CPA Practice Advisor - 33

A YEAR IN THE LIFE: PAYROLL ACCOUNTANT

TYPES OF FLEXIBLE
WORK ARRANGEMENTS
By Arianna Campbell

ONCE YOU'VE DECIDED to offer flexible work
options for your staff, what's next? Flexible
work arrangements are not a one-size-fits-all
solution. In fact, there are nine types of flexible work arrangements.
FLEXTIME
Flextime involves giving staff flexibility on the start and
finish times of their working day, typically with a mandatory "core" time in the middle of the day.

Their responsibilities may be phased out over a period
of months or years.

COMPRESSED WORK WEEK

PARTIAL RETIREMENT

A compressed work week allows employees to work 40
hours in fewer than five days, such as working four 10-hour
days.

Older employees are allowed to continue working on a
part-time basis, with no predetermined end date.

FLEXPLACE

Employers provide some assistance to their employees
to help with child care and elder care, such as on-site
childcare facilities.
Choosing the flexible work arrangement(s) that work for
your firm can seem tricky, but taking a systematic approach
to implementing your program can narrow down the list
of options that will most benefit your firm and employees.
Consider using a focus group or a sample survey to figure
out which options your staff needs. You may even consider
a pilot program to test your options and see if the program
needs tweaking.
Remember that flexibility doesn't have to be an allor-nothing program. It can be a gradual process. Chances
are, you're already providing some informal, flexible work
arrangements for certain employees who need to leave early
on certain days or work from home on occasion. Now, you
just need to take the next step to formalize the policy and
extend it to all staff members. ■

Flexplace is often referred to as telecommuting. Employees
may work from home or another remote location on an
approved schedule, either for a certain number of hours
or days a week, or 100% of the time.

JOB SHARING
In job sharing, two or more employees split one position
and split necessary work hours between them.

WORK SHARING
Often used by companies as a method of avoiding layoffs.
The company temporarily reduces hours and salary for
a portion of the staff while maintaining the number of
employees.

EXPANDED LEAVE
Expanded leave gives employees greater flexibility for
requesting extended periods of time away from work
without losing their rights as employees. Extended leave
can be granted on a paid or unpaid basis and may be used
for a variety of reasons, including sabbaticals, higher education, community service, family issues, or medical care.

PHASED RETIREMENT
The employee and the firm agree on a schedule to gradually reduce the employee's full-time work commitments.

WORK AND FAMILY PROGRAMS

As a consultant for Boomer Consulting, Inc., Arianna Campbell
helps accounting firms challenge the status quo by leading process improvement initiatives that result in increased profitability
and client satisfaction.

This article first appeared on the
CPA Consultant's Alliance
(www.cpaconsultantsalliance.com).

AUGUST 2019 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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