Curious about the various forms of flexible work within our organisation, we sat down with Paul Clarke, a dedicated contract manager in BT Business. 

Can you provide a brief overview of your role?

I am part of a contract management team looking after a number of large value customer contracts. My specific role is to provide guidance and support to the team on a variety of commercial and contractual matters.

Can you share the journey of how you transitioned to working flexibly at BT and the decision to go part-time?
I had some caring responsibilities materialise during mid-2022 and needed to find a way of undertaking this. I was allowed to exercise these responsibilities flexibly while maintaining a full time role through the use of the BT ‘Passport scheme’ (a document filled in by BT colleagues who feel their health, disability or caring responsibilities could have an impact on their ability to work currently or in the future). 

Through discussions with my manager we agreed dedicated time each week to caring and subject to review to ensure it was working for all.  My colleagues were aware of the arrangement and I would manage my workload around this to ensure the job was done.

Over the past 12 months  I have reflected on the balance between work and an increase to caring responsibility and wanted to make a distinction between the two. Additionally I wanted to explore the option of part time working to provide a better work life balance for me personally.

Consequently I discussed with my manager about the possibility of working part time. At the time we initially discussed this in the early part of 2023 I wasn’t really aware of too many, if any, part time workers. After a number of discussions which my manager lead with various colleagues in BT, we reached a point where my part time working (3 days a week) was formalised in December 2023.

How supportive have your manager and team been throughout the process of transitioning to part-time work, especially considering the challenges of managing contracts and commercial activities?
My manager has been truly supportive at every step of the way. It has taken some time to achieve but we have been able to review progress and discuss where any barriers may exist eg how the team would be supported when I am not working, and what the solution to this would be. I appreciate my manager has had to discuss and agree my request to be part time with various parts of the business.

In fact, Paul’s manager recognises the pivotal role he plays in her team, sharing that the flexible working arrangement’s success for both of them and the business is based on trust:

‘Paul performs a critical role within my sector, providing commercial support for one of our largest government programmes. He has been working flexibly for over 12 months now and during this time, neither his commitment to his work, nor his standard of work, have ever waivered. This arrangement works so well because of the mutual trust and respect we share - I trust him to deliver to the best of his ability and he trusts me to support him, whenever he needs it. Paul is a fantastic example of how to balance personal and professional commitments, without compromising either.’

Are there any challenges that present themselves as result you working part time hours that you have got to overcome and how do you manage to balance work/caring responsibilities?

I plan my week, scheduling in meetings from Tuesday to Thursday. I have had discussions with team colleagues and some calls that are scheduled on the days I won’t be working are rescheduled to when I will be available. Regular calls I have with clients are on particular days of the week so I have chosen my days off around these. Occasionally, I may need to take phone calls when I’m away, but my team mates are also able to cover for me or update me on days I’m off on any meetings I might have missed.

Together with my manager, I have  agreed to focus my support on a core of particular customers with a new colleague now supporting others. Should anything urgent require attention my new colleague can now provide the same support, or for any exceptional circumstances both with work and/or any caring responsibility, I am able to amend a day to meet business/personal requirements.

What has this opportunity to go part time enabled you to do?
Moving to part time has allowed me to dedicate more time to my caring responsibility plus allowed me additional personal time. Having the latter allows me to spend more time with friends outside of work during the day and also pursue some new leisure activities that I previously didn’t have the chance or time to undertake. 

From a professional work perspective, as I have arranged (as much as is reasonably possible) regular meetings around  my working days, and with the available support of my new colleague I have been able to continue delivering performance at the same level. At the time of writing it is still relatively early as my move to part time has only been in place for 6 weeks, but for me personally it has been a very positive transition.

You can learn more about building a career at BT and the opportunities available, by visit their profile and exploring their open roles.