• Start from scratch: Shake off the “olden days/olden ways” default and start at the beginning. Ask: What does your business need from the front-line employee, and what do those employees need to do their jobs? At Broan-NuTone’s warehouse, where air solutions are inventoried, processed, packed and shipped, the answer was simple: 40 hours. The company implemented an innovative scheduling model, Self-Managed Scheduling (SMS), that allows employees to decide how those 40 hours are achieved — four 10-hour days, five eight-hour days, Monday-Friday, Monday-Thursday, Wednesday-Friday, 6-6, 9-5, noon-9. This flexibility led to increased productivity, improved team dynamics, enhanced safety and better business outcomes.
• Trust inspires trust: These new ways of working wouldn’t succeed without trust. When you give people control and trust them to deliver, they usually do. Trust is a two-way street. It’s not only about freedom for people to be flexible with their families, but also about freedom to be flexible with the company when needed. A recent McKinsey study shows that organizations that actively listen and act on recommendations from front-line employees are 80% more likely than others to consistently implement new and better ways of doing things.
• Investing in the front-line pays: It increases retention, which drives productivity. Broan-NuTone has a one-year training program, including cross-training and upskilling, essential for a self-managed scheduling system. They also instituted front-line supervisor training, setting up emerging leaders for success. Two years after implementing SMS, productivity improved by 14%, overtime declined by 15 points and turnover became negligible.
• A flywheel of front-line flexibility: The concept of front-line flexibility is gaining traction across industries. Companies are exploring new ways to reinvent the front-line experience, from eliminating mandatory overtime to instituting paid parental leave. These initiatives recognize the interdependent nature of what employees bring to work daily — focus, resilience and commitment — and what can be achieved as a business. Prioritizing flexibility and support for all employees’ holistic well-being will attract and retain talent across generations, fostering a more resilient and motivated workforce.
As we celebrate the spirit of Labor Day and the importance of labor rights, let’s also recognize how modernizing our workforce to embrace flexibility and trust reflects the evolving American dream. By doing so, we honor not just our nation’s history but also its future, one in which every American has the opportunity to thrive at work and in their personal lives.
Jill Wyant is CEO of Madison Air and was previously an executive at Ecolab.
