be?
“At Timewise, we advocate taking a team-based approach to designing the working week – this will help you agree how to substitute or cover for colleagues on their non-working days and when it is and isn’t appropriate to contact team members on their days off.”
Themis Wealth Management has adopted such an approach, where staff have either Monday or Friday as their non-working day.
“This ensures that the service and everything required is being delivered to the clients. Everyone works one extra hour a day and there is always someone in the office,” says Kate Gannon, director and chartered financial planner at Themis.
“By staggering this approach and by having a longer rest period, we have found that productivity has improved as people feel more valued and rested. We recently conducted a client survey and no one has seen any difference in our delivery.
“The end result is a happier work environment and staff that want to be at work, as they know that their employer thinks of their mental and physical wellbeing, as well as profits and services provided.”
Stick to the status quo?
Liese Lord, director of The Lightbulb Tree, an agile and flexible working consultancy, likewise suggests reviewing client meeting and contact points.
“Look at which days and times are the most popular – does this align to a reduced week? Perhaps you need to consider overlapping four day weeks within your teams to provide best service, so that not everyone takes the same day off.”
But Lord notes that some may prefer to stick to a traditional five-day working week, with a reduced working week possibly increasing stress rather than reducing it.
“Some companies implement a four-day week by condensing a five-day week's hours into four days, and others literally reduce to four days work with no cut in salary or benefits. The longer days of the condensed hours approach may not suit all and can increase stress for some.
“You may need to allow those who wish to work five days to do so, to maximise flexibility and match personal preferences.”
Atom Bank, for example, introduced a four-day working week in November, enabling employees to choose to move to a 34-hour working week over four days, paid at the same contracted salary rate as their former five day week of 37.5 hours.
Anne-Marie Lister, chief people officer at Atom, says that while a four-day working week sounds ideal, what meets the needs of one business may not meet the needs of another.
“At Atom, we had some non-negotiables in our planning and scoping of a four-day week. These included any detrimental impact to our customers or service, the inability to meet regulation or compliance standards and a negative impact on our people who may have struggled with a four-day working week, amongst other things.
“In our research and planning phase it was essential that each department took time to assess their working practices, external and internal customer service requirements and continuity of this while working a four-day working week, as well as any material risks that could not be mitigated or overcome.
“Ensuring people can air their views and findings in the planning stage without judgement is important in helping people move to a four-day working week. It’s not for everyone and allowing people to share their views as well as findings in a safe environment is important if any testing or implementation is going to be successful and your team is going to buy in to the process.”
Chloe Cheung is a features writer at FTAdviser
