Wates adopts company-wide flexible working
Wates adopts company-wide flexible working
Wates has announced the adoption of company-wide flexible working as it looks to enhance the Group’s high standards of customer service by improving staff wellbeing and productivity.
- Group calls on nearly 4,000 colleagues across the UK to experiment with working patterns to boost productivity
- From site workers to head office, all new roles are to be advertised as flexible
- New Flexible Working principles applicable to both office and site teams
- By 2025, Groups intends all roles to be flexible
The company, which employs nearly 4,000 people across the UK, is encouraging colleagues across the business to experiment with different working patterns that improve their working life. All new roles also being advertised as flexible. Teams are being encouraged to develop working patterns that take into account individual preferences, enabling everyone to perform at their best.
The decision makes Wates one of the first construction companies to support flexible working across its entire business, including employees who work on site. The new approach will make the business more inclusive, helping it to attract and develop a more diverse workforce.
Construction teams at Wates have been piloting the approach, with individuals changing their shift start or end times to accommodate caring responsibilities or other family needs, as well as to allow time for activities such as studying or team sports that promote health and wellbeing. Some colleagues have asked to take longer lunch breaks or to perform more of their work from home.
The approach is summarised in a set of Flexible Working Principles, which clarify that flexible working should be for everyone, regardless of where they work; and that it should be achieved in a way that maintains or improves service delivery for customers, as well as being sensitive to the needs and preferences of the wider team.
As a family business, we are committed to doing everything we can to help colleagues achieve a better work-life balance. The pandemic challenged us to work in different ways and to adapt.
We learned a lot about how to work flexibly, and about how doing so can improve productivity, performance, health and happiness.
We have listened to feedback from colleagues from across the Group and, as part of launching our Flexible Working Principles, are encouraging them to use the next few months to experiment with their working patterns: to find what works for them; to show us what they want their working life to be like in the future; and to use these new flexibilities to support our goal of becoming the most trusted, sustainable and progressive business in the sector.”
David Allen
Chief Executive at Wates Group
Wates’ Flexible Working Principles, and the culture change they are ushering in, is an extremely positive and inspiring thing to see.
We know that for too long flexible working has been seen as the preserve of office workers, but this shows that flex is possible in roles whether you’re sat at a desk or working on site.
It’s why we were so pleased to partner with Wates on our recent #FlexTheUK campaign: we want to show that whether it’s flexing hours, working pattern or location, flexible, family-friendly working practices don’t just bring huge benefits for employees they make sound business sense too.”
Jane van Zyl
CEO of national work-life balance charity Working Families
The pandemic has shown that we are able to work more flexibly, and more intelligently, to accommodate our colleagues’ needs and to encourage better results for our customers.
However, if our industry is to become more inclusive, it is fundamental that we continue to break down ingrained cultures and adopt new approaches that allow us to appeal to a more diverse workforce.
As one of the first companies in the sector to open up flexible working to our whole business, we hope to lead the change to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to thrive, by adopting the working patterns that best suit them.
Wates’ Flexible Working Principles were introduced in response to feedback from staff, which highlighted that almost 90% of colleagues would prefer a mix of home working and office working in the future.
A separate survey of just over 1,000 parents, launched as part of Working Families’ #FlexTheUK campaign, which is supported by Wates Group, showed that parents overwhelmingly want employers to create more flexible jobs (84%), and would consider jobs advertised as flexible more attractive when looking for work in the future (69%).
Mark Tant
Managing Director, Wates Construction
As well as launching flexible working, Wates has announced that all its non-site offices will operate on a flexible basis, with employees able to book workstations via an online system.
To promote these new ways of working, the Group’s fit-out business, Wates, has redesigned the main working area within Wates’ Leatherhead headquarters, creating a colourful and contemporary set of configurable spaces that have been designed specifically to encourage collaboration a template for post-pandemic offices. Last year, Wates also announced a complete overhaul of its family friendly policies to enable both men and women to manage personal and professional commitments as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Its industry-leading benefits package includes enhanced paternity/partner leave, increased maternity leave, carers’ leave and improved bereavement leave.
How we are supporting flexible working
Creating a better environment for new ways of working
Delivered in just 14 weeks, the refurbishment of the Wates Group head office reflects the type of environment that will welcome colleagues back to the office.
Diversity and Inclusion strategy
As a family-owned business we know our people are at the core of our continuing success. Its our people who make Wates successful. We will only achieve our strategic objectives if we retain and recruit the best people, and provide them with an environment characterised by inclusivity, diversity and opportunity.
