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Work smart, not hard – this is how we do it


Saskia Schwarze
27 October 2022
Career at Swisslog Healthcare
Reading Time: 6 min.
9-to-5 jobs, where we sit in the office for eight hours every day, have long since ceased to be the standard and, above all, are no longer what employees want: more flexibility and freedom in terms of time and place are in demand. Our SMART Work program provides our employees with a variety of options for making their own workdays more flexible. Each individual's situation is assessed on an individual basis during the process. Our goal is to foster a work environment in which each of us can thrive.
Illustration SMART Work

What is SMART Work?

Our SMART Work program describes adaptable work models that deviate from the usual office or production work. In most cases, this involves flexible scheduling of working hours and/or a choice of work location. The focus is not only on individual flexibility but also on increased efficiency and productivity resulting from greater freedom and self-determination. We offer our employees individual flexwork options that are tailored to the individual’s case and consider the entire scope of company requirements. Individualized approaches are especially important because a typical workweek varies by country, and we take into account labor regulations in each country. In addition, individual consideration means that it is not only our office employees who can take advantage of flexible working models.

For employees in production, for example, part-time models are an option. We are pleased that, with the introduction of our SMART Work program, we are not only responding to our employees' strong desire for more flexibility and balance of private and professional life, but are also reacting as a company to current issues.


Every job with us is checked in advance for the following options, so that we can discuss the individual options together with our candidates in a completely transparent manner as early as the hiring process:

Flextime

Employees can flexibly adjust the start and end of their working day.

Telework

Employees work part of the workweek at a location other than their assigned work location, for example, from home. Which work locations are permitted depends on local regulations.

Job sharing

This involves splitting a full-time position between two people, with both job holders responsible for the success of the entire position.

Reduced hours

Part-time work in which employees temporarily or permanently reduce their working hours, typically working fewer hours per day or fewer than five days per week, and are assigned a smaller scope of work duties.

Compressed workweek

Employees reduce the length of their work week and perform all of their job duties on fewer days per week while maintaining the same workload. Because this model presents unique challenges, it is recommended that a trial period be defined first.

Remote work

All work tasks can be performed outside the office workplace, usually from home or at a project site. There are two different types of remote work: either employees live near the company site and can easily travel to the site if necessary or at the request of their supervisor, or they relocate their residence temporarily or permanently to another region.

SMART Work Program
Our six different flexwork options.

To ensure a common understanding across the company, our SMART Work program is based on the following six principles:

  1. Lead with results and goals in mind – goals, outcome targets, and deadlines are clearly established.
  2. Ensure fair implementation by using a consistent and transparent evaluation process.
  3. Communicate openly and transparently – with teams determining how frequently and via what channel.
  4. Build trust – employees, supervisors and management are all equally involved here.
  5. Promote team cohesion because interpersonal relationships also help to increase efficiency.
  6. Remain flexible and agile in order to be able to respond to changing requirements in the workplace.

 

The aim is to ensure a balanced process for everyone that not only supports our corporate goals but rather creates a working environment that meets the requirements of our employees.

Why do we have the SMART Work program?

For us, flexibility in the work environment and well-being at work are matters close to our hearts. That's why SMART Work is part of our long-term corporate strategy. The development of the program was one of our global corporate goals in 2020. Together in an international project team, consisting of employees from different functions and responsibilities, a concept was developed, which was subsequently adopted and elaborated by our HR team.

We are happy about every smiling face that crosses our path in the office. We see this as a credo when we talk about the program together with employees and managers. For us at Swisslog Healthcare, personal exchange is very important and we value the time we spend together. It's important to us that we continue to have conversations at coffee machines, in the lounge, or while taking a walk together during breaks – that's what makes us tick.

We now use SMART Work globally in various functional areas such as Engineering, Product Management, Project Management, Sales, Human Resources, Finance & Controlling and Marketing. Even in our strongly production and logistics-oriented areas, we can increase flexibility for our employees through our SMART Work options.

And in practice? This is how our Marketing team uses SMART Work

Several team members from Marketing have decided to use SMART Work to better balance their private lives with their jobs. Especially with classic office jobs, several options can also be combined. Here's a little insight:

Omar Shammah, Graphic Designer, Swisslog Healthcare

I work part-time at Swisslog Healthcare in Germany and I also do freelance work. That's why SMART Work plays a crucial role for me. The flexibility in working hours and location allows me to arrange my working hours over my week in such a way that I can also meet deadlines for my own customers. It's the only way I can have a varied professional life.

Omar Shammah, Graphic Designer
Nadja Sagnotti, Product Marketing Manager

For a long time, I was looking for a new professional challenge, but unfortunately, only a few German companies offer similar programs like SMART Work. I have two small children and was therefore looking for a part-time position. My position was originally full-time, but it was no problem to adjust the number of hours to my needs. Now I am super happy to be able to combine both: family and career.

Nadja Sagnotti, Product Marketing Manager
Julia Bröcker, Marketing & Communication Associate at Swisslog Healthcare

At the beginning of my professional life, the change to a 40-hour week seemed hard at first – especially after the flexible student life and part-time work as a student trainee. But with our SMART Work program, I can still plan my free time pretty flexibly.

Julia Bröcker, Marketing & Communication Associate

"Work smart, not hard" is your motto as well?

Check out our career pages to discover more about job opportunities with us. Feel free to contact us if you have specific questions about open positions.

About the author

HR Manager Northern Europe & GCC Saskia Schwarze is in charge of all people and culture issues in her segment. She fosters the development of our employees so they can grow and become more and more successful and satisfied in what they do.


More about Saskia Schwarze
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