Food and drink manufacturer Princes has introduced two new flexible working options for staff following their return to the office this week.
The first choice is a hybrid working model, with its 500 employees able to choose to work two days remotely and three days in the office. The second option involves core working hours of 10am to 4pm Mondays to Thursdays and 10am to 3pm on Fridays.
According to the business, the move forms part of its wider Smart Working project, which began back in November 2019 but was altered by the first national lockdown in March 2020. The aim of this was to build upon some existing flexible working practices already on offer to staff, such as staggered start and finish times, continental shift patterns at manufacturing sites, part-time and compressed hours, annualised hours and job shares.
Joe Dent, Princes’ chief people officer, commented that the number one consideration throughout was the health and wellbeing of staff, which continues as the organisation facilitates an improved work-life balance and more flexibility while retaining the connections achieved by spending time together in a physical space.
He explained that this launch is recognition that the world of work has changed forever, as the move to a hybrid model is understanding that while some work can be done well remotely, other more collaborative and innovative work may be better suited to an office environment.
“Colleagues will continue to have a dedicated desk and the option is also there for anyone to work from our offices more than three days a week. The introduction of core hours has been welcomed by colleagues looking forward to being able to flex their working hours on a week-by-week basis. Ultimately, our aim is to attract and retain the best talent to support business growth and achieve our ambition of becoming an employer of choice,” he said.