Dealers are increasingly adopting flexible working patterns to help with staff recruitment and retention.
A new report from consultants Ennis & Co found Where hybrid working is possible for certain roles, for office workers the balance is generally two days in the office and three at home, or vice versa.
“One retailer mandates employees to be in the office on Mondays and Fridays. Another takes a more flexible approach, allowing people to decide where to work on a weekly basis according to their needs and schedules.
“Having expanded its recruitment across the UK, employees are set expectations about in-office time according to individual circumstances and business requirements, whether it is once a week, twice a month or simply when needed,” it added.
The report found that generally, digital teams are given greater leeway to work from home, allowing retailers to recruit nationally.
“One retailer offers staff in digital roles the additional benefit of a flex-time scheme, reflecting the value of IT developers in the market and the need to retain talent.
“To address recruitment and retention challenges, retailers have introduced a degree of flexibility for on-site roles, such as part-time contracts and job shares, which also helps to provide seven-day coverage.
“Individual requests tend to be judged on a case-by-case basis rather than being subject to hard and fast rules.
One retailer operates a ‘flex leave’ scheme for office/site-based employees which allows them to request up to three hours away from the business up to four times a year without having to pay the time back.
Requests are made through a portal to enable requests and line managers’ responses to be monitored.
The report found that among the younger generations, there is widespread agreement that companies that resist will struggle to attract and retain the talent they need to deliver success.