Making the dream of a four-day week a reality

In his column for this month Neil Simmons, founder of TN Recruits, explains why he created a four-day working week for his employees two years ago – and the reasons why it has worked…

The new government is proposing full-time workers’ rights to ask for a four-day working week. TN Recruits successfully implemented this just over two years ago. Why? Well read on to discover our story…

It was February 2022 and a discussion in the office about the four-day week sparked my interest. My initial reaction to the team was: “If we’re shut one day a week our clients and candidates will go to our competitors, what’s the solution?” My statement and questions were met with silence.

My fellow director Ellie Waterman and I continued the conversation confidentially and researched vigorously. We discovered other companies operated with a ‘buddy’ system. That means each team member has a buddy who has a different day off to them, meaning they cover each other’s work including client and candidate calls when the other one isn’t working.

Having discussed everything through, Ellie and I believed we could make it happen. 

We decided each team member would work Monday to Thursday one week, and Tuesday to Friday the next with their buddy doing the opposite. We quickly started the phrase “Every other weekend is Easter!”

On the subject of Bank Holidays we thought: ‘What will happen with those – would a three-day week work?’ The answer was no so we decided that on those particular weeks, everyone would enjoy the Bank Holiday off with the full team in on the other four days.

We realised we would be reducing our normal 37-hour week (including a 5pm finish on a Friday) down to 29.5 and challenged whether this would be enough. We thought implementing an additional 30 minutes to the working days would not exhaust people and would actually make TN Recruits more available to our clients and candidates over the course of the working week.

And so we weighed up the pros and cons which we found to be as follows:

PROS

• Rest for team
• Work-life balance
• More time for hobbies
• Time for DIY projects
• Time for life admin
• Great for weekends away
• Great for morale
• Recruitment attraction
• Retention of our team
• Positive PR
• Modern concept

CONS:

• Figures may drop
• We can’t go back if it doesn’t work
• Could potentially lose clients who go elsewhere due to service levels
• Morale in the office could drop on Mondays and Fridays
• Reduce holiday entitlement of 25 to 20 days + Bank Hols (although you get an extra 43 days to play with across the year!)
• We took the decision early on that new members of staff would not start with a four-day week. Although we realised it would help us to attract candidates to work for us, we didn’t want it to be the sole reason for wishing to join TN Recruits. We thought it best that during their probation period of three months, they would work a five-day week and would then have the option to join the four-day week.

So, with research and preparation done, we were ready to tell the team that we would like to launch a four-day week trial on June 6. Coincidentally, this was the same week as a national trial of the four-day working week.

We wrote to our clients and the feedback was generally positive with a number admitting they were jealous. We invited feedback and asked about any concerns. One client suggested the Chinese would eat us for breakfast, other than that and questions around availability, we moved past another potential obstacle.

We measured our results for the next six months and found productivity remained the same – and even improved in some areas. But most importantly we sustained the strong service levels our clients and candidates have come to expect, and revenue increased by 7%.

Now, more than two years on, it’s working. OK we do get a little stretched during holiday periods but on the whole, we have a motivated team who appreciate one of the best benefits available. 

If you are considering implementing a four-day week, you can take steps towards it.  A nine-day fortnight is becoming popular, and if you operate with a buddy system, you could ensure your service levels are covered and your team get a three-day weekend every other week. I was recently speaking to another business owner in Tunbridge Wells who has successfully implemented a 12.30 finish on a Friday which their team love… there are many possibilities out there to consider if you want to enhance working lives – without compromising on performance. 

If you would like to discuss the four-day working week or the possibility of working a four-day week at TN Recruits, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

01892 571105 neil@tnrecruits.com