Flexible work Arrangement – what is it worth to you?

Sometimes it can be difficult to shift from our traditional way of looking at the work day.  Some interesting questions to ask as an employer: Is nine to five really the best work arrangement for our organization? Are we recruiting and retaining the best possible employees with our current scheduling practice? Are our employees really more productive from nine to five? Before you answer absolutely to all of the above questions and decide a flexible work environment is just too much work to implement, consider the following information.

 When you are having a difficult time attracting qualified workers to your organization think about the pool of available employees you are drawing from.  That pool of potential employees can be limited by their responsibilities outside of work that may be keeping them from looking at your organization.  Providing prospective employees with the ability to choose a flexible work schedule will set your organization apart from your competitors when recruiting.  Affording future and current employees with the opportunity to arrange their day so that it provides them with work-life balance will benefit your organization in the long run.  You also increase your chances of retaining employees and reducing turn-over costs because they are able to manage their lives more effectively.

 Providing employees with the ability to have a flexible work schedule increases employee morale and motivation.  There is an increase in productivity and job satisfaction, and you will experience an increase in employee engagement.  A flexible work schedule will reduce employee lateness as well as absenteeism.  The result is an increase to your organization’s success.  When employees can manage their responsibilities outside of work they are better able to focus on the job which only improves the effectiveness or your organization.

 By providing flexibility to your employees you will find that, not only do you have the competitive advantage of attracting employees from a larger pool of candidates, but you have an increase in your hours of business without added costs should your employees stagger their start and end times.  Whether you choose to provide employees with a flexible start and end time, telecommuting opportunities when appropriate, or you offer a compressed work week or part-time variations you are providing them with a level of trust that will only increase their commitment to you in return.

 Given the above advantages to providing flexibility in the scheduling of the work day, isn’t it time for you to modify your current practice and revolutionize the current way of thinking? If you aren’t comfortable providing this opportunity to your current employees due to the increased level of trust involved in this type of arrangement then maybe you need to look at whether you have hired the right people in the first place.