Focus HR has been on a journey for the past two years, working towards implementing the 4 Day Week, achieving 100% productivity, in 80% of the time, with 100% pay. It’s not about compacting 38 hours into four days. It is about being truly efficient at what the business does so that things are done better, faster, and with unfailing quality.
Sounds like the holy grail of business right?
So is it possible or is it more like a mirage in the desert – a shimmering, beautiful destination that just never really becomes a reality?
The benefits are clear and the statistics compelling: 35% increase in revenue; 57% greater retention rates; 55% increase in employee engagement; and 71% decrease in burn out. What is not to love!!
This doesn’t happen instantly though, and a 4 day week poorly implemented (like most other things in business) is destined to fail.
Our Director, Naomi Wilson, recently featured on ABC’s The Bright Side podcast hosted by Sabra Lane, sharing some of the learnings gained through implementing and living the 4DW. Here, we dive a little deeper in to those:
1. Know your numbers. A key part of the 4DW working for both people and businesses is the 100 | 80 | 100 formula. We deliver 100% productivity, in 80% of the time, for 100% of our pay. For a business to be able to fully support and maintain the 4DW, they must know what 100% productivity is for them. Without that, we are simply working 80% of the time for 100% of the time and hoping that the positive impact happens. We have 2 simple measures of 100% productivity at Focus HR:
a) Turnover per FTE. Read more about turnover per FTE and how to calculate it here.
b) Achievement of strategy goals. Our strategic planning and implementation rhythm means that we know what our team is capable of delivering on for strategic projects.
Using these 2 measures ensures we are balancing our focus of the profitability of the business with long term sustainability and growth.
2. Trust is essential. This is true across all areas of the employer-employee relationship, but particularly so when moving to a 4DW. Taking a measure of 100% productivity every day or week can be difficult for most companies; and so a degree of trust is needed that your people are putting in the effort to be 100% productive for the 4 days that they are at work. They also need to trust each other that they are each putting in a fair effort. For the 4DW to not have an unintended negative consequence on the culture of your business, focus must be given to making sure it is fair to all and that some employees are not picking up the slack for others.
3. Plan for success. The 4DW is not something to decide and start on a whim. It takes careful planning and preparation in order to succeed. To read more about the journey that Focus HR took to move to a 4DW visit our 4 Day Week Journey. There are also organisations that assist companies navigate the journey. 4 Day Week Global is one of these, and Debbie Bailey is right her in Toowoomba (you will hear her with Naomi on the podcast).
4. Get your terminology right. At Focus HR we have been very intentional about our terminology. The 5th day is a ‘gift’ – it is a day to reward the efficiencies we gain, the focus we achieve on our other 4 days and the results we achieve. It is not an entitlement. There will be times when it might not work for someone to receive their ‘gift’ e.g. there is something happening on their normal day off that they would like to attend, or work volume for a short period is such that taking time off just doesn’t work – that is OK. Each employee may also have times when there is a professional development, team social, or other event that falls on their gift day. Again, it is up to each individual when they believe it is worth giving up a gift day.
5. It takes discipline to have a day off. Sounds weird right? Having a day off work seems like one of the easiest things to do. But some employees (and most business owners) find genuinely taking a day off and disconnecting from work incredibly difficult. We think, ‘I’ll just take that call’ or ‘I just need to run those figures quickly this morning’. Being disciplined at work has always been synonymous with ‘dedicated’, ‘committed’, ‘will to do what it takes to get the job done’. All of those things are still important, but with a 4DW, discipline also needs to be synonymous now with being an exceptional manager of time – both your own and others.
We are always happy to talk about our 4DW journey with businesses considering taking the next step, so please reach out if you would like further insights.