Insurance firm Freedom Services Group has rolled out a four-day working week scheme, as of 1 July 2022.
The pilot will allow its 190 employees the opportunity to move to a four-day week, with full-time staff working 34 hours overall each week, at 8.5 hours daily from Monday to Thursday. Part-time employees will be able to reduce their hours by the equivalent pro-rata amount.
Staff can opt in or out of the voluntary scheme every quarter, with 75% opting in so far. It has also been promoted during interviews as an incentive in the firm’s recruitment campaigns, which has seen 24 new starters join since April.
According to the business, incremental changes will take place as part of the pilot’s adoption across the whole organisation, while it measures the impact and works to ensure the longevity of the scheme. These changes includes individual development plans with measurable objectives for employees, complemented by workplace management and engagement tools.
In January 2022, the firm conduced an employee engagement survey that revealed a desire for more flexible working models that allowed a better work-life balance. In response to this, seven employees came together to examine the feasibility of a four-day week and developed a blueprint for the scheme to ensure a smooth transition.
Chantel Emilius, executive director of culture and engagement at Freedom Services Group, said: “Implementing the four-day week is part of an overall strategy to increase levels of engagement and performance across the group and is aligned with our core values. We believe that this initiative will prove beneficial to our employees’ happiness and wellbeing which in turn will have an equally positive impact on business productivity, customer experience, and recruitment and retention strategies.
“In order to do this initiative correctly, we needed to ensure that not only do we have the buy-in of our staff at every level but we also had the operational processes and tools that support the transition.”