We found a lot of waste and inefficiency in the business based on the clock-in-clock-out mentality — we needed to stop doing things that weren’t required, such as dragging tasks out to fill in time and meet required hours. By implementing the four-day working week, we would be constraining the amount of time at work, meaning the team would need to become more efficient and effective in completing work.

Once work is completed, you go home.

We believe we are doing something wrong if we commit to more hours than specified. We are either ineffective, don’t have enough staff, or are over-committing to work and need to find a different way of completing tasks.

Initially, we struggled to change the “we are on” culture and establish a new way to work around our shifting expectations. However, it quickly became apparent that we didn’t have the required backups to fill key roles when team members were not at work.

This naturally progressed into a matrix of knowledge and support throughout the business. For the first time, we had fresh eyes looking at systems and projects, and lending a hand in developing methods for meeting challenges. This has helped to future-proof the knowledge base within the business.

The team now strives to step up in professional development, seeking challenges and projects outside their specific job role and area of expertise, helping drive a collaborative and team-driven approach.

Perhaps most importantly, there have been benefits to the way we can maintain our personal lives. This shift has allowed us to become more present with family, friends and external interests.

At Keraplast we believe those working the job can best see how to improve the job. So rather than bringing in outside consultants to tell us ways they think we could improve — we empower our team to challenge the status quo and create improvement and change.

By bringing together team members with diverse skillsets, we can assess our methods and process to find flaws and ways to improve. We create a collaborative environment where everyone is equal, allowing our team to identify problems and agree on the necessary steps. Our management doesn’t dictate action — if our team see a way to improve something, they are empowered to do so.

This environment means issues and problems are resolved quickly and effectively. We have changed the “its not my problem” mentality to a culture of “this is our problem — so we will solve it together”.

Our people come to work to do their best. They genuinely want to be here. Keraplast’s responsibility is to recognise our people as a whole, and how they wish to grow and then enable them to be the best they can be.