Convincing HR how I can drop a day and be effective still

[user1467722214]

I have been full time since returning from time off with DD number2 in January 2017. Have really struggled to.be a successful mother, wife and account manager in Med Sales. Have finally applied to drop a day and have a meeting with HR thursday. It will be 2 HR people and my line manager and myself in the room. Really bricking it! Wondering if I should be honest and say I feel that I am neither being affective as a sales person or as a mum as things stand. Their questions in the application were tricky....i.e. how will my colleagues react if I am given a day less to.work and also how will I complete my job successfully if I do change and drop a day? Feeling nervous and intimadated to travel to.HQ and sit in front of what seems a panel interview to make life easier for me!!

I feel that I am neither being affective as a sales person or as a mum as things stand

If I was you, I would not say this!

TBH you know the job and presumably believe it's possible to do 4 days a week. If you don't think it's possible then you're setting yourself up for a lot of stress.

I wouldn't approach it by saying you're not effective now - you're basically saying you're not a very good employee but they should still want to change the working routine to suit you! Pull yourself up and project confidence - or at least fake it til you make it!

I think a super professional way to approach it would be to be mindful about all your past achievements and the reasons why you love the job and are good at it. Don't go on in detail about your children or finding things hard. Find reasons why it would work on 4 days a week - for example, are other colleagues out of the office a lot anyway? Do clients tend to be busier on some days than others so not much gets done on some days? Would you propose having a particular day off that wouldn't disrupt work? Maybe you could put together something about how easy it is to reach people on a certain day of the week and go for the day they don't pick up anyway.

I've found since having DD I faff about less at work because the difference between dealing with a kid and being able to concentrate is so delicious - you could say something along those lines about how productive you will be and how you feel more determined and driven to achieve for the sake of your DC, setting and example etc.

You could also gently mention how a diverse workforce has been shown to bring benefits, you have extra skills in relating to people, managing emotions and people etc. Dig out some studies if it won't get up their noses.

Take a look at what the law says about flexible working here www.gov.uk/flexible-working - I believe employers have to consider your request and can only turn it down for sound business reasons. Most employers I suspect would want to give it a go on a trial basis and see how it works.

Thank you that is extremely useful. Out of interest is it normal to Have 2 HR and a line manager in the meeting. Feel it seems a little excessive!

You would normally have HR and management represented, though 2 seems unusual.

Just to say though - it is not HR you need to convince. They will be there to guide on process. Your line manager will be the one making the decision - so it is her/him you need to focus on convincing!

I’m saving my manager 20% of a salary by only working four days a week. I’m sure this was a factor when she (surprisingly) said yes to my request to take this job on four days a week (it was a promotion from an existing four day a week job which helped though).

Look at your company's guidelines around flexible working requests and also the government/ACAS online requests.

These will give you an overview of the reasons a company can decline flexible working requests. So you need to consider these as challenges.

Remember that your company will base this decision on business need/business outputs so they will not be interested in you being a better parent. Only in how your role can be achieved. There are some threads on the Employment Board here that will give you some ideas from those who have been through this. Ie communication, expectations from customers and colleagues on non-working days, longer hours to still be FT but over 4 days.

Good luck

i work compressed hours - are you looking to do the same amount of work in 4/5 of the time, or the same hours in 4 days?

State everything in business terms about how it will benefit them. I would request a 4 week trial with regular 1-1’s before they make their final decision

Asking you how your colleagues would react seems a strange question. Asking about the impact on the business and how you would manage that but asking about your colleages’ reaction seems weird. That’s for them to manage!

Good luck OP. I’ve always done 4 days except a brief stint doing 5 and I really don’t do any less work than when I did 5, so it’s a bargain for an employer who gets 5 days work for the price of 4!

Focus on why your proposals won't be detrimental to your team, for example;

Xx day is traditionally a quiet day in the office and that is why you have chosen this day as your non working day (evidence this with telephone calls, sales made etc).

You have avoided days in which there are tens meetings or other reasons why you need to be in the office.

You will ensure all of your clients are aware of your work pattern and that there will be colleagues in the office if you aren't around (in the same way that if you were on annual leave).

The company will be saving 20% of your salary.

Good luck!!!

I would keep it positive and not talk about being an ineffective mother or employee!

I also think the colleague question is an odd one, but I would turn it around and say that you think it will be a positive demonstration of them being a flexible employer.