Organizing the flexible working for employees in hanoi global design limited company (hgd) = tổ chức làm việc linh hoạt cho nhân viên tại công ty tnhh thiết kế hà nội toàn cầu (hgd)

Organizing the flexible working for employees in Hanoi global design limited company (HGD) = tổ chức làm việc linh hoạt cho nhân viên tại công ty tnhh thiết kế hà nội toàn cầu (hgd)

Rationale

Organizing flexible working is a work arrangement in which employees are given more scheduling freedom in fulfilling their position obligations Flexible working hours are the most common style in these arrangements The reason is that they give employees more effort to finish their tasks by deciding the starting and end of their work, as long as the total number of working hours is within contract limits Other popular flexible work arrangements involve work shifts & telecommuting or working from home

In the business section, flexible working, like flextime and Flexplace, has recently been adopted more in many businesses In addition to prospering, these organizations are also increasingly improving the employees‘ quality of life More and more companies will use this type of arrangement With the increase in the demand for the Internet and the rapid distribution of connections to the Internet in houses and workplaces, the tools required to organize successful flexible working arrangements are being spread out (Anonymous, Flexible Work Arrangement,

In 2018, Chung & Der Lippe stated that the demand for a flexible workplace is increasing, especially among the younger generation Some recent reports also show that millennials want to have a chance to work remotely or/ and have flexible working hours In the future, flexible working arrangements can be a popular organizational method in most companies

As an enterprise in retail and R&D, the jewelry product, from early on, Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd has seen the trend of applying flexible working arrangements in the operation process to support their employees in balancing their work and family responsibilities The reason is that Beauregard & C Henry (2019) suggest that balancing work-life can assist firms with dependent care, flexible alternative, and family or personal leave A company that has an imbalance between employees‘ work commitment and their other responsibilities can lead to being stressful, high absentee, low productivity, and eventually dissatisfaction In contrast, in a company where employees can balance their work and other duties, they generally feel more responsibility and ownership and manage their work-family better If employers can support their employees in balancing their work and personal life, they can get the result with growth in employees‘ loyalty and commitment Employees can pay more attention to their work and career path Besides, this can assist employers in retaining and reducing recruitment costs and turnover rates (Anonymous, Flexible working and work-life balance, 2015)

However, from the fact of company, there are some limitations The first one needs to evaluate the effectiveness of flexible working arrangements The second one is that the company still has a high turnover rate, especially the high-skilled employees

So how does the implementation of flexible working organization in Hanoi Global Design? Whether the flexible working arrangement is effective for the company? Until now, no research has been conducted to answer this question and solve the above issues

From the actual situation, the author chooses the topic ―Organizing the flexible working for employees in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd‖ as a master thesis The thesis desires to assess the effectiveness of flexible working arrangements and point out the strengths and weaknesses when implementing flexible working arrangements Thereby, the author will advise the Board of Directors for better implementation within the company.

Literature Review

Domestic research

In Vietnam, the concept of flexible work arrangements is still a relatively new concept for many domestic enterprises This concept became widely known only during the outbreak of the pandemic There are few studies on this topic because the authors have not paid much attention to it

However, there are still some fundamental studies on this topic For example, author Nguyen Tiep‘s (1995) study on flexible working time models showed that flexible working time was widely implemented by countries that followed the market economies for several decades Nevertheless, implementing this working arrangement type in Vietnam is still a new, theoretical, and practical issue The author has initially elaborated on it to encourage widespread adoption and improve the effectiveness of this form of working time Research on all forms of labor differs in length, timing, and arrangement of working time division compared to commonly prescribed working time These forms of labor organization are mutually agreed upon by the employees themselves or decided upon by their employer based on the employees' wishes and the employer's interest The author has summarised the content about two basic flexible working time models, the working time shift model, and the incomplete working time model Each model has its characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages for employers and employees From there, the author gives points to note when applying the model to expand and increase the attractiveness and effectiveness of each model, which needs to be carried out in basic directions

Tran Tuan Linh (2016) studied the benefits and difficulties of implementing flexible working time in SMEs in Vietnam from employees' and employers‘ perspectives Besides, he also explored whether the company should apply flexible working in the local working environment and understand that the conditions that support the local enterprise generate more benefits for employees and employers when implementing flexible working arrangements After a survey of about seven companies, he found that on the employees‘ side, flexible working helps them balance their work-life and improves working motivation with loyalty Finally, it increases the overall company performance However, on the employers‘ side, flexible working still supports increasing the work-life balance, commitment, and company performance, which does not affect their motivation The author also indicates another finding that employers prefer to think about their work-life balance instead of their employees‘ side Nevertheless, this study only focuses on one type of flexible working arrangement limit in only some businesses, not for the majority of local SMEs.

International research

Many types of research have been conducted in various fields and countries about variables such as flexible working, job satisfaction, organization performance, and work-family balance Research from oil and gas in Dubai (Sumaiti, 2010) has identified a significant relationship between these variables They stated that teleworking or remote working not only enlarges the employees‘ satisfaction with their job but also helps them to decline fuel costs Nevertheless, this research was only conducted in the scope of an oil and gas company Besides, consider remote working and opening the office environment to restrict the content as additional flexibilities can be investigated

Kattenback et al (2010) surveyed to study the impact of flextime on employees‘ exhaustion, work nonwork conflict, and job performance The survey was sent to 17 different human service organizations in Germany The first finding of the research indicated that in case of emergency, leaders would request employees work flex time to work outside the regular working hours (which is called time restriction) The second finding of the research showed that the index between the negative impact of time constraints and the positive outcomes in self-determining working time is an essential indicator for specialization in human resource management However, only about 167 questionnaire answers were returned (about 63% of the response rate), which is quite a low rate compared with the 17 companies participating Furthermore, the research only focuses on one side of flexible working - flexible time like flexible hours, compressed hours, etc The low reliability of some scales is also a limitation of this study because Cronbach‘s alpha greater than 0.06 is considered adequate for research purposes

Mas-Machusa et al (2016) indicated in their research in a pharmaceutical company industry that flexibility in job and leaders‘ support positively impact employees‘ work-life balance This result leads their employees to organizational pride and increases job satisfaction

The above research only focuses on the influence of flexible working arrangements on an organization‘s performance and employees‘ work-life balance However, they do not mention their evaluation of implementing flexible working arrangements for employees in a detailed organization.

Research objectives

The research proposes proposals and recommendations to implement and enhance flexible working arrangements at Hanoi Global Design The detailed objectives of this research are:

❖ Make clear the basic theory of flexible working arrangements for employees

❖ Define the pros and cons that employees face when working flexibly

❖ Evaluate the current condition of flexible working arrangements in Hanoi

❖ Propose some solutions for BOD to enhance the flexible working arrangement in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd.

Research tasks

The thesis focuses on these 3 main tasks to achieve the objective:

● Systemize the theoretical background of flexible working arrangements

● Assess the current situation in organizing flexible work in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd

● Make some proposals for Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd to enhance flexible working arrangements.

Research objects

This study aims to organize flexible work for employees in Hanoi Global Design

Research scope

● Content of scope: The thesis focuses on organizing flexible work for employees

● Space of scope: at Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd

● Time scope: a survey from December 2021 to March 2022

Research questions

Upon the mentioned-above research content, the author has 4 research questions below:

- Will employees be satisfied with the flexible working arrangement?

- What are the advantages and disadvantages when employees implement the flexible working arrangement?

- How does HGD Company organize the flexible working for employees?

- What recommendation can be made to improve the flexible working arrangement?

Thesis structure

The study will include 5 chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction: rationale, research objectives, research missions, research objects, research scope, research questions, and thesis structure

Chapter 2: Basic theory of the flexible working arrangement:

This chapter will present the theory and definition of flexible working arrangements

This chapter will describe the methods used to analyse and collect the data

Chapter 4: Assess the current situation of organizing flexible work in Hanoi Global

This chapter will assess the current situation and point out the strengths and weaknesses when implementing flexible working arrangements

Chapter 5: Proposal on solutions for organizing flexible working for employees in

Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd

This chapter will point out the solution and suggestion of the author for Hanoi

Global Design Co Ltd to improve the flexible working arrangement for employees

Comment [MOU1]: Trang 6: Sửa lại lỗi đánh máy

BASIC THEORY ON FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENT

Concept of flexible working arrangement

1.1.1 Concept of flexible working arrangement

In 1974, Elbing & Gordon stated that flexible working arrangements could enhance the staff‘s self-management and satisfaction The flexible working arrangement is a working idea that allows employees to choose their working time and working place through a different type of online platform (Hopkins & Pedwell, 2021) In the study by Masuda et., in 2012, there are 4 main kinds of flexible working arrangements: flextime, compressed workweek, flexplace or telecommuting, and part-time Flextime refers to a method in which the employees' fixed working times can be replaced with a system or set of regulations that allow employees to flex their working time However, in an article by Georgetown University Law Centre in

2006, an author stated that a flexible working arrangement is a spectrum of work structures that can alert the working time or working place at which work gets done regularly Besides, the author also indicates that flexible working arrangements will include 3 main types: flexibility of working time or flextime, the flexibility of workplace or flexplace, and flexible schedule With the same opinion, in 2008, Hill et al characterized the flexible working arrangement as the capacity of the employees to deal with the decisions influencing the workplace, schedule & even the amount of working time for the business-related assignment Flexible working arrangements are viewed as a workplace source in this context: it is a form of flexibility that employees orient to gain benefits for themselves This definition contrasts with the orientation of employers who need to control the labor expenditure and meet the business‘s demand despite employees‘ preferences (Hill et al., 2008 & Lambert, 2014) One more time, Kossek et al (2014) confirmed this definition of a flexible working arrangement They indicated that flexible working arrangements are a beneficial agreement between employees and employers about the time, schedule, and place to work so that all of them can meet the firm‘s needs

1.1.2 The characteristics of flexible working arrangement

According to Wisar - a Freeland website (2020), the flexible working arrangement is known as employees can self-determine where, when, and how their tasks are completed This definition can show that employees will have the freedom to work They will not be limited to a workspace and can work anywhere Besides, they can freely decide when to start and finish their work This positive idea allows employees to take advantage of the most productive moments and balance their work and family life Moreover, the flexible working arrangement brings benefits to the company Because it improves the company‘s quality to attract and retain talent, reduces the turnover rate, and enhances the working environment

Wisar (2020) also indicated that the flexible working arrangement would not evaluate performance based on the time spent on tasks This arrangement will measure to evaluate the performance It also can be understood that time management will be the responsibility of employees They will take control over their working day to achieve their agreed goals This new working arrangement can bring advantages to the organization, such as efficiency, encouraging employees to sacrifice for the business, and enhancing the control of the results Working on the objectives allows employees to choose their working location and schedule their finishing time

Moreover, employees need to define clear goals and the time met To solve this, employers must build a detailed plan to follow up and control the results of their employees Therefore, employers and employees can ensure that expectations are aligned from both sides and guarantee the success of their project

Remote working is the most common characteristic of a flexible working arrangement (Wisar, 2020) This method refers to employees working remotely from their physical office It means that employees can work in any location they like The reason is that many tasks or jobs do not require employees to come to the office to finish This type of employee needs a stable Internet connection to maintain an online relationship with other team members This characteristic can be seen in the salespeople These people can work outside of the office, can stay at home, or in the coffee shop They use the technology tools, such as laptops, smartphones, etc., to contact other team members or customers Working remotely also positively impacts organizations by reducing rental fees and increasing productivity

● Self-management of break-time

Another characteristic of flexible working arrangements is trusting employees to manage their break time or annual leave This feature can be seen in flexibility in the length of working hours - a flexible working arrangement (Wisar, 2020) In this type, employees can adjust the size of work hours to decide when to take a break and which time they will focus on their project This feature positively impacts employees‘ performance and equips them with a good working environment and mutual trust

1.1.3 The basic requirements for organizing flexible work for employees

The position or job is fundamental in defining which type and level of flexible working arrangements should be implemented Employers at that moment did not merely determine whether or not to implement flexible working arrangements but also decided which type of flexible working arrangements would be suitable for that position or job Flexible working arrangements could be better for some jobs or assignments Companies will implement flexible working arrangements for each position and job feature For example, employees can work flexibly in the Sales and Marketing Department because they need a stable Internet connection and a laptop However, if employees work in positions such as receptionist, servers, etc., that need to contact face-to-face customers, they cannot work flexibly

Howington, n.d said that to organize flexible work for employees, the company must prepare the necessary tools and resources to finish their job and stay in contact with other team members Companies must provide cloud sharing and online resources such as the Internet, work management applications, etc., from the equipment to the office space Organizations should equip their staff with what they need to succeed in their flexible role

In an article on a website, Howington, n.d said that suppose a company needs to clearly outline any processes, programs, or policies for flexible working arrangements for employees, it will make much room for interpretation and confusion In the same opinion with Howington, n.d., Carter (2017) said that companies must have a transparent and fair employee policy Clear and fair policies mean employees must know what flexible working arrangements they will make for their job or position That is why employers should outline clear and official policies to clarify these things for their employees Employers should indicate which flexible working arrangements are implemented for each position, which equipment will be prepared and shared for employees, and how they will set and manage their goals Besides, the document will be flexible for each position or job and must be adapted to different situations

According to Howington, n.d., when working flexibly, employees and employers rely on technology to contact and cannot communicate face-to-face Therefore, they are required clear and concise communication The company should use multiple platforms such as email, chatting, and video calls for employers and employees to contact In addition, they also apply these platforms to train their employees and managers on how to use them to stay in contact

Moreover, Howington, n.d also indicated that exchanging information with other employees in the departments and the whole company is essential for employers to consider Setting clear objectives and expectations will keep employees moving on to the exact orientation of the organization Some setting methods of staying in touch are weekly email, weekly meetings through Internet platforms, etc

First and foremost, trust and understanding are crucial requirements for employers and companies when organizing flexible work Howington, n.d show that flexible

Comment [MOU2]: Trang 10: Bổ sung nội dung phụ trợ cho mục Formal policies work means employees can work out-of-sight or off-site They may appear outside of their direct supervisors or managers Therefore, controlling the quality and quantity of the job relies much on tools and technologies Because of this reason, they need the trust and understanding of their supervisors or managers to implement and believe in the flexible working arrangement Thereby, they can balance their work-life and improve their job satisfaction.

Categories of flexible working arrangements

1.2.1 Categories of flexible working arrangements

● Flexibility in the length of hours worked

Moen (1996) also gave more information about that when he stated that employees could take their days off to get flexibility in the number of working hours, or they could work some part-time job at some point in their life Agree with Moen (1996), the author of the article ―Flexible Working Arrangements: A Definition and Examples,‖ stated in shortened words that flexibility of the number of working hours is related to some part-time work, transition periods part-time, job share, or part-year work The part-time or reduced working schedule indicates working only

35 hours per week If they work more than that, they will count as full-time workers instead of part-time The transaction period part-time is for workers who leave their position or job for some particular purpose, such as the birth or adoption of a child, etc., and gradually return to work During this return time, they will work as part- time employees and eventually return to full-time in case employees share tasks of one full-time with another on a part-time basis This type is called job-sharing The last type is part-year work, similar to part-time work Employees of this type will work for a certain number of months in a year The other time they will count it as their days off Moreover, flexibility in the number of hours worked includes a constant decision in the interest of employers, employees, or both about the quantity (chronometry) and temporal distribution (chronology) of working hours (Janssen & Nachreiner, 2004)

Nevertheless, according to Austin (2020), flexible working hour means rescheduling the working hours into fewer or longer during the workweek This idea is mainly associated with the idea of the compressed working hour Hence, instead of working five days with 8 hours per day, employees will work 10 hours per day to work only for fewer days

● Flexibility in scheduling working hours

The flexible time and flexible length of working hours are easy to misunderstand However, flexible time can be defined as flexibility in the starting and leaving times It is not related to the number of working hours The report of Georgetown University Law Centre has stated a clear definition of this idea Flexibility in scheduling hours worked includes 2 main types: alternative working schedules and arrangements regarding shifts and breaks Alternative working schedules include 2 main other kinds Flexible time - the first one illustrates the plan in that employees can choose the starting and finishing time but still ensure the core time as the company‘s requirement Besides, this scheduled time will not be conducted in the workplace It must occur outside the workplace for some portion of the workweek Next, compressed workweeks mean employees work full-time; however, they work less than 5 days per week by increasing the daily working hours The second component of a flexible working schedule also has 2 small features: shift arrangements and break arrangements Shift arrangements mean employees assigned working shifts by their employers will enter into employers for giving them more flexibility than the shift they are set before Like shift arrangements, break arrangements refer to employees who only take the assigned break and can discuss with their employers to receive a more flexible break than they were given However, within the limitations of the thesis, the author only chooses flextime as a flexible method of scheduling working hours

According to Dalton, D (1990), flexible working hours refer to a procedure that permits employees to allocate their working hours but will not change the total number of hours working per day This definition means that employees have the discretion to adjust their time to work In 2003, Eaton noted that flexible working time is broadly defined as the ability to arrange the starting and finishing or even the core-time working hour Besides, he also showed that the flexible time construct may be more than a starting and quitting time It is also related to the flexibility for days off so that employees can visit their children‘s school, take their family to the doctor, or be off when their family has emergency issues In 1999, Baltes et al said that under a flexible schedule, employees decide about the time of day they arrive and leave work Employers will set the core time at which employees have to be present Employees can come earlier than or no later than the core time However, employers will limit the arrival time and quitting time Another critical characteristic Baltes et al have mentioned is the permitted carryover level Some organizations will allow their employees to carry over Employees do not help to work a total of 8 hours per day They only ensure that the total working hour per week is 40 hours - carrying over a weekly basis, even some permits to carry over a monthly basis However, some organizations do not permit carryover or hour They will be required to work 8 hours per day According to Wiley (1981), flexible time significantly impacted white-collar employees Flextime helps to enhance the intrinsic rewards principally for this type of employee Because their work already tends to advise the autonomy of their working schedule However, in contrast, flextime tends to re-emphasize the relatively unhappy attractiveness of job experience for the blue-collar and admin staff Besides, Wiley stated that flextime might encourage employees who work in the ―early shift‖ pattern to avoid working at the company and like to work remotely The reason is that there is a slight increase in leave, but employees can significantly enhance their personal life

In 2019, Kim et al noted in their research report that flexplace refers to working location flexibility Employees can choose wherever to finish their work-related tasks, working from home or staying at a coffee shop Hill et al said that telecommunicating is the typical type of flexible working place Shockley & Allen

(2007) also had the same opinion as Hill et al As they mentioned in their research report, workplace flexibility is commonly conducted and practiced under telework or telecommuting The reason is that this is the primary or central workplace whereby employees will perform their tasks by interacting with internal or external colleagues through different types of Internet devices (Gajendran & Harrison,

2007) From this definition, the author wants to define that telework alters ―where‖ employees‘ tasks were conducted but does not alter ―when‖ their tasks were done

Thompson et al (2014) used the term ―flexplace‖ to refer to a level at which employees can change their physical boundaries surrounding their workplace They also noted that Flexplace could convey the frequent time (number of days/hours) employees being allowed to work remotely Little research by Georgetown University Law Centre indicated that Flexplace includes 3 main types The first one is telework - working from home Employees of this type will work remotely at their own house and use telecommunication to connect with the working center, if necessary The second one is telework but in a satellite location Employees can work remotely but in a satellite location near the telework center

With this working method, employees can reduce or avoid long commutes to work The last type that the author mentions is the alternative working location This type is quite suitable for the part-year and part-time employees because, in this type, employees will work part-year in one location and the other in the second Like flextime, flexplace can run from no discretion to unlimited discretion over remote working from their office (Bailey & Kurland, 2002) Flexplace can generally be defined with 4 main components (Garrett & Danziger, 2007) The first component is that employees will only work or work in the central office Secondly, employees will not contact other colleagues face to face They must use technology or Internet devices to interact together Next, the working time needs to be distributed in different locations Alternatively, even if employees sometimes come and work at the office, they will work at home or the coffee shop on other days The last component is that employees and employers must have a relationship together If not, they will not count as teleworkers and will be called self-employed home-based employees

The flextime model is an abbreviation of the flexible working model in which employees are permitted to choose the starting and finishing of their working time within agreed restrictions This model is mainly applied to full-time employees According to this model, employees‘ working time includes 2 main parts: core time and flexible time Core time is the time during the day that is compulsory for all employees to be present at work Flexible time is the rest of the day when employees do not necessarily come to their office During the flexible time, employees can decide when to work within the scope of employers‘ expectations of them and the requirement of tasks they need to finish Besides, according to a study by Nguyen Tiep (1996), this model includes another element - limitation for flexible time It means the period from the earliest to the latest working time of employees at the company; therefore, flextime will limit flexible time This model is presented in the below figure:

(Source: PhD thesis - Nguyen Tiep_1996)

The flextime model includes 5 main features As mentioned above, the first has 2 main parts: core time and flexible time The smaller the core time is, the more attractive they are The reason is that when the core time to the compulsory present time at work is short, they may have more flexible time and more opportunities to manage their working time alone Next, this model can be applied daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, based on the choice of companies and employees Third, the flextime model must always be able to pay and offset the excess and debt of employees for the working time within a certain period It is the most critical feature of the flextime model; moreover, it is only implemented after employees and employers reach an agreement The last feature is that this model can change based on the specific conditions of each company Therefore, employers must analyze their firms carefully before implementing the flextime model

The job-sharing model means that the duties and responsibilities of one job are shared among two or more employees in the company Unlike the flextime model, the job-sharing model is mainly applied to part-time employees

In Nguyen Tiep‘s research, he pointed out some main characteristics of this model Firstly, to implement the job-sharing model, the company must have a total number of employees more significant than the total workload assigned Secondly, this model always has one equation:

Figure 1.2 Job-sharing model equation

(Source: PhD thesis - Nguyen Tiep_1996)

Upon this equation, they can define the necessary number of employees to adapt to the length of time needed for the operation time of the business Next, in this model, the number of work weeks in one cycle equals the number of employees in the organization For instance, if a model assigns 7 employees for 6 working positions, after 7 weeks, the working arrangement cycle will return to the first point of the cycle The fourth feature is that if the organization only arranges 1 working shift for employees, the difference between the number of employees and the amount of workload will be the number of weeks employees can be entitled to rest in one cycle of working arrangement The number of day-off is not necessary to be accumulated in a week but can be in 2 – 3 days intervals Besides, the job-sharing model allows employees to share their working time and content It means they can have different skill levels but take the same responsibility for their tasks They must handle tasks when other members have urgent family problems and cannot work They will have a backup plan to deal with this Ensuring a close relationship between employers and employees is the last feature of this model Besides, employees must strictly follow the working schedule to ensure their tasks are done

According to the Labour Code 2019, the standard working time is at most 8h/ day or 48h/ week It means that employees will work within 6 days/ week The working day can be reduced if employees are applied to the compressed work-week model According to Vidojevic (2023), in the compressed work-week model, the standard working hour is compressed to fit fewer working days It can be understood that employees will work longer on some days to exchange more days off in that week The most common format of the compressed workweek model is the four-day workweek Employees will work 10 hours/day for 4-day per week This model can benefit companies with heavy workloads throughout the year and is reasonable for retail, utilities, mining, healthcare service, and manufacturing industries

Primary contents of flexible working arrangement for employees

Analysing the context for companies is an important thing that companies must do before implementing a new working model According to M McGee, 2023, during the context analysis, companies will explore 2 factors: internal and external Internal factors mean that they define their strengths and weaknesses External factors mean opportunities and threats Through analysing these factors, companies determine suitable strategies to apply flexible working for employees There are 2 famous tools that most companies use to analyse their context: SWOT analysis and PESTEL analysis A SWOT analysis evaluates 4 main elements: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Marketers apply PESTEL analysis to analyse and monitor the macro environments that impact their companies

1.3.2 Analysing and evaluating the current situation of the working arrangement for employees

Companies need to analyze and evaluate the current working arrangements for employees This analysis and evaluation ensure the companies process the right working arrangement for their employees and make timely adjustments to confirm their productivity (Anonymous, How to Perform a Situational Analysis (With Definition), 2022)

The analysis and evaluation are conducted through surveys, evaluation forms, or by collecting employees‘ opinions within the enterprises Upon the results from these sources, companies need to appraise these 2 points:

● The current situation of the working arrangement for employees

● The advantages and disadvantages that employees face with this arrangement

1.3.3 Analysing the job demand for flexible work

In an article by Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (2022), job demand analysis includes a physical demands description and a cognitive (mental) demands analysis A job demands analysis systematically quantifies and evaluates a task or job's physical, cognitive (mental), and environmental demands Besides, the flexible work arrangement is built based on the voluntary agreement between employees, their companies, and their needs However, because some jobs or positions can apply the flexible working arrangement, companies must analyze which jobs or positions are defined as flexible in their characteristics, such as in the sales department Employees can work flexibly because these employees can contact clients through emails, phone, or by going out for direct communication They do not need to spend time working at their office However, workers at the factories cannot work flexibly The reason is that they are the ones who direct the production process, so they cannot work out of the working space

Moreover, companies also base on the companies‘ characteristics to analyze the job demand for implementing the flexible working arrangement If they are a producing company, it is pretty challenging to implement a flexible working arrangement; however, if they are logistic companies, they can easily apply it Companies must do this research before applying for flexible work to their employees

Besides, companies also have a survey to evaluate which employees have the demand for flexible work The reason is that the job demand of each staff is different Some employees feel flexibly easy to work because they can concentrate on their work and gain more ideas for their tasks Moreover, flexible working provides them more relaxing time for family and friends Nevertheless, some employees suppose that working at the office is more helpful for them The reason is that they will not be disturbed by other members of the family, especially their children Working from home means they also spend time caring for their children; therefore, their work-life needs to balance

Because of these 2 things, companies and managers should survey before they want to change to a new working arrangement They should ask their employees about their disadvantages and collect, analyze, and evaluate these opinions They propose a reasonable plan to implement the flexible working arrangement

1.3.4 Steps to implementing the flexible working arrangement

1.3.4.1 Defining the job requirement for each position

Before implementing flexible working arrangements, managers must analyze the job requirement in each department This step is fundamental for a company to evaluate whether this position can implement a flexible working arrangement

The Human Resources department will conduct the job requirement through other research and experts' references After that, they will send it to the Director for recommendation and evaluation of the potential for flexible working

Determining the job requirement is a critical process that a company must do for each position (Belyh, 2019) To determine the job requirement, the company needs to perform several procedures However, this step is more complex than looking at the job title and deciding right there and then the requirement that the company expects from their employees Therefore, the company must perform the job analysis carefully to define the correct job requirement for each position A job analysis is a process by which a company plans to determine and identify each position's related tasks, duties, and requirements This analysis is conducted to identify the minimum and other requirements for screening whether the employees fit their job The job will be broken down into smaller components during the analysis process The next thing to consider is the competencies, behaviors, and attributes that the company expects from its employees

There are 3 steps for companies to define the job requirement for each position (Belyh, 2019) The first step is to build a list of factors used to guide gathering the information The primary job requirement includes 6 fundamental elements: required skills and knowledge, employees‘ attitudes and behaviors, year of work experience, educational requirement, equivalent experience, and professional certification for some positions:

❖ Required skills and knowledge: the skills and knowledge that employees should have to adapt with the position they are taking the responsibility For some positions, they require the specific skills and knowledge of employees For example, for an accountant, they need to know about the tax law and regulations, as well as Vietnam and international accounting standard

❖ Employees' attitudes and behaviors: The necessary attitudes and behavior are anticipated and required for the employees to do the tasks, functions, and activities

❖ Year of work experience: companies usually pay attention to 2 aspects when finding the information about the year of work experience: quality of work experience and duration of work experience

❖ Educational requirements: some positions require the special level of education For instance, for business development position, they will require at least bachelor degree to do this position However, with manager positions, they will require the educational level from the master degree

❖ Equivalent experience: Employers accept "equivalent experience" in lieu of some or all school qualifications, or even direct and paid job experience The second step in the job analysis is identifying the source of information There are 3 primary sources that companies can explore to find the best information for their job requirement Firstly, it is from a former employee who held this position According to Belyh (2019), this source is the best for the work that already exists within organizations The reason is that with the actual experiences of these former employees, organizations can analyze the job requirement efficiently However, this source has a significant disadvantage: there is some bias from some employees, especially under the circumstances that former employees did not have an incredible image of that organization Another source is from a direct leader, supervisor, or employee who is responsible for that position It is the best source for the company to collect information The reason is that the team leader or supervisor should know the fundamentals or general knowledge of the job However, if organizations need detailed information, they should collect it from employees directly working in that position The last source organizations can use from the department or team where a job belongs and where it is performed This source can provide the most detailed knowledge and experience for that position because they are the ones who work and finish it

Based on the article, Belyh (2019) presented that gathering information is the last step to determining the job requirement Companies will use the above sources for different methods and collect their needed information Job analysts mostly use 5 methods:

Factors that affect flexible working arrangement

Each sector has different characteristics, and each company operating in these sectors will have additional features to adapt to their culture and sector‘s characteristics Therefore, these characteristics affect the arrangement of companies for flexible working (Landman, 2018) Based on these factors, organizations define suitable flexible working arrangements for them For example, companies in the technology industry can apply the flextime model for their employees or the partly remote model to implement However, medical and national defense companies cannot use flexible working arrangements The reason is that they need to involve their employees in finishing their tasks directly

The flexible working arrangement is unsuitable for all employees It can be confirmed from both the view of employers and employees who have already experienced this situation These employees will ask, ―Why does my awesome flexible working arrangement backfire on my job?‖ The reason is that employees need characteristics that can easily equip them to apply flexible working arrangements (Landman, 2018)

Similarly, organizations can only implement flexible working arrangements successfully by carefully analyzing employees' characteristics Team leaders do not want to choose members who do not have the necessary skills or experience related to flexible working Therefore, employers must analyze and explore employees‘ characteristics before applying flexible working arrangements (Howington, n.d.) If an employee is a person who is not afraid of flexible work and is self-motivated, they can work flexibly Alternatively, when employers ask questions and pose a real-world scenario to see how an employee deals with it Employers can ask employers to work flexibly if these employees can deal with the real-world system independently

Facilities are a strong influence on flexible working arrangements for employees How will an employee work when not equipped with a good computer? How to contact for exchanging creation when the Internet system is unstable, or the data files are left in the office (Anonymous, Faq Flexible Working For Employers, n.d.) Furthermore, many other reasons affect employees‘ efficiency and working quality when facilities, especially equipment, are not guaranteed (Anonymous, Faq Flexible Working For Employers, n.d.) For this reason, companies need to pay special attention and remedy, thereby avoiding affecting employees' work

Customers and partners are the factors that significantly affect companies‘ flexible working arrangements For instance, when customers request a large volume of products, employees are asked to work more and use the compressed workweek model to complete customer orders After that, they can take more days off to refresh themselves; however, if requests from customers or partners do not do much, the level of flexible work is lower It means that employees can work flexibly instead of in a compressed workweek However, in the case of companies operating in the service industry, employees are requested to work more flexibly to adapt to the requirement of customers, especially companies whose customers are from different time zones

Tools, techniques, professional skills, and organizational methods greatly influence the flexible working arrangement in a company However, recently, with the development of technology, employees have more tools that support them to work flexibly Employees can work remotely from home using a laptop with a stable Internet connection Employees can access the company‘s server and find the needed information to take the company data From that, finish the manager‘s request without coming to the office Currently, many companies use different apps to manage their employees‘ tasks and performance of their employees It helps managers save time and support working remotely like their employees In general, technologies create more remote working employees, change the management style of companies and blur the working hour (Anonymous, How Has Technology Impacted Flexible Working?, n.d.)

From the idea of the establishment to the formation and development of business, making profits, etc., all companies must comply with the provisions of the law

A legal environment on labor in general and flexible working arrangements, in particular, is established as an institution that creates a legal framework that regulates the rights and obligations of employees and employers in labor relations When organizing flexible working for employees, companies must not violate the provisions of the law At the same time, employees must comply with the organization's method if these regulations are consistent with the requirements of the law Companies must organize to ensure employees have the right to work: no more than 8 consecutive hours in normal conditions or 7 hours or 6 straight hours in case of shortening working hours They are entitled to rest at least half an hour (30 minutes), counted in working hours In addition, employees who work 10 hours or more a day, including overtime hours, are entitled to an additional break of at least

30 minutes counted in working hours The laws that may impact the flexible working arrangement (Anonymous, Faq Flexible Working For Employers, n.d.):

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research process

According to Ajit Singh (2021), the research process is a series or flow of steps required to conduct research A research process includes 7 steps: defining the research problem, reviewing the basic theory related to flexible working arrangements, choosing the research design, selecting the data collection method, collecting, analyzing these data, and proposing the related solutions The author follows these basic steps to finish the dissertation The associated steps have been presented in the below chart:

The first step is defining the research problem and developing the research question Based on the current issues that the author has experience with, the author decided to choose the topic of organizing flexible working with 4 main questions as mentioned above These questions will be answered after this thesis

Step 2 reviews the basic theory related to flexible working arrangements To finish this step, the author researched the related document or professional articles and journals The author summarized and wrote down the related information for the thesis from these supportive sources

In the third step, the author defined the suitable research design for the thesis Upon the objectives of the thesis, the author chooses to use both 2 methods: quantitative and qualitative statistics methods, to collect and analyze the data

In the next step, the author selected data collection methods Many different methods can use to collect data Based on the objectives of the thesis, different authors will choose different collecting methods However, the essential collection methods are interviews and questionnaires In the scope of this thesis, the author also chooses these 2 methods to collect the primary data For the secondary data, the author will be based on the data from the annual report of the Human Resources Department of Hanoi Global Company and through some professional research and articles by international authors

Step five is collecting primary and secondary data For the primary data, the author will send the questionnaire to the employees of related participants - Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd Besides, the author conducted a short interview with some company managers to collect more information and data For the secondary data, through working Human Resources Department, the author will collect data Moreover, the author collected more data through different international data to explain the thesis

After collecting and processing data, the author starts to analyze the current flexible working arrangements in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd From that; the author pointed out some advantages and disadvantages of the company

The last step is proposing the related solution for enhancing the flexible working arrangements in Hanoi Global Design This step is the author's suggestion for the company to organize better flexible working for employees.

Research methods

The research method is understood as different tools used to conduct the research It is also a specific procedure for collecting and analyzing the data In this thesis, to collect and analyze the data, the author chooses to apply 2 basic methods: qualitative and quantitative

According to Creswell (2003), the quantitative research method involves collecting data so that the information can be qualified and more objective In other words, quantitative research involves collecting the data, typically numerically, and analyzing the data through different mathematical models Furthermore, the researcher uses inquiry methods to check consistency with the statistical data collection methodology With the same opinion, Pritha Bh (2020) stated in his article that quantitative research is a process in that data are collected and analyzed through numbers This research method is suitable for finding patterns and averages, making predictions, testing the causal relationship, or generalizing the overall result to the broader population 4 primary methods are used to conduct the quantitative research: experiment method, observation method, survey method, and secondary research To finish the thesis, the author chooses the survey method as the tool to collect the quantitative data

Carrie W (2007) also pointed out that researchers tend to catch the events at that moment in the survey research method In this method, the data are frequently collected as the sampling data from the respondents representing a population Moreover, it uses a close-ended instrument or open-ended items In other words, the survey method means researchers ask a group of people questions in person by phoning the respondents or sending the questionnaire online or offline

Pritha Bh (2020) indicated that qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numeric data such as audio, video, etc Researchers can understand the concepts, opinions, and experiences through this data This research method is excellent for in-depth insight analysis or new ideas creation for research and is commonly used in humanities and social science sections Carrie stated that qualitative research is a holistic approach that associates with discovery Creswell

(1994) pointed out that qualitative research is defined as opened model occurring under the natural context and allows researchers to build a degree of detail via active participation in the actual experiences One identifier of the qualitative is that the phenomenon is discovered from the participants‘ viewpoint Therefore, it can be said that qualitative research usually has fewer objectives than quantitative, where researchers strictly stand outside of the investigated phenomenon Another identification of this method is that in qualitative research, the data is collected from the sense and used to explain the phenomena relevant to the social behaviors in new and emerging theories.

Data collection methods

Primary data has been collected through the survey method conducted by the researchers Besides, the data is collected through 3 different methods: questionnaire, interview, and focus group The questionnaire was sent to employees and managers within Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd from February to March 2022 The interview was only conducted for Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd managers

A questionnaire - a specific tool of survey method is a list of questions or items used to gather respondents' data about their attitudes, opinions, or experiences (Bhandari, 2021) Questionnaires can be used to collect quantitative or qualitative data The questionnaire is designed with 2 types of questions: open-ended and closed-ended Open-ended questions are designed to collect non-numerical data from the participants, and closed-ended questions are designed to gather numerical data

There are 4 basic steps to follow when designing the questionnaire (Bhandari,

2021) The first step is defining the goals and objectives In this step, researchers need to answer these 3 questions about the topic or experiences being studied, the specific need to be found out, and whether a self-questionnaire is appropriate for the studying topic

The second step is designing the relevant questions for the researched sample An appropriate question is created upon the respondents' perspectives Researchers should consider language proficiency and available time and energy when building the questionnaire Researchers can answer these questions when they create appropriate questions for their respondents:

 Are respondents familiar with the language and terms used in those questions?

 Would any questions make participants insult, confuse or embarrass them?

 Whether all possible answers for close-ended questions mentioned?

 Whether response items mutually exclusive?

 Do the participants have enough time to answer open-ended questions? Considering all possible answers for the close-ended questions makes the respondents feel more comfortable and makes it easier to finish the questions

In the third step, researchers decide the length of the questionnaire and the question order The questionnaire length and the question order should be appropriate for the sampling Researchers should identify whether or not their respondents have time to answer all the questionnaire questions If they still need to, they should ensure that questions are short and easy to answer For the order, questions order need to be based on the research objectives and resources Researchers must build a logical flow if their participants have limited time or need more time to randomize the questions

The last step is pretesting the questionnaire Researchers must test the questionnaire carefully before sending it to the respondents This step help researcher avoid catching error or point of confusion before performing their study By asking their friends, classmates, or members to use the same method applied in the research, researchers can find out the questions that are challenging to answer or have unclear or inconsistent directions From that, researchers can make the necessary changes to improve the questionnaire

An interview is a qualitative research method that collects data by asking a list of questions related to the research problem The interview associates two and more than two participants, one of whom is the interviewer who asks the questions (George, 2022) The level of structure often differentiates several types of interviews: structured interviews, semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews, and focus group interviews

The author chose the semi-structured interview method to collect the qualitative data in the thesis The semi-structured interviews are a mix of unstructured and structured interviews Researchers plan to ask participants, but questions must follow the planned order during the interview Semi-structured interviews are often flexible and open-ended but follow an established conceptual framework Therefore, this method brings a sense of order Because of this reason, semi- structured interviews are frequently considered the best choice for collecting qualitative data However, if questions differ among the participants, it can affect the quality of the data collected

The secondary data is used when researchers need more time to collect the primary data Besides, researchers also use secondary data if they want to expand the scope of their research The reason is that researchers can access much more extensive and varied samples than they can collect Secondary data has already been collected through some primary sources and published for other researchers to use for their research (Ayanyemi, n.d.) There are many sources that researchers can collect secondary data, such as books, articles, journals, etc Secondary data is known as readily available for researchers to use compared to primary data, which is not readily available for researchers The secondary data is divided into 2 types: external secondary data and internal secondary data (Hillier, 2022) External secondary data is collected from outside organizations such as government departments, market research agencies, etc The secondary data from these organizations are usually published in journals, official websites, articles, etc Internal secondary data is the data collected within organizations The internal secondary data can come from sales reports, human resource reports, and customer relationship management systems However, when collecting secondary data, researchers cannot control which variables are measured and how they are measured; therefore, the conclusions may be limited In the scope of this thesis, the author preferred to use internal secondary data The data sources come from the annual report of the related department in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd.

ASSESSING THE SITUATION OF ORGANIZING

Overview of Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd (HGD)

3.1.1 History of Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd (HGD)

Elite Group is an international company whose headquarter is based in New York, in the United States of America Elite Group specializes in designing and manufacturing high-quality jewelry With about 30 years of experience, they have an extensive network of clients from many countries worldwide

Hanoi Global Design Co., Ltd is the second company opened by Elite Group in the Vietnam market The company was established in 2015 as a limited liability company and operated in the field of high-quality silver jewelry The company's products are all high-quality 925 silver with CZ stones, manufactured at the factory in Ha Nam - the group's first company in Vietnam The company operates in 3 main areas or services in details:

● Catching the newest trend in jewelry and developing the new product for different customer targets of each brand through different social network channels or some famous events of celebrities

● Creating jewelry with trendy and modern inspiration After that, the company will sell these gorgeous designs to other sellers, such as wholesale companies (QVC, Amazon, etc.) or KOLs who want to develop their brands

● Ensuring all collections are well-made and well-price to transfer to customers through different channels

Previously, the company's primary target customer was only US women However, along with the new brand's development, the company has expanded its target customer Now, they focus on women with stable incomes and teenagers seeking great quality accessories at a reasonable price Until now, the company has been managing four international jewelry brands Kiera is the first brand that focuses on luxury jewelry They mainly sell fine diamond-stimulated or natural gemstone jewelry The second brand is the Diamonbliss jewelry brand This brand focuses on middle-scale jewelry with statement style for women from 35 to 50 years old Next, J'admire is the third international jewelry brand the company manages J'admire pays attention to personalized and customized jewelry for younger ladies from 22 to

35 years old The last international brand is GEMOUR This brand primarily sells accessories with trendy collections for teenage girls Most products are sold reasonably and with outstanding quality, which teenagers can buy

Moreover, in 2022, with a team of well-trained and professional staff, the company also opened its market by entering the Vietnamese jewelry market In this market, the company focuses on Gen Z, who are between 22 and 30 years old Most of the products are well selected to fit the characteristics of Vietnamese Gen Z and sold to them at a reasonable price

From the first task, human resources research, and developing high-quality pieces of jewelry, Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd has already developed and opened its markets and customer network On average, the company has 15 to 20 designs created per month These designs are sold to different B2B and B2C through different sources such as e-commerce platforms or KOLs' platforms The development of the company is also presented through the increase in the total revenue of the company:

By looking at the chart, it can be seen that the revenue of the company increased from 2018 to 2021 In 2020, despite the strong impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company still had strong revenue growth, earning about 20 million USD

However, by 2021, revenue has decreased slightly because, at this time, the pandemic broke out quite strongly in the United States, the company's primary target market

For future development, in the short strategy, the company builds a plan to collab with some coffee shops to open the physical store and gain the first impression of customers Besides, they also attend some local fairs or become a sponsor for some small events to raise brand awareness from customers For a more comprehensive strategy, the company plans to open large physical stores in some shopping malls such as Aeon Mall, Vincom, etc Besides, they will open another branch in Ho Chi Minh City in 2025 This branch will focus on selling and developing gold jewelry in modern and trendy styles

Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd is operated based on the functional organizational structure The functional organizational structure is a typical business structure in that organizations will be divided into different departments based on their area of expertise, and employees are grouped by their skills, specialty, or related role A Korean General Director manages the company and has seven different departments with different functions The company organizational chart is presented below:

(Source: Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd profile)

The total number of employees in Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd is 54 employees allocated to the different departments, as shown in the table below:

Table 1 Total number of employees in each department

(Source: Human Resources statistics in 2021)

Because of the specificity of the industry, after recruiting, the company must organize training sessions so that sales & marketing staff have basic knowledge about the jewelry industry and current jewelry trends not only in Vietnam but also around the world because these are the core employees that bring in revenue for the company every year In addition, because they also operate in the e-commerce and retail industries, employees must have a basic knowledge of selling platforms to operate effectively To achieve this, every year, the company has an investment for employees to attend seminars or training courses on e-commerce or how to run ads on the platforms

Each department has a different function based on the characteristic of the department and team:

● Sales & Marketing department: Divide into 2 small teams: Sales teams and marketing teams Sale team takes care of the task related to selling products on different platforms and websites, such as listing products, restocking products, and updating inventory They also have people who take care of the sale volume, do different kindly reports like weekly, monthly, and annual reports, and forecast and analyze the sale in different periods From that, they will give an idea to improve the deal and increase the brand value Besides, they also provide customer service and fulfill orders on many e-commerce platforms and websites Another team is the marketing team This team manages brand awareness, running a different campaign to promote the product on special occasions Besides, they are the person who works with KOLs to encourage development and take care of the posts on different social media

● Design department: Make the design at the request of the R&D department They have 2 small teams: CAD design and sketch design The sketch design team is where the designer draws their idea with detailed parameters on paper The CAD design team is the team who pulls the sketch design on the computer CAD design is usually the 2D design stored in the computer so it can be easily shared with other groups

● Visual department: Take photos and videos, both lifestyle and HD photos They also edit the image at the request of the Sale and marketing department The visual team is also a department that contacts models (both domestic and foreign models) and plans and conducts photo shoots with models

● R&D - Research and Development department: Research and track the newest jewelry trend in the world Employees in this department will research the trendy jewelry and send them to the design department to draw, and after that R&D team will check the design and request a sample Employees of this department are also responsible for reviewing the quality of the samples and approving which method can be produced and introduced to customers

● IT department: Fix the systems and website issues Besides, when employees in other departments have computer problems, the IT department also helps fix hard and soft errors

● Accounting department: Manage expenditure sources, finance, and assets; organize accounting, reporting, and settlement of allocated funding sources following the law

The current situation of flexible working arrangements for employees in

Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd from 2018 to 2021

To evaluate the current situation of organizing flexible working for employees in

Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd, the author has conducted quick research to collect employees' evaluations about the quality and efficiency of organizing flexible working The questionnaire was sent to 54 staff and managers and received back

3.2.1 The current situation of employees’ flexible working in Hanoi Global

Design Co Ltd from 2018 to 2021

3.2.1.1 The analysis of content for employees to flexibly work

Flexible working is a relatively common form of working organization in Western countries The parent company is located in New York - where this form of work is popular The company has determined that this will be employees' primary work In

2018, the company conducted flexible work for employees However, this new working organization was confined to a few departments, including the Design and

Visual departments In 2019, the company arranged flexible work for some appropriate departments However, until the year 2020-2021, when the pandemic was at its peak, a slew of new decrees on social isolation and restricting people's

Non-speaking Beginner Intermediate Advanced

- Sửa tên đề mục thành tên mới

- Điều chỉnh mục 3.2.1 thành mục 1 trong mục đánh giá tình hình làm việc linh hoạt của nhân viên ability to go out The company was forced to change its working form from partly remote to fully remote It is a sudden transformation because the company has never prepared anything During that time, the company had a quick fundamental analysis according to the SWOT structure to get an overview of the flexible working arrangement for employees:

- Most of the employees are young and easy to adapt to change

- The company has experience when organizing flexible working for employees

- The company has systems that support employees to work flexible

- It is challenging to evaluate and control employees' work

- It is challenging to communicate with employees when working flexibly

- The company does not have the experience to train employees to work flexible

- The facilities do not adapt to the working flexible

- An opportunity for the company to evaluate whether the company is suitable for organizing flexible working for employees or not

- The company can reduce some expenditures such as rental fees, water fees, etc

- The company can catch up with the new trend for new working models in Vietnam

- The company can expand their talent network

- Employees cannot balance their work and family It leads to ineffective working

- The company needs to pay more to update the technology so that employees can work flexibly

- Employees can be dishonest and untrustworthy when working flexibly

(Source: Flexible Working Plan in 2018) 3.2.1.2 The flexibility for employees to work

Based on the survey results, from 2018 - 2021, the company has implemented flexible working arrangements for the entire company and in most departments From 2018 until now, the company has been organizing work for employees under three main models: fully remote working, office-first hybrid, and remote-first hybrid Employees will be free to choose the type of form that suits their conditions and needs However, employees will also have to comply with the regulations set forth by the company To operate these 3 models, the company has clearly stated to each employee as follows:

● Employees who choose to work remotely-first hybrid must have one day every week to come to the company to report work progress, completion, and problems that need support The date of coming to the company to work will depend on the decision of the department heads Then, please submit it to the board of directors for approval

● Employees who choose the office-first hybrid model will register their remote working day with the leader or department head The department heads will be responsible for notifying and reporting to relevant personnel department staff for calculating wages, allowances, and related allowances

● Employees fully remote-working can come to the office without coming to the office Their task and result will be reported to their team leader, and they will arrange their tasks by themselves

With these 3 flexible working arrangement models, survey respondents who are company employees indicated they were pretty satisfied and found these models suitable and effective for their work About 91% of respondents rate that they find it practical to work flexibly, and the rest think this form of work is unsuitable because it does not fit with the job position and cannot bring the best performance for them

No Answer No of respondents

Table 3 Result of survey about whether the flexible working arrangement is beneficial and effective for employees

However, the managers and leaders in different departments also have different evaluations and comments for employees‘ performance efficiency when their staff working flexibly Managers and team leaders in Sales & Marketing department consider that their staff works more efficiently when working flexibly Employees in this department work more flexibly, and customers and partners are taken care of much more effectively than when working in the traditional form The requests of customers and partners are responded to and handled in a timely and quick manner, even if they have a difference in time and geographical distance The Head of

Research and Development also shared the same opinion when asked about the performance of employees in the department The reason is that when working flexibly, their employees can find ideas and do market research easily Instead of researching devices such as computers or phones, employees can go out in person to learn, see first-hand competitors' products, and learn about customer tastes The two heads of the design and visual departments agree with the above two departments

For designers, being able to work flexibly helps them have more space to develop ideas and create new inspirations to design new, unique products that suit customers' trends It can be said that this is a very appropriate department for flexible working after Sales & Marketing department As for the Visual department, a flexible working form is essential for them Because they not only need pictures taken in closed rooms but sometimes require pictures taken outside

In contrast to the above departments, the Human Resources Department pointed out that they need to work in the traditional form because this department always has documents that need signatures directly from department heads or directors They are the department that manages many essential documents, company seals, etc

Therefore, they must be present at the office to manage and perform receptionist duties, answer phones for the company, etc Alternatively, as with the IT department, their work involves managing servers, software systems, and networks

The repair requires them to be present at the office, on duty continuously while

Comment [MOU7]: Trang 49: Bổ sung đánh giá của trưởng bộ phận về hiệu quả làm việc linh hoạt của nhân viên employees of other departments work Because if the computer fails or the software fails, they need to deal directly with the computer where the error occurs but cannot repair the hardware remotely Besides, working flexibly, especially fully remote working, means that their operating time with different departments will be different, thus leading to feedback or handling errors untimely and significantly affecting other departments in the company

PROPOSAL ON SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE FLEXIBLE

Development goals and orientation of flexible working arrangement at

By 2025, the Company sets three big goals to develop and reach out in the jewelry design and trading industry

The first goal is to strive to continue operating and develop firmly on 3 core business activities:

● Research and develop new jewelry product lines suitable to market tastes

● Sell designs to significant customers in the US

● Sell company-branded jewelry across multiple sales channels

The second goal is that by 2025, the company will also expand to many countries in Asia, especially East Asia and Southeast Asia, with similarities in culture and interests It is evaluated as a potential market for the company to enter and find growth opportunities

The third goal is not only to operate in the retail network and develop the wholesale system for the Vietnamese market HGD's parent company has been doing very well in the US market The company also wants to continue developing wholesale and dropship for mid-range jewelry products Through the market research that the company does, this is an excellent potential market because only some companies are doing this segment If yes, then the product line is at a low price and low quality

The company also aims to build a solid foundation regarding personnel, equipment, facilities and an appropriate management organization model to achieve this Besides, constantly improving product quality, learning, and researching new business forms suitable to jewelry business activities and consumers' needs

4.1.2 Orientation of the flexible working arrangement at Hanoi Global Design Co Ltd

● Defining tasks and standards for employees to be able to work flexibly

The company should define clearly its goals when organizing flexible working and inform these goals to their employees Besides, the company needs to explain to employees so they can understand why it organizes flexible work and which benefits they will have if they work flexibly Next, the company also defines the missions and standards for employees when they work flexibly, what they will do when choosing to work flexibly, which regulations they need to follow to work flexibly, etc All this information should be listed in the job description and requirements and sent to all employees before implementing flexible working Moreover, the company must regularly and fairly evaluate the level of employees‘ task completion; thereby, employees will have more motivation to work and dedicate themselves to the company

● Creating favorable conditions for employees to work flexibly

This orientation means that the company will eliminate the obstacles that employees can cope with and affect their performance, such as communication when flexible working, controlling task completion progress, etc Besides, the company will provide the necessary conditions for employees to work flexibly, for instance, the systems to control the clock in and out of employees, the equipment that employees need to have to finish their work, etc The other condition is that the company should analyze which positions can work flexibly and which cannot From there, appropriate and satisfactory personnel adjustments and arrangements exist to complete the assigned tasks and work with the best results

● Increasing the company‘s profit, minimizing costs such as rental fees, electrical fees, etc, and ensuring employees‘ work-life balance

To achieve this goal, the company needs to build a logical flexible working organization process and support employees in the flexible working process so that employees can complete their work and expand the market and customer network From there, it brings much profit to the company In addition, encouraging and showing employees benefits if they choose flexible working will motivate employees to choose a new form of working Besides, it helps the company reduce costs, such as rental fees Because employees work remotely, the space needed to use will be less The company can rent a small area, minimizing costs Electricity and water costs are also reduced due to the small number of users To ensure employees‘ work-life balance, the company must have a flexible and reasonable working organization so that employees can decide on the form of work, the arrangement, and the allocation of time to do their work.

Solutions for organizing flexible working for employees at Hanoi Global

4.2.1 Change the form of governance from MBP to MBO - Management by

The flexible working organization for employees is a typical form that requires companies to manage goals Because most employees will not show up at the office under flexible working conditions, everything must be controlled remotely

Therefore, the author proposes to change the form of governance to MBO

However, to implement governance by goals, the company also needs to clearly define goals for each department and individual, thereby achieving the overall development goals of the whole company As mentioned above, by 2025, the company will identify 3 main development goals:

- Develop 3 core activities to increase revenue for the company

- Expanding the retail market to Asia, with the target market being ASEAN

- Encroaching into the jewelry wholesale market in Vietnam

Also, to accomplish these development goals, the company develops a flexible working organization orientation to expand the range of employees to operate and reduce fixed costs such as office rent , electricity and water costs, etc

From the above goals, the company will identify the departments that can implement MBO governance and develop specific goals for each department Based on the characteristics of Hanoi Global Design Co., Ltd and their development objectives, the author sees that 6 departments need to be managed by objectives:

• Sales and Marketing: Set sales targets, marketing campaign objectives, customer acquisition goals, customer service or revenue generation targets

For example, sale targets 10,000 pieces of jewelry per month for housebrand jewelry; marketing campaign running in holidays sessions with daily email marketing sending ( 2 emails/ day), social advertising on Facebook,

Comment [MOU13]: Trang 90: Sửa lại

Solution theo gợi ý của Phản biện

Instagram Daily post on Facebook and Instagram with link to websites or Amazon platform, etc

• Human Resources: Enhance employee engagement, talent acquisition and retention, training and development goals, or diversity and inclusion initiatives For instance, organizing the activities to enhance the employee engagement such as workplace parties (Year end, Birthday, etc), competitions among departments (3 competitions per years for some special occasions), or some special program like wellness program, etc

• Research and Development: set objectives for product innovation, research milestones, or research about jewelry trending For instance, 10 style of jewlery development per month to catch with over the world‘s trend Weekly research about the trending of celebrities in the world to find out their style, etc

• Design: monthly design (both CAD & Sketch design), sample production For instance, 50 CAD design & sketch design per month and about 40 samples per month for Research and Development department check and and Sale department choose and decide to sell

• Visuals: model shootings, outside shootings for different brands For example, 3 professional model shootings per month with foreigner models, 3 model shootings with Vietnamese models 4 - 5 outside shootings for basic lifestyle shootings per month

• IT and Technology: focus on system uptime, security improvements, software development milestones, or digital transformation initiatives

In addition, the company needs to constantly monitor and evaluate the progress of completing this goal of each department A practical tool to do this is to use KPIs: Team KPIs and Individual KPIs Many software or systems can assist a company in tracking employee and departmental KPIs In addition, the company is currently using the Oracle Netsuite system - a system that supports the management and monitoring of KPIs of each department and individual The company can use this system to support the management according to the goals

Management must also ensure that the overall company and departmental goals are communicated to each department head Each department head is responsible for setting targets for their department and communicating with each employee For clear communication, companies and departments should have video conferencing, email, or project management tools that should be used to provide updates, clarify doubts, and provide feedback

In addition, performance evaluation and rewards are also essential to verify whether individuals and departments are achieving the set goals Rewards are a way for the company to promote and encourage participation and achievement of shared departmental and company goals However, additional penalties should also be if the department and employees do not meet the set targets The reason is that rewards and punishments should always be parallel to increase stimulation and promote employees' enthusiastic participation in work

Continuous Feedback and Coaching: Feedback plays a crucial role in MBO Managers should provide ongoing feedback and coaching to employees This feedback can be positive, recognizing achievements and efforts, and constructive, addressing areas for improvement In a flexible working arrangement, feedback can be provided through various channels, such as email, instant messaging, or video calls Regular coaching and support help employees stay on track, overcome challenges, and continuously improve their performance

4.2.2 Striving to build and nurture employee-to-employee, manager-to-employee relationships

The peculiarity of flexible working is that most employees will not be present at the office; the discussions within or between departments will occur through computer screens or communication devices such as phones, tablets, or iPad Therefore, it leads to a problem of distance between employees and between employees and superiors Therefore, the company, department heads, and team leaders will need help to grasp the thoughts and difficulties that employees may encounter in the working process

To overcome this, the company should build "virtual" spaces to chat The "virtual" space here is team building sessions or after-hours parties to promote communication between employees and between employees and superiors These team-building sessions should occur twice yearly to meet and exchange among employees These team-building sessions should be held in locations outside the city and should include outdoor team activities From there, they increase cohesion and understanding of each other to complete the game Besides, a year-end party or birthday party for employees and superiors every month is also an occasion where the company can increase the relationship with employees The reason is that it shows that the company cares about employees and listens to employees At the same time, after-hours activities are also a time for employees to talk about their difficulties with the company freely The company can collect employees' opinions and make adjustments and corrections immediately

In addition, the company can also design a direct communication channel between leaders and employees Organize exchanges and dialogues to strengthen employee solidarity, attachment, and mutual understanding Set up a suggestion box so employees can express their thoughts and aspirations about work, reflect on problems or propose labor initiatives that are often difficult to discuss directly in front of the leaders