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NLC Services

NLC Strategies was founded to support organizations interested in improving the effectiveness of their workplace culture and the retention of key workforce segments.  
 
What works best is unique to each organization, and often to each department or team within the organization. Best practices provide a great starting point for brainstorming about options and ideas, but what succeeds at another company may not meet the needs of your employees.
 
Why use an outside consultant?
Sustained, inclusive initiatives often emerge from inside the organization, among employees who work together day-to-day. This process moves the organization closer to consensus. It is not uncommon for initiatives brought in from the outside to lose momentum and effectiveness as soon as the consultants leave. However, an objective perspective gives voice, context, and structure to the ideas that arise from employees who know their work, goals, and environment the best. Additionally, an outside consultant brings valuable expertise, insight, and an opportunity for employees to voice opinions and concerns confidentially. Consultants can more readily identify and address underlying assumptions in the workplace culture that create barriers to effective implementation of flexibility in the organization.
 
A variety of tools and products are available to support work-life initiatives. Independent consultants have the knowledge and objectivity to evaluate their usefulness for a specific organization and its goals, before making recommendations.
 
NLC Consultants will support you through the following steps:
  1. A Needs Assessment/Situation Analysis
  2. Define the Work-Life Strategic Vision and Goals
  3. Develop the Infrastructure to Support that Vision
  4. Implement, Measure, and Assess Pilot Programs and Policies
 

 1. Needs Assessment/Situation Analysis
 
The first step is an assessment of the specific organization and its needs. This includes a determination of the key drivers of a work-life initiative and organizational readiness.  An understanding of the history of workplace flexibility in the organization and an objective analysis of the workplace culture are key. This should also include a look at the programs, policies, and best practices within and outside your industry. 
 
 

Evaluating Work-Life Needs

Workplace Flexibility initiatives are driven by an array of organizational goals:
  • Point Solution
  • Retention or Diversity Strategy
  • Adaptations to Workforce Change
  • Health and Wellness
These drivers come about due to specific workplace issues and, accordingly, require a different Needs Assessment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 . Define the Work-Life Strategic Vision and Goals
 
With this perspective, you are ready to develop your workplace flexibility strategy and goals. To a large degree, this depends on the current stage of workplace flexibility in the organization.
                
  

Stages of Work-Life Flexibility Implementation

The Implementation of Work-Life Flexibility requires different strategies that depend, to a large degree, on the current stage of Workplace Flexibility in an organization's culture. While the pace of implementation or the specific strategies chosen may differ according to the size and age of the business, generally, we see these stages progress as follows:
  • No workplace flexibility exists
  • HR or management evaluate a request for a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA)
  • Pilot an individual arrangement
  • Establish Policies for FWAs
  • Roll out FWA Implementation Guidelines
  • Address the Implementation Gap - improve effectiveness of FWAs
  • Maintain/manage long-term employee connections
  • Pilot team-based flexible approaches
  • Institutionalize a flexible culture
 
 3. Develop the Infrastructure to Support that Vision
  
After the needs assessment and goal development, the path forward may include various options from singular projects to broader cultural change.
 
Consulting projects often include: 
  • Flexibility Program Parameter/Guideline Development
  • Template for Submitting a Flexible Proposal
  • Company Guide to Navigating a Non-Linear Career (to highlight role models, success stories, and responsibility of individuals)
  • Management Training and Tools (re: business benefits and effective management of flexibility)
  • Implementation of Pilot Arrangements (Design, metrics, evaluation of work practice changes)
Cultural Change will encompass a broader range of services because it addresses the issue systemically. Consultants provide an objective, outside perspective to develop an organic solution coordinating the internal and external expertise.
  • Workforce Needs Assessment (inquiry tools include surveys, personal interviews, focus groups, roundtables)
  • Cultural Receptivity (evaluate underlying assumptions, management style, performance criteria)
  • Work Group Collaboration/Support
The ultimate goal is to institutionalize a more flexible approach to the way work gets done, making employees more efficient as they work toward strategic initiatives with lower stress, more satisfaction, and as a part of a collaborative, diverse, problem-solving team. The result is a more agile, resilient, and effective organization.
 
 
4.  Implement, Measure, and Assess Pilot Programs and Policies
 
Remember that becoming an effective flexible workplace is an iterative process. Initial programs offer significant learnings for revising and improving the workplace and policies. A well-structured pilot program will offer keys for addressing resistance and offer a clear direction for further trial and adoption. Some programs will be expanded. Others will require revision or elimination. Strategic learning is a valuable step in the adoption of workplace flexibility programs.
 
 
Please Contact Us to explore options for your organization or for more information.