Articles

By Jola Brooking, Interim HR Director Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I

Even before the pandemic I think many would agree that the concept of a 9-5 day was outdated, but the past year has really made companies reassess how they can change to offer a better balance for their employees moving forwards.

Before the pandemic we already had some flexible working practises in place, such as ‘Flexi Fridays’ which would allow our employees to take the rest of the day off if their work had been done by 1pm on a Friday. However, faced with the challenges of the pandemic there was a need to look at our existing working practises to allow for more flexibility.

We spoke to our employees to find out how they felt about a return to the office, working from home and achieving a work life balance moving forwards. We conducted focus groups, and surveys to capture insights from all levels, functions and locations so that we were making the right choice for our people.

What’s newWe socialised some initial changes with our teams in September 2021 and tested in the months following, allowing us to gather even more feedback from our employees. Since the beginning of the year we have now refined our hybrid working model further to offer even greater flexibility.

We now follow a 2:3 model where office-based employees are expected to spend a minimum of two days in the office to connect with colleagues, a maximum of three days from home and the possibility for one of the office days to be spent in what we call ‘the Gemba’.

Linking to our company heritage, Gemba is a unique Japanese concept that places importance on where value is created for our business. It is about observation of behaviour and taking it back to the company as a learning so we can fulfil a consumer and customer need, whether it’s spending time with suppliers, in shops observing retail behaviour or out with our farmers to learn more.

We have also removed core hours for office-based staff in an effort to provide more freedom. Not sticking to a rigid 9-5 allows our staff to assess the best way to work their contractual hours that provides flexibility for both them and for our business, giving them autonomy to decide how they work and collaborate best with others. Whether it’s starting the day earlier to beat the busy commuting hours, or logging on later to help juggle family commitments, we want our employees to feel confident to find the right working balance for them.

A new officeWe know it will be a transition back to working from the office more regularly, and that’s why we’re starting to make some changes to our office space to help us all adapt. We are revamping our open space with hybrid working in mind, including pods for Teams call and areas for more relaxed, open discussions.

Enabling our employees' health and wellbeing is a priority for us, so we’ll also have Peloton bikes and running machines fitted into a new office gym room, with a few extra surprises on their way too… Watch this space!

Growing For Good
Our flexible working policy is ultimately driven by our vision of Growing for Good, as we passionately believe in creating a working environment for employees that promotes both mental and physical wellbeing.

Our people have always been our top priority and at the heart of what we do. We have made these changes based on feedback from our employees and to ensure our teams continue to work at their best – giving structure and encouraging social connections while supporting independence and flexibility. We recognise that the world of work is now a different place and we want to keep evolving as a business to ensure wellbeing and work-life balance are supported.