What do we know? Great businesses perform because they have a great offer, clear brand and brilliant talent but attracting and retaining brilliant talent isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Gone are the days when you offered a job and regular salary and everyone was thankful! The brilliant talent, the innovative talent, the talent that will bring the new ideas, efficiencies and products to your business want to work as flexibly as they think. The question is; can you give them a compelling reason to work for you?
Apart from it being a legal requirement to consider requests, Flexible working just makes sense:
- You attract a wider pool of people so you have more choice.
- You create a level of psychological commitment in return for your flexibility.
- You often find cheaper, better ways of working when you challenge your own ‘rules’ around how something should be done.
- You have happier staff who get the balance of the things that matter in their life in and out of work. Happier staff are more motivated staff so you get that magical discretionary effort.
- You get a reduction in sickness absence – staff who have more control of their diary to manage their time get ill less – that translates to a reduction in lost time and cost for you.
So you see, it really does make sense!
But what does flexible working look like in reality? It takes many different shapes – the point is ‘it’s flexible’ and you agree it together. It may mean reduced hours, longer days, staggered hours, some home working, career breaks, job sharing and many more possibilities besides. The only thing limiting the options is the way you think about it.
What matters when putting Flexible Working in place?
- You believe it will enhance your business
- Keep an open mind
- Have a clear policy on your position
- Make the process easy for people to apply
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate so everyone knows what’s happening and how the ways of working will operate.
If you’d like help or support with flexible working or any other performance and people related topics do get in touch – we always love a cup of coffee! E: