November 15th, 2014

Dr. Tyrion Lannister DBA-CEO

Lannister Widgets
1 Red Keep Pvt. Dr.
Kings Landing, OH 32847
Greetings Dr. Lannister:
RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING
WITHIN YOUR COMPANY
Thank you for calling on the services of Stark Consulting LLC, when taking a look at
streamlining your current scheduling structure, and the distinct possibility that your company
may run smoother on a flexible scheduling plan in many of your departments. We believe that
after listening to our proposal and reviewing the statistical evidence we present, you will agree
with our recommendations. We are very confident that you will quickly see how dramatically a
thing like a little bit of empowerment granted to your employees will boost morale, and heighten
productivity in many cases too.

Procedures
In our studies on the subject of flex-scheduling, we consulted sources such as the U.S.
Department of Labor, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to begin our discussion with reliable
facts on the subject from reputable sources, and then passed out a targeted survey to some of
your own employees, after gaining your permission, to see what their thoughts about the subject
are. Upon full implementation of our complete survey, at your permission, we will be able to get
a better feel of what departments flexible scheduling properly applies to at Lannister Widgets.

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After proper execution of the change is executed we will stay on with your company for two
months as our contract states. If you wish to keep our consultants on after the contract is
completed, those terms must be negotiated upon completion of the scheduling policy changes
and after the contract has been completed by both parties.

Findings
In our studies we have discovered that workplace morale and overall employee satisfaction
numbers rise significantly when a flex-scheduling program is used properly. On the other hand,
when applied incorrectly to certain departments it can cause more scheduling problems than it is
worth. It is a growing trend that is beginning to become a norm across the board in many
companies. However, as stated before, at Stark Consulting we believe this type of scheduling
needs to follow a process to be properly applied and implemented. This type of scheduling is not
something that can be uniformly applied to an entire corporation in many cases. For instance,
flex-scheduling does not always work in a warehouse setting which has to meet requirements for
time as far as shipping and receiving is concerned, and when a company is at the mercy of
another business schedule, to ship and/or receive items, flexible schedules can actually interfere
with their ability to load or unload shipments.
In the course of our initial survey 4 questions in particular stuck out to our company. According
to the survey administered electronically through Survey Monkey prior to these meetings, the
first point we noticed was the very first question asked. It pertains to the overall satisfaction of

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the people that took the survey with the flexibility of their current schedule. We found in this
limited survey that just over 58 percent of them are less than satisfied with the current flexibility
of their schedule (Survey Monkey, 2014). Another point worth noting is that none of them
answered that they were completely satisfied with their scheduling constraints. This is not a
slight to your company; many companies are just warming up to the concept of flexible
scheduling, and how it can cost-effectively move those answers in a positive direction after
implementation of this new program. At Stark Consulting, it is our hope that after a companywide survey, we will be able to apply flexible scheduling to the necessary departments, and you
too will very quickly see and be able to reap the benefits that come with having a happier, more
productive workforce as a whole.
The next question that piqued our interest was the follow up to the first question which asked
how satisfied they are with their current schedule. Again, we noticed that none of them said they
were completely satisfied with their schedule. Just over 83% of the people surveyed were less
than satisfied about their current schedule, and 25 percent of the total people surveyed were
dissatisfied (Survey Monkey,2014).
Moving on, the survey directly asked the question would you be open to working more flexible
hours, and nearly 92 percent of the people surveyed at Lannister Widgets were in support of the
idea, Also, another side point is that none of the people surveyed at your company were not at
least undecided about the potential of adapting their job to accommodate flexible scheduling
(Survey Monkey, 2014).

Dr. Tyrion Lannister

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Finally, the last survey responses worth mentioning directly asked the people involved which of
the types of schedules listed in the question would best suit their needs. Again, nearly 92% of the
surveyed personnel stated that they would be in favor of a schedule that could be accommodated
by some variation of flex-scheduling (Survey Monkey, 2014).

Explanations for Flexible Schedules in the workplace

The basics of Flex Scheduling begin with applying core hours; which are 11am-3pm Monday
through Friday. This allows some structure to plan scheduled meetings during a time which
everyone is required to be in the building. Salaried employees are still required to put in at least
the 40 hours required to maintain their full-time requirements, but can choose how they want to
meet those requirements to better suit their day to day family/home lives. The remaining hours
available to meet or exceed the required weekly hours for full-time employees can vary from
company to company. However, a standard many usually start with in an office setting is to offer
flex hours between 7am and 7pm on Monday-Friday. If it works for your business you can
initially offer or quickly expand to Saturday 9am-3pm. In some cases this can also be used to
create a four day work week if one chooses to work Monday-Thursday for 10 hours or more a
day. It is a cost-efficient way of empowering every level of employee at Lannister Widgets from
the CEO to front-line employees on the factory and warehouse floors; permitting that it can be
properly adapted to the department they work in.

Dr. Tyrion Lannister

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Company Benefits
First and foremost, the main benefit to the company will begin with a strong boost to overall
morale within the company for those in support of flex-scheduling, and according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, just over 27.5 percent of all business in the US since 2005 have adjusted their
business and adopted a flex-scheduling policy within their company (BLS, 2005). Another report
from the United States Department of Labor also suggests that a significant portion of the people
which are not sure how they feel about the scheduling change are satisfied with it after adjusting
to the new policy, and most have seen noticeable rises in employee satisfaction and overall
morale within the company (US Dept. of Labor, 2014). As a result, this translates into more
efficient and productive workers, who in many cases are more apt to be supportive and/or helpful
to their fellow co-workers. A final benefit to the company is that it will free up a lot of time for
HR personnel to focus on more important matters than employees taking vacation or personal
days with little or no notice at all. Your employees will not have to file paperwork unless they are
expecting to miss the core hours of 11am-3pm. This will cut back on any overtime in your HR
department, and even if flexible scheduling does not properly apply to your HR department, you
will probably see an improvement in the morale of the HR personnel because of the cut back on
the paperwork that must be filed when a person takes a sick, personal, or vacation day.

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Benefits to the Employee

The morale boost from the empowerment granted to them by the powers that be at Lannister
Widgets is just the beginning. The common worker will also have a much more balanced and
flexible home/work balance with this recommended scheduling practice implemented as well. It
will allow the headache of day to day family life more bearable for the people working for
Lannister Widgets. Many people struggle with finding a balance between home and work and
flex-scheduling is a very reasonable answer that will allow them not only a feeling of
empowerment within the workplace, but can provide them with lower stress levels and hopefully
less medical issues as an indirect result.

Potential Drawbacks Involved

As briefly stated before, the practice of flexible scheduling is used best when it is applied on a
department to department basis. A much deeper look into each department of Lannister Widgets
will give Stark Consulting the statistical information it needs to properly apply this practice to
the necessary departments. When we conduct the survey of the company, the findings can
suggest that flex-scheduling will be ineffective in some departments that need to have fully
structured hours of operation for each shift. The most prevalent example of this from our years of
consultation lies in the Shipping & Receiving department. Also, in other departments where they
are at the mercy of another company or persons schedule on a daily basis can present issues with
applying flexible scheduling.

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Survey Results

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Recommendations for Lannister Widgets

It is our recommendation that Lannister Widgets to permit our company to conduct a companywide survey of both the employees and management on a department to department basis to
establish where and when Flex-Schedules can be implemented. After that determination is
reached the affected departments will be notified one calendar month before applying the new
scheduling practice to the necessary departments. The rest of the company will be effectively
notified of the change approximately 2 weeks before the change over takes place. After
establishing where flexible scheduling can be best implemented within your company we will
meet with you again so that you can determine if you agree with our final findings. At that point,
the new flex-scheduling policy will be introduced by our company to your affected personnel, on
a department to department basis. We will continue to stay on with your company for 2 months
to ensure the smooth transition of the new scheduling policy. Anything further will need to be
agreed upon after or upon completion of our initial contract. We hope that you will find our
initial results and other findings significant enough to proactively make the necessary scheduling
changes.

Summary
Lannister Widgets could significantly benefit in many areas by converting areas of your business
to accommodate a flexible scheduling program. This program greatly benefits not only your
employees, but company management as well. Morale is an often overlooked part of the
workplace. As a motivational tool it is as effective as giving a raise, but much more cost-

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effective. It can also serve to increase productivity and encourage people to help their fellow coworkers, as they have a better work/home balance, and are more satisfied with their jobs as a
result. We hope will take the time to review all of our findings and results, and opt to bring on
Stark Consulting on a more full-time basis to help determine where and when Lannister Widgets
should begin changing your companys scheduling policies as needed.
Thank you for your time in providing us with the necessary to conduct the initial survey of your
Lannister Widgets.
Best Regards,

Kurt N Bauschlicher
Kurt N Bauschlicher, Lead Consultant

Dr. Tyrion Lannister

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References Cited
Labor, T. E.-S. (2014, October). Work Hours- Flexible Schedules. Retrieved from
United States Department of Labor:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/flexibleschedules.htm
Monkey, S. (2014, November). Retrieved from Survey Monkey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/summary/GWOTXUmCOmG0AqPIC_2BeBiYqw
4kxOxrvI8xQqQT28LR0_3D
USDL 05-1198. (2005, July 1). Workers on Flexible and Shift Schedules in 2004
Summary. Retrieved from Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/flex.nr0.htm